The blame game in the wake of the hurricane is in full
swing. We are starting to witness the victims of partisanship in the images of
floating bodies around Louisiana. It is the most dreadful price to pay for
political bickering.
I am a Democrat, and I do hold Louisiana Governor Blanco
responsible for not acting properly following the hurricane. Her and Bush
avoiding each other yesterday was a disgusting site. In a time when people look
to their leaders for guidance, a political cat and mouse game has taken
precedence. That is incredibly unacceptable.
I also blame George Bush for his failure to take charge in
a time when his country needed him the most. Following the disaster, instead of
responding, White House lawyers continued to argue over who had what authority.
This was not the time for that argument. President Bush should have immediately
called the affected Governors and asked what they needed from the federal
government. He hesitated on that. He should have immediately nationalized the
National Guard and had them responding to the region and he hesitated on that.
The military should have been put into immediate action as a support unit. There
was a medical ship sitting off the coast of New Orleans that sat there for five
days doing nothing. As Commanded in Chief, he hesitated on that.
Parts of Mississippi still have victims that have yet to
see the first signs of help, eight days after the storm. Governor Barbour is to
blame for that.
The only person I feel that does not need much blame is
Mayor Nagin. He is also a victim of this storm. No one has addressed what he has
lost in this disaster, well with the exception of his entire city. I have seen
Republicans point the finger to him because he is a Democrat. Well that does not
matter, but it should be known that Ray Nagin was a Republican up until 2003,
when he switched parties to gain votes in the election. Party affiliation does
not matter though.
Every American, red or blue should be in a state of anger
right now. That anger should be triggered by the reactive response all levels of
our government have exhibited this week in a post 9-11 America. A proactive
response is what is called for at times like this and we have yet to see it.
It troubles me more to see so many politicians, Democrat
and Republican alike pointing the finger solely to those responsible that
represent the opposing party. Our mortality does not lie in the party you
support; it lies in the government’s response to such disasters. Politicians on
both sides of that political spectrum have failed and must be held accountable
for it.
This week Congress is back in session. Join me in voicing
the concern over the response and apparent lack of preparation to this disaster.
While we can not all hold much accountability to the local officials in the
affected areas, we can all hold accountability to our federal officials. Let
them know that your concern is not based upon partisanship, but based upon
citizenship. Every facet of our government that failed last week must start
being held accountable in the coming weeks. We can not have a repeat of what
happened last week.