The Dems just droped the ball big time, on this blackout issue!

[Room101]

Think about it millions of people effected and mad wanting to vent it out on someone. The Dems should be screaming “Bush can spend billions to rebuild Iraq's infrastructure but won't spend it where it is needed for America's infrastructure.”


I live in California so I know how blackouts drive you mad,and wanting to take it out on someone. It would have been like a river of frustration flowing off to the side to blame Bush. If I'm in a 100-degree temperature with no power AC and can't wash my ass after a #2, I would say that’s right how come we have all that money to rebuild Iraq Dam it Bush!!!

Dems stop sitting on your hands and be bold.

[MissouriTeacher]

1. I dunno

I think that might have seemed too overtly political. Most Americans aren't as partisan as we here. That kind of stuff tends to turn people off, even if it is the truth unfortunately.

Although that's not to say they couldn't bring it up again later on.

[Room101]

2. The right has been very partisan for 2 1/2 years, it worked for them.

They control everything, the dems have lost with the high road crap.

[MissouriTeacher]

3. Well, that's true.

But their base seems to respond better to that kind of crap too.

[w4rma]

7. I disagree. Bush and the Republican Party should be roasted for this.

…
The problem of preventing such power failures has been that, for the most part, no one has an incentive to invest billions of dollars in new wires, new towers and new transformers, which are often opposed by residential neighbors. The old utilities have sold off their power plants but still hold a highly regulated monopoly on the network of lines, and they would only invest in new transmission if state regulators would guarantee them rate increases to pay for it.

That is the last thing the regulators, who deregulated much of the industry in hopes of lowering rates, would be willing to do.

After deregulation in the late 1990's, there was a burst of interest from many power companies in building new plants, but the collapse of Enron and the markets it had pioneered dried up much of the capital for such investments, and the recession curbed demand slightly.

During the California blackouts of 2001, several members of Congress proposed spending $350 million to improve the nation's transmission system, but the measure was opposed by the Bush administration and was voted down by Congressional Republicans.
…
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/15/nyregion/15GRID.html?hp

[PATRICK]

4. It's beyond partisan

After the California Crisis and 911 THIS insufficiency was allowed to fester because of the need for war and after Enron collapsed they didn't have a rapist to hand over the crumbling infrastructure to.

The non-Davis leaders should be raked over mercilessly and asked what they even learned in the intervening years? They couldn't even match what Davis originally did much less prevent a massive, country threatening house of cards?

If it can't be stolen, neglect it.

If the Dems were to look down from the clouds and away from their focus group polls there are a hundred balls lying there at their feet. Whether there are a couple balls higher up is a question.

[NYC]

5. I have no idea about other cities, but people in NYC were not angry.

The only angry person I saw was Pataki (Repub. gov. of NYS). I don't even know why he seemed so angry.

I'm not saying nobody in NYC was angry, but most people weren't.

[aquart]

15. You're think hot in the street rage.

Trust me, there's anger.

But there's also knowledge that the administration that didn't come thru after 9/11 sure ain't gonna move its butt to help or tell the truth after this.

So it's being treated as a natural disaster. No point in getting mad.

My anger is that ice cold pitiless thing that will look with dead eyes on their destruction however it comes. But I hope it's painful, and eternally humiliating.

Now I'm going to take hundreds of dollars in food out of my refrigerator and freezer and throw it in the trash where it belongs. Then I'm going to scrub down the whole refrigerator because it's acquired a smell during the blackout. It's my project for the day.

There's a Yiddish curse: May you have a mansion of 1000 rooms and may you go night after night to every room unable to find rest or sleep in any one of them. For you, George, Dick, John, Rummy. For you.

[fabius]

6. Hannity scolded Democrats for attacking Bush

Somebody must have been taking advantage of it.

It was interesting to see how stupid Bloomberg, Pataki, and especially Bush looked. The people didn't even seem very put out, but they were all playing "big father-figure czar" and looking like idiots. People seemed to be pretty mature about it, not like '77. Just from TV, I wasn't there. Hell, we have power out every winter in OR, from windstorms or ice, big deal. Chimp has to go on TV to comfort us! :dunce:

[Cocoa]

8. the dems are all over it

here's an ABC article entitled "Democrats target Bush on Blackout" with quotes from Kerry, Gephardt, Graham, Dean, Lieberman and Kucinich. Edwards said it's too early.

Not mentioned in this article is Hillary Clinton, who also spoke out strongly.

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Politics/ap20030815_1998.html

[Room101]

9. "The Dems are not all over it" Just the Presidental canidates

I'm talking about the party as a whole..

[sandnsea]

11. It's only appropriate for a few to comment at this point

The Presidential candidates, Hillary, a State Senator and Richardson, former Secretary of Energy. Anything else would be absolutely tacky. And you have to remember the entire House and Senate are all home in August, spread out over 50 states.

Democrats comment on Bush all the time, the media isn't reporting it. I really don't know why we aren't picketing them.

[pa28]

10. It's not that they dropped the ball . . .

they just realize they can't win. The media would cast this as "playing politics and blaming" if Democrats made an issue of this. On the other hand if this had happened in 1997 the media would have happily broadcast quotes of every angle from outraged Republicans blaming Clinton for ignoring warnings. We're just in that awkward period where our leadership has realized we are in the wilderness and is more or less paralyzed until some direction can be found.

[Mairead]

12. The Dems CONSTANTLY drop the damned ball

[waldenx]

13. Dems "drop the ball"

so often it isnt even worth pointing it out anymore.

[NicRic]

14. So True !

I dont even know if saying "droped the ball" decribes the lack of either the willingness or the ability of the Dems to even touch the ball. How about they "never showed up for the game", never even held the ball !

[jiacinto]

16. See

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=69335