"The people who chose to stay ..."

[Dogmudgeon]

That's the new Republican catchphrase.

In a five-minute patch of viewing time, my mother counted it being used no less than six times, each time by one Republican factotum or another (probably Mike Brown and Haley Barbour).

"The people who chose to stay ..."

May they choke on their own craven, cowardly, self-serving words.

--p!

[Catchawave]

1. I wouldn't leave my pets behind either :(

Many, many stay behind for that very reason.

[deadparrot]

2. They were TOLD to leave; they were not given help in leaving.

Those who don't have access to their own personal transportation might find it a bit harder to leave the damn city, you douchebags.

[liberal N proud]

4. Exactly, many had neither the means or the funds to leave

Most people get paid at the end of the month and any government checks would have arrived on 9/1. They were just getting by until payday as it was and no one offered free rides out of town.
Then there was the pet situation, these are part of the family, most people would not leave them behind

[baldguy]

3. They could have gone to their vacation homes in the Poconos.

Or take that trip to Greece.

[magellan]

5. Only "compassionate conservatives" could justify suffering this way

And the irony is it's their own lack of empathy and inability to think outside the box that condemned so many to be left behind.

[DeepModem Mom]

6. I heard "chose not to evacuate" -- dear God, please don't let people...

fall for this BS. People are dying because they could not evacuate, and because the Republicans and the Bush cabal won't, or can't, help them. Covering their asses like this is evil -- pure evil.

[T Roosevelt]

7. Here's why they didn't evacuate

This from a 2002 study by Louisiana State University (being in the industry, I know they know what they're talking about):

The highways are exposed to the effects of hurricane winds and floods, and must be shut down to traffic many hours before a hurricane actually reaches the vicinity of the city. It is estimated that about two hundred thousand people living in the city do not have automobiles or access to an automobile. Approximately 20,000 people have special needs and cannot be easily moved. Finally, there are several thousand more people that will choose not to evacuate because of difficulty of actually evacuating and of finding suitable shelters (Suhayda, Aravamuthan, & Korevec, 2001).

[ck4829]

8. Teleportation has not been invented yet

Try to leave knowing that everything you know may change, that you will have to leave pets and friends, and try to break through the crowds also trying to leave.

[walldude]

9. I wonder how many hospitalized people

"chose to stay"?

[abluelady]

10. It's Ironic

The people I know who complain about those who "chose" to stay are the same people who would say, "Oh, it isn't going to be that bad, I can weather it out." Such hypocrits.