6:00 pm Monday, 8/29. Blanco tells Bush, "We need everything you've got"

[DemsUnited]

This is being reported in both the NYT & Washington Post

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/11/national/nationalspecial/11response.html?ei=5094&en=cd7ee70e1622076b&hp=&ex=1126411200&partner=homepage&pagewanted=print

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/10/AR2005091001529.html

The current RNC talking point criticism is that Blanco "wasn't specific" when she asked for help.

I'm sorry, but when a major hurricane has just finished rolling over a state and the Governor tells the President of the United States "we need help, we need everything you got" I'd expect said President to finish his piece of birthday cake, get back to Washington and get to work.

But I guess she was supposed fill out a form in triplicate specifying exactly what she needed and when. Until then, she was on her own.

[Connie_Corleone]

1. And she didn't say "pretty please with sugar on top".

[kestrel91316]

2. That's because nobody gave *Katrina's flight # and seat #.

[Pirate Smile]

3. The Wash Post article seems to be missing the ending. It ends with

Bush flying to the region, telling Brownie he did a heck of a job and going to "demand that Blanco hand over control of National Guard troops". That is obviously not the end but it doesn't go any further.

The Feds look like incompetent assholes. The city could have evacuated a few hundred on the last trains out but that was about it.

FEMA and the Feds definitely look like the villains in the WP article - but I wish they would finish it.


What a bunch of crap re the quotes by Administration officials (of course all of these ARE attributed, not the standard anonymous officials) trying to show that Bush was worried, at the "tipping point", etc. but then waiting days to decide about troops while the Governor had already asked for everything they had to give.

[rocktivity]

4. Blanco asked for federalization on 8/26--THREE DAYS before Katrina hit

and received it the following day. If FEMA needed more specific information, they had plenty of time to ask her for it.

And check out the correspondence in this post between Blanco and FEMA. Those of us who pointed out that FEMA specifically granted federalization of the non-southeastern parishes, prompting Blanco to send another letter specifically asking for aid for the southeastern parishes, were laughed off by some DU-ers as tinfoil-hatters!

:tinfoilhat:
rocknation

[Garbo 2004]

5. Blanco first asked bush to declare a state of emergency for LA.

State of emergency authorizes federal assistance and aid to the state and local jurisdictions in responding to the emergency (ie, gov't to gov't assistance). Her Aug 28 letter asked Bush to declare an "expedited major disaster" for LA. Declaration of major disaster authorizes federal assistance directly to individuals such as grants, loans, housing assistance, etc.

This two step is not an unusual procedure: first requesting federal state of emergency and then requesting federal declaration of an expedited major disaster.

Additionally, Blanco did not ask for "federalization." That term generally is used when the feds take over state efforts and resources. That is precisely what Blanco refused to cede to Bush when he presssured her to do so days later.

[Pirate Smile]

6. kick