The Redhunter

Raw Political Opportunism

Let's call is what it is; raw political opportunism. I've surveyed enough of the blogosphere, listened to enough news broadcasts, to see that these people have absolutely no shame.
David Frum puts it well:

Is there not something bizarre about their willingness to fire off accusation after accusation, each contradicting the last? The disaster was caused by the Bush administration's failure to protect the environment from global warming .... no, no, it was caused by the administration's refusal to manipulate the environment by funding more levees to control the Mississippi River .... it's Iraq, no it's budget cuts, no it's wetlands, and on and on and on.

Good God, what is wrong with these people? Will they ever learn to see somebody else's misfortune as something more than their political opportunity?

"Worst Example Yet of Media Bias"

Of the many news stories that I could have selected, consider just this one from the BBC, posted just this morning:

As President Bush scurries back to the Gulf Coast, it is clear that this is the greatest challenge to politics-as-usual in America since the fall of Richard Nixon in the 1970s.

Then as now, good reporting lies at the heart of what is changing.

But unlike Watergate, "Katrinagate" was public service journalism ruthlessly exposing the truth on a live and continuous basis.

Instead of secretive "Deep Throat" meetings in car-parks, cameras captured the immediate reality of what was happening at the New Orleans Convention Center, making a mockery of the stalling and excuses being put forward by those in power.

Amidst the horror, American broadcast journalism just might have grown its spine back, thanks to Katrina.

Such reporting is at the level of self-parody, and only those who are completely lost in the fever swamps of hate-Bush leftism cannot but fail to see the bias. I had to check twice to make sure I wasn't on the website of theonion.com, or National Lampoon.

Powerline tells it like it is:

The mainstream media's handling of Hurricane Katrina and the disasters in New Orleans is a disgrace, possibly the worst instance yet of media bias. Insane claims by left-wing nuts that President Bush botched the recovery effort on purpose so as to kill black people are repeated by the MSM in a chin-stroking mode, as if to say, "It's an interesting question--they might be on to something." Meanwhile, no one points out that it was President Bush who implored Governor Blanco to issue a first-ever mandatory evacuation order for the city, an action by the President that probably saved tens of thousands of lives.

Similarly, the media yammmer on and on about the allegedly slow federal response to the hurricane, without noting that the Governor of Louisiana has the power to call out the National Guard. Accusations that lawlessness and looting in New Orleans are somehow the federal government's fault are repeated endlessly; hardly anyone bothers to criticize the looters and other criminals themselves. And where is the outrage that should be directed toward the New Orleans Police Department? They were the authorities on the scene, and they, under the direction of the city's Mayor--who had an emergency plan in place, but apparently made no attempt to implement it--had the responsibility to maintain law and order. Yet some policemen reportedly joined in the looting, while a great many others turned tail and abandoned their responsibilities.

Timing is Everything

If liberals had waited until the next election cycle, or at least a few months, before launching their attacks, then I would not be writing this. I may disagree with the substance of their attacks, but could fault them then for bringing the issue to the forefront.

But no, they just couldn't wait. They hate the President so much that in their zeal they launched attacks virtually unprecedented in their ferocity. Some immediate criticism is only to be expected, especially in the blogosphere. But this has gone way, way, too far, way too fast.

Look Who isn't Talking

Just as with 9/11, the one person who isn't criticizing the President is Bill Clinton.

Indeed, he came to Bush's defense at a press conference last week. The President had recruited both his father and Bill Clinton to aid in soliticing disaster relief funds, just as he did during the tsunami earlier this year. CNN's Suzanne Malveaux, however, decided to play politics:

MALVEAUX: Let me ask you this: There are some people at the New Orleans Convention Center who say that they have been living like animals -- no food, no water, no power. And they are the ones who are saying: Where are the buses? Where are the planes? Why did it take three days to see a real federal response here? Mr. Bush, you, whether it's fair or not, had gone through some administration criticism about your handling of Hurricane Andrew.

G.H.W. BUSH: I sure did.

MALVEAUX: Do you believe that this is legitimate?

G.H.W. BUSH: Yes, I do. What happened? We all sighed with -- not legitimate. I believe that they ought not to be as upset, but I can understand why they are. We thought, a lot of people thought, that when the hurricane went to the right a little bit, New Orleans was going to be spared. And it was only the next day that, you know, there were these horrible problems with the levee. But, look, if I were sitting there with no shower, no ability to use bathroom facilities, worried about my family, not knowing where they were, I'd blame anybody and so you have to expect that.

MALVEAUX: But do you think this administration responded quickly enough?

G.H.W. BUSH: Of course I do.

CLINTON: Let me answer this. The people in the Superdome are in a special position. And let me say, I've been going to New Orleans for over 50 years. There's no place on earth I love more. They went into the Superdome, not because of the flooding, but because we thought the hurricane was going to hit New Orleans smack dab and they'd be safe in there if they didn't leave town.

What happened was, when the levee broke and the town flooded, what did it do? It knocked out the electricity and it knocked out the sewage. They're living in hellacious conditions. They would be better off under a tree than being stuck there. You can't even breathe in that place now.

So I understand why they're so anxiety-ridden. But they have to understand, by the time it became obvious that they were in the fix they were in, there were a lot of other problems, too. There were people -- they were worried about people drowning that had to be taken off roofs.

MALVEAUX: So you two believe that the federal response was fast enough?

CLINTON: All I'm saying is what I know the facts are today. There are hundreds of buses now engaged in the act of taking people from New Orleans to the Astrodome in Houston. And you and I are not in a position to make any judgment because we weren't there.

All I'm saying is the way they got stuck there, I see why they feel the way they do. But the people that put them there did it because they thought they were saving their lives. And then when the problems showed up, they had a lot of other people to save. Now they've got hundreds of buses. We just need to get them out. I think they'll all be out by tomorrow. Didn't they say they would all be out by tomorrow morning?

G.H.W. BUSH: Yes.

MALVEAUX: OK. Well, thank you very much. I'm sorry. We've run out of time. Thank you.

G.H.W. BUSH: Let me -- I just to want finish. I believe the administration is doing the right thing, and I believe they have acted in a timely fashion. And I understand people being critical. That happens all the time. And I understand some people wanted to make, you know, a little difficulty by criticizing the president and the team. But I don't want to sit here and not defend the administration which, in my view, has taken all the right steps. And they're facing problems that nobody could foresee: breaking of the levees and the whole dome thing over in New Orleans coming apart. People couldn't foresee that.

CLINTON: Yes, I think that's important to point out. Because when you say that they should have done this, that or the other thing first, you can look at that problem in isolation, and you can say that.

But look at all the other things they had to deal with. I'm telling you, nobody thought this was going to happen like this. But what happened here is they escaped -- New Orleans escaped Katrina. But it brought all the water up the Mississippi River and all in the Pontchartrain, and then when it started running and that levee broke, they had problems they never could have foreseen.

And so I just think that we need to recognize right now there's a confident effort under way. People are doing the best they can. And I just don't think it's the time to worry about that. We need to keep people alive and get them back to life -- normal life.

(transcript courtesy of Captain's Quarters)

Bill Clinton knows perfectly well that had this occured under his watch his administration would have responded much as President Bush's did. He also knows that in his eight years he didn't get the levees in New Orleans fixed, either. One thing that amazes me about the left is how they forget who was president before George W Bush. Are we to believe that the idea that a category 5 hurricane might hit New Orleans is a recent one?

Either Way He gets Criticized

If Bush doesn't go to the disaster area, he is said to be insulated and uncaring. If he does go, then he's only looking for the photo op.

If Bush proposes large funding increases for the military, including guard and reserves, then he's "feeding the imperialist war machine" and starving "badly needed funds" for education or child care. If he doesn't, then he's blamed for not having enough resources on hand to respond to disasters like Katrina.

If he doesn't fire someone, then he doesn't recognize that federal relief efforts have failed. If he does, then it's an "ah ha!" moment for the left; Bush has finally admitted he's a failure as a leader.

This is the worst natural disaster in our nations history, why isn't more being done faster?

Not our Finest Hour

When New Yorkers faced a crisis of unimaginable proportions 4 years ago, they responded with grace and dignity. "Everyone pulled together" became more than a cliche.

The scenes of looting and mayhem in New Orleans will haunt us for some time. One can not fail to be nothing but appalled at how all too many of the residents who stayed behind reacted.

Yes, yes, I know, the situations were different; all of NYC was not affected, many of those who stayed in NO were doubtless criminals anyway who did so precisely because they thought there would be an opportunity to loot, etc. Nevertheless one cannot help but be struck by the vast disparity between the two.

Oh, by the way, do you own a gun? If you don't, I'll bet you're thinking about getting one now. Of course, the Redhunter already has that base well covered.

Overplaying their Hand?

It may well turn out that by coming on so strong, so quickly, the left has overplayed their hand. Arthur Chrenkoff has done an excellent job at compiling extreme statements made by Bush bashers, see here and here. .

Mainstream Democrats may be embarassed by some of these attacks, and will hold their fire for a more opportune moment. But one of the problems they face is that their party has been captured by far left groups such as moveon.org, America Coming Together, by people such as Michael Moore and George Soros. Byron York has documented this well in his 2005 book The Vast Left Wing Conspiracy. Democrats who should know better have become so dependant on money and publicity from these fringe groups and people that they cannot or will not disavow them. Because of this they may well end up tarnished themselves.

Either way, this is only going get more ugly.