George Bush Doesn't Care About Black People
Forget about inefficient bureaucracies. Forget about disconnect between state and federal officials. Forget about the Dept. of Homeland Security's over-focus on terrorism. Forget that the FEMA chief was a horse judge.
The mismanagement of Katrina can be traced to one man: George W. Bush.
According to recently released tapes, Bush was told that Katrina would be a disastrous storm. He was told that the Superdome was not properly staffed with medical professionals. He was told that the levies might be breached. He was told that more help was needed for the relief effort. And after receiving these warning, what did he do?
He offered state officials assurances. Then he went to a fundraiser.
Of course, when Hurricane Rita approached, George Bush got to work. He deployed troops. He visited the region before and after the storm. He opened up his phone lines to state and local officials. He put the full force of the White House behind the relief effort.
But in that case, Florida and Texas were in danger. Populations of rich, white Republicans were in danger. People who supported George and Jeb were in danger.
Bush was given the same warning for Katrina that he received for Rita. But for Katrina, he chose not to act. He chose instead to tout the passage of the Medicare drug package to pre-screened audiences of supporters.
Kanye West was right.
The problem with the federal response to Hurricane Katrina was not that Bush did not know. The problem was that he did not care.
The mismanagement of Katrina can be traced to one man: George W. Bush.
According to recently released tapes, Bush was told that Katrina would be a disastrous storm. He was told that the Superdome was not properly staffed with medical professionals. He was told that the levies might be breached. He was told that more help was needed for the relief effort. And after receiving these warning, what did he do?
He offered state officials assurances. Then he went to a fundraiser.
Of course, when Hurricane Rita approached, George Bush got to work. He deployed troops. He visited the region before and after the storm. He opened up his phone lines to state and local officials. He put the full force of the White House behind the relief effort.
But in that case, Florida and Texas were in danger. Populations of rich, white Republicans were in danger. People who supported George and Jeb were in danger.
Bush was given the same warning for Katrina that he received for Rita. But for Katrina, he chose not to act. He chose instead to tout the passage of the Medicare drug package to pre-screened audiences of supporters.
Kanye West was right.
The problem with the federal response to Hurricane Katrina was not that Bush did not know. The problem was that he did not care.
posted by Jezebella at 9:41 AM
2 Comments:
Certainly one of Kayne West's songs could have been about George W...
"I ain't saying he's a gold digger,
but he ain't messin' with no broke niggas..."
W to a tee.
I wasn't aware that my credibility was suffering.
Let me elaborate on my reasoning that I used to make my "pointless point":
In the aftermath of Katrina, a faction of people arose that claimed that Katrina was mismanaged because those affected were not part of George Bush's 'base', i.e. were not of typical Republican demographics, i.e. were mostly poor and black. This sentiment was underscored by Kanye West's outburst, "George Bush doesn't care about black people."
The counter-argument to these claims was that the mismanagement was due to lack of knowledge or foresight by the President (in his own words, "nobody could have anticipated the breach in the levies"). That has clearly been proven false by the tapes.
If the counter-argument is false, that does not necessarily make the original argument true. But it does give it more creedence. That was what I hoped to imply by referencing West's statement.
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