Republicans Apparently Can't Govern

From Kevin Drum:

IDEOLOGY AND REAL LIFE....One of the things that Hurricane Katrina has done is shine a very bright light on the different worldviews of liberals and conservatives.

Conservatives fundamentally believe in a limited role for the federal government. They believe in downsizing, privatizing, and placing greater reliance on state and local government to provide essential services. It's easy — too easy — to blame George Bush in hindsight for specific things like cutting the Corps of Engineers budget for the New Orleans district, but the reason this criticism is legitimate is because this wasn't merely a specific incident. As even some conservatives tacitly admit, it was a direct result of George Bush's governing ideology.

FEMA was downsized and partially privatized because Republicans think that's the right thing to do with federal agencies. Budgets were limited for levee construction and first responder training because Republicans have other priorities. The federal government was slow to respond to Katrina because conservatives believe states should take the lead in looking out for their own needs. George Bush talks endlessly to the cameras about the private sector helping to rebuild the Gulf Coast because that's the kind thing conservatives believe in.

Liberals, by contrast, believe in a robust role for the federal government. We believe in sharing risk nationwide for local disasters. We believe that only the federal government is big enough to coordinate relief on the scale needed by an event like Katrina, and that strong, well managed agencies like FEMA should take the lead role in making this happen.

Both of these governing philosophies are defensible, but too often they seem like nothing more than opposing sides in an intellectual game. Katrina demonstrates otherwise. It's what happens when a drowning city runs smack into a conservative movement that believes in drowning the federal government in a bathtub.

_______

To which I will add:

It would be one thing if Republicans were actually reining in spending in some kind of meaningful way. But they're not. They're just spending the money on things like oil subsidies.

[Autocratic]

Drum is touching on what is the most important aspect of this (with regards to straight politics); that it really can damage the paleoconservative worldview. With the neoconservative view dominating politics, less attention has been given to it in recent years, but events like Katrina make once thing abundently clear. People cannot always help themselves. There are often events where government is the best and only solution, and is needed in spades. No one has been crying out for private relief organizations to step up to the task, because they have no obligation to do so. Conservatives, individually, can ignore this, and call for government assistance. Conservatism as a worldview, however, cannot.

[Felix_Nietsche]

Is it not true both the mayor and govenor are Democrats.
The mayor ordered the city evacuated yet failed to deploy school buses to help with the evac. Have you seen the pictures of the flooded areas full of school buses that could have been used to save people's lives?....... The people of Louisiana desperately needed a Rudy Giuliani to show them how to handle a disaster. Sadly, the people of New Orleans elected a democrat and many lost their lives because of it. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

So why did not the mayor order the use of school buses to evac people out of the danger? Instead letting the buses get flooded in the school lots. Now the school buses are probably 'totaled' as well.

What do they say about people who live in glass houses?.......... [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]
Thank you for a GREAT post! I guess this shows when democrats get elected people die.

[DVaut1]

[ QUOTE ]
Is it not true both the mayor and govenor are Democrats. The mayor ordered the city evacuated yet failed to deploy school buses to help with the evac. Have you seen the pictures of the flooded areas full of school buses that could have been used to save people's lives?....... The people of Louisiana desperately needed a Rudy Giuliani to show them how to handle a disaster. Sadly, the people of New Orleans elected a democrat and many lost their lives because of it.

So why did not the mayor order the use of school buses to evac people out of the danger? Instead letting the buses get flooded in the school lots. Now the school buses are probably 'totaled' as well.

What do they say about people who live in glass houses?..........
Thank you for a GREAT post! I guess this shows when democrats get elected people die.

[/ QUOTE ]

Remember when Felix was credible?

[ QUOTE ]
Sure.....if you conviently forget to factor inflation.
Oooooooooooops!


LOL...nice try.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, I don't either.

You'll never live that one down...

[Felix_Nietsche]

Ah.............the old bait and switch.
A tactic used by the intellectually weak who are incapable of forming a rational counter argument.

But I already knew that about you Dvault. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[SheetWise]

[ QUOTE ]
Conservatives fundamentally believe in a limited role ... believe in downsizing, privatizing ... greater reliance on state and local ... direct result of George Bush's governing ideology.

Liberals, by contrast, believe in a robust role ... sharing risk nationwide ... only the federal government is big enough ... coordinate relief on the scale needed ... strong, well managed agencies like FEMA ...

[/ QUOTE ]

Conservatives have beards.
Liberals have whiskers.

[DVaut1]

[ QUOTE ]
Ah.............the old bait and switch.
A tactic used by the intellectually weak who are incapble of forming a rational counter argument.

But I already knew that about you Dvault.


[/ QUOTE ]

lol.

Thought that post might get forgetten, huh?

I would just hate to remind people of times in the past when you were merely just talking out of your rear end.

I think your post here is of similar quality; why would anyone waste time trying to refute what's already just hyperbolic nonsense?

Much more fun to mock your inanity. You're an easy target, what can I say.

[hetron]

[ QUOTE ]
Is it not true both the mayor and govenor are Democrats.
The mayor ordered the city evacuated yet failed to deploy school buses to help with the evac. Have you seen the pictures of the flooded areas full of school buses that could have been used to save people's lives?....... The people of Louisiana desperately needed a Rudy Giuliani to show them how to handle a disaster. Sadly, the people of New Orleans elected a democrat and many lost their lives because of it. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

So why did not the mayor order the use of school buses to evac people out of the danger? Instead letting the buses get flooded in the school lots. Now the school buses are probably 'totaled' as well.

What do they say about people who live in glass houses?.......... [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]
Thank you for a GREAT post! I guess this shows when democrats get elected people die.

[/ QUOTE ]

Tell me what kind of brilliant moves Guiliani made in NYC to save millions of lives.

Sometimes I wonder if you make ignorant posts just to get a rise out of people.

[Exsubmariner]

I personally like the blatant partisan exploitation of human tragegy to cast political adversaries in a negative light. About time someone held the Democratic Party accountable with it's own tactics.
Your ball, Dvaut.
(edited for spelling)

X

[DVaut1]

[ QUOTE ]
I personally like the blatant patisan exploitation of human tragegy to cast political adversaries in a negative light. About time someone held the Democratic Party accountable with it's own tactics.
Your ball, Dvaut.

[/ QUOTE ]

Not sure why you're addressing me with this...try the OP