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FORMER DNC CHAIRMAN CAUGHT ON FILM LAUGHING ABOUT HURRICANE HITTING DURING REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION
By Michael B. Brodkorb | August 31, 2008
The former Chairman of Democratic National Committee, Don Fowler, was caught on film laughing about Hurricane Gustav hitting during the Republican National Convention. Classy.
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34 Responses to “FORMER DNC CHAIRMAN CAUGHT ON FILM LAUGHING ABOUT HURRICANE HITTING DURING REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION”
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August 31st, 2008 at 10:35 AM
I for one, find it curiously reassuring in these difficult times, people still are still willing to put in the effort to search the web for material which they can use to spin human tragedy for short term political advantage.
August 31st, 2008 at 10:36 AM
The comment isn’t classy.
But, let’s stop and think why Democrats think the timing of Gustav is timely — putting the light on the republican administration’s handling of Katrina during their big party.
This is the worst possible thing that can happen to the Republicans because it highlights the party turning its back on the poor and black populations.
August 31st, 2008 at 10:46 AM
gustav could be the best thing to happen to gop, assuming there is very little loss of life this time around. with mcain/palin in the area and with all states now run by the gop, an orderly evacuation would show the gop, when given complete command and control, can get the job done. when you had a dem (louisiana governor) fouling things up is what caused most of the issues during katrina, although the mainstream media blamed bush.
August 31st, 2008 at 10:51 AM
Yes, Ansel, good luck pinning this on a single democrat governor. No fault to be placed on FEMA, it’s crony leader, or Bush who completely ignored the situation for days.
And, you don’t get that many bonus points doing it right the second time around. It doesn’t erase one of the great American tragedies of our era from the history books.
August 31st, 2008 at 10:58 AM
“And, you don’t get that many bonus points doing it right the second time around.”
Right…at least not until the Democrat party is finished wringing every drop of political gain out of it.
Tell us again how bad Democrats felt for the victims of Katrina, PD…please.
Toss in a few “Oh, the humanity’s” for best effect.
August 31st, 2008 at 10:59 AM
not sure i agree with your assessment that bush ignored the situation for days. you must of been reading the mainstream media. you need to brush up on your civics as to whom can order an evacuation of a city. it is not the federal government. it is the mayor or a governor. nagin, and the governor of louisiana at the time were both dems. because an evacuation was not ordered, there was this massive loss of life.
the feds were not well-prepared either, but the loss of life was more the direct responsibility of the dems. if louisiana voters thought the dems did such a great job or that the feds were to blame they would never had elected a gop governor.
let’s see how things go with a gop governor rather than a dem governor.
August 31st, 2008 at 11:00 AM
The problem with hurricanes for Republicans is that they are committed to the notion that government doesn’t and can’t work. It therefore follows that any instance in which the government does work undermines there whole reason for being. That’s the mindset that resulted in the stocking of FEMA and other federal agencies with political patronage appointees, selected for their incompetence. This strategy actually works quite well as long as nothing really bad happens, but then a Katrina comes along to remind us what government is really for and how important it is for all of us that people who really believe government should work should be in charge of it.
My favorite Ronald Reagan joke was the one about how there are no words scarier than “I am from the governemt and I am here to help.” I always chuckled when I hear him say it, but I don’t think the line is quite so humorous when you are perched on a rooftop waiting to be rescued. It’s all a matter of context, you see.
August 31st, 2008 at 11:07 AM
of course, we are now getting off topic. it has moved from showing a major dem figure joking about the loss of life from katrina. i don’t recall bush, or even nagin, ever joking about the loss of life.
August 31st, 2008 at 12:33 PM
“This is the worst possible thing that can happen to the Republicans because it highlights the party turning its back on the poor and black populations.”
What a complete load of bullshit. If anyone turned their backs on the poor and black populations it was the legion of Democrats who ran that state when Katrina hit. Ray Nagin should be imprisoned. Thankfully the good people of Louisiana fired that stupid, incompetent bitch, Gov. Blanco.
August 31st, 2008 at 12:36 PM
“Yes, Ansel, good luck pinning this on a single democrat governor. No fault to be placed on FEMA, it’s crony leader, or Bush who completely ignored the situation for days.”
In fact, FEMA actually responded in record time… your ignorant on this as ever issue MOUTH.
The FACT is that it was the Democrats running the state of Louisiana and the City of New Orleans who fucked up the response. 1000 parked buses, no emergency response plan. The purpose of FEMA is to support, not DRIVE the response to natural disasters. Democrats fucked Katrina up as badly as it possibly could be. Good thing the citizens of that state fired that stupid, liberal bitch, Gov. Blanco. They should set their sites on the EEOC mayor, next.
August 31st, 2008 at 12:45 PM
PlymouthDem Says: “The comment isn’t classy.
But, let’s stop and think why Democrats think the timing of Gustav is timely…”
So the dems think it is funny that more people will lose their lives and property? You are showing your true colors PlymouthDem! I guess if your party can kill unborn babies and call it “choice”, it doesn’t worry about spinning a tragedy to it’s favor.
August 31st, 2008 at 12:45 PM
Of course, another difference this time ’round is that maybe the majority of the fat, lazy Democrats who call New Orleans their home will get off their fat, lazy asses when the evacuation call comes. But I’m sure there will still be several fat, criminal Democrats who will stay behind and loot everything left behind.
Maybe Anderson Cooper and the rest of the MSM can get into the city and spread the same litany of absolute lies as they did last time.
August 31st, 2008 at 12:56 PM
“So the dems think it is funny that more people will lose their lives and property? You are showing your true colors PlymouthDem! I guess if your party can kill unborn babies and call it “choiceâ€, it doesn’t worry about spinning a tragedy to it’s favor.”
I don’t think anyone wants disaster in the central coast. But, what it will do is result in media story after media story about Katrina to come in during the convention shedding light on one of the greatest failures by the federal government in the history of the union.
Also, it wasn’t Dems praying for biblical rains to disrupt a convention.. it was whack job republicans:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJY0NuBC7vo&eurl=http://www.dailykos.com/
August 31st, 2008 at 12:58 PM
“Maybe Anderson Cooper and the rest of the MSM can get into the city and spread the same litany of absolute lies as they did last time.”
Yeah those bodies floating through the streets were what, blow up dolls planted by CNN?
August 31st, 2008 at 1:18 PM
“Also, it wasn’t Dems praying for biblical rains to disrupt a convention.. it was whack job republicans:”
Tangential figures versus Democratic Party
power brokers- it’s not the same PD.
But, if you like playing that game, I’ll
take the Repub tangentials who called for
some rain over your heros MM & KO who were
giddy about the potential for death and destruction:
http://www.businessandmedia.org/articles/2008/20080830000004.aspx
August 31st, 2008 at 1:28 PM
“Yeah those bodies floating through the streets…”
Never happened. Yes, some folks died. But the idea that there were bodies floating in the streets is part of the media-manufactured myth.
August 31st, 2008 at 1:31 PM
PD-
You strike me as not so obtuse as to deny that
the reportange done in NO during Katrina was
not the MSM’s finest hour in terms of accuracy,
are you?
http://articles.latimes.com/2005/sep/27/nation/na-rumors27
August 31st, 2008 at 1:37 PM
“Never happened. Yes, some folks died. But the idea that there were bodies floating in the streets is part of the media-manufactured myth.”
Chestnut again allows his naiveness to drive his posts.
Warning: graphic content.
http://cryptome.quintessenz.at/mirror/katdead-01/katrina-dead-01.htm
August 31st, 2008 at 1:41 PM
So, Chestnut… media manufactured myth? I’m guessing AP planted all of those bodies?
August 31st, 2008 at 2:03 PM
Chestnut, can make your point without resorting to namecalling? Just because some of the other posters here do it doesn’t mean you have to as well.
Yes, it was Govenor Blanco’s job to call out the National Guard. Yes, Mayor Nagin should have ordered an evacuation and used the buses. And yes the Feds were blamed for a great deal of things other levels of Government were responsible for.
Bobby Jindal the new Govenor is extremely impressive. I don’t think we will have the same kind of bottle necks at the State lavel this time around. Mayor Nagin has ordered an evacuation, perhaps he has learned from Katrina. The Feds have poured huge amounts of cash into N.O. to get the levees and pumps back into working condition. The Feds have also poured huge amounts of cash into FEMA and have probably reduced the time for Federal response.
Unfortunately, nobody seems to have learned the right lesson. Rebuilding a city that sits below the water level is just asking for trouble.
August 31st, 2008 at 2:18 PM
assuming pd puts all the blame on bush for lack of katrina response, can i assume that bush gets the blame/credit for the response to gustav (which at the moment look superb)???
August 31st, 2008 at 2:21 PM
“assuming pd puts all the blame on bush for lack of katrina response, can i assume that bush gets the blame/credit for the response to gustav (which at the moment look superb)???”
When did I put all of the blame on Bush? I’ve only jumped on people who claim that it was all on the democrat governor of LA.
I would serious hope the Bush administration would get it right given how badly they F’d up the first go around.
August 31st, 2008 at 3:26 PM
Are you as pissed about Bush and FEMA “cronies” ignoring Florida and Mississippi as well, PlymouthDem?
Oh wait, that’s right, they didn’t have complete losers in charge of they’re response to Katrina. Those losers were very good, however, at whining and shifting blame, so you have to give them credit where it is due.
Ever get the feeling that what you believe is driven entirely by political expediency, PlymouthDem? You really should.
August 31st, 2008 at 11:28 PM
Let’s see….PD proves that Chestnut, as usual, is full of shit, but you think PD is driven by political expediency.
That makes you a bootlicker, troy.
September 1st, 2008 at 10:09 AM
Hey Plymouth:
Keep in mind what turned Katrina into a disaster was the leadership of Louisana in 2005. Mississippi was hit harder than New Orleans by Katrina but you heard nothing because the governor of Mississippi Haley Barbor had everything under control in Mississippi.
In New Orleans you had a helpless Mayor who was begging for bus when there were a bunch of school buses to be used and not used. You had a governor who didn’t know what she was doing. Now with an adult governor a proper evacuation of New Orleans took place.
Shows what happens when you have real and good leadership. George Bush was blamed for the mistakes by the Louisiana leadership in 2005.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
September 1st, 2008 at 10:33 AM
Walter, what you are posting is simply not true.
Sure, this is wikipedia, but it’s accurate:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Hurricane_Katrina
On Friday afternoon, colleges in New Orleans were admitting students into the dorms. People – including bus drivers – went home for the weekend. On Saturday, everything changed and on early Monday morning, Katrina made landfall.
No one is “to blame” prior to landfall; there’s a lot of blame for the response after the landfall.
Your response here and your ignoring what really happened shows why Independents no longer align with the Republican Party.
September 1st, 2008 at 11:19 AM
“Keep in mind what turned Katrina into a disaster was the leadership of Louisana in 2005. Mississippi was hit harder than New Orleans by Katrina but you heard nothing because the governor of Mississippi Haley Barbor had everything under control in Mississippi.”
Walter you are as ignorant as Chestnut. Almost 250 people died in Mississippi. And, there were hardly any urban areas the size of New Orleans in Mississippi.
September 1st, 2008 at 11:28 AM
“Are you as pissed about Bush and FEMA “cronies†ignoring Florida and Mississippi as well, PlymouthDem?”
Are Republicans really this ignorant? Katrina hit Florida with just 80 mph winds. And, many people died in Mississippi and the aftermath, given the context, was equally inept. But, none of these areas were the size of an urban area like New Orleans.
Disaster recovery was a debacle by everyone involved, especially the federal government which didn’t mobilize until AFTER the storm hit and allowed itself to get cut off from the city.
“Ever get the feeling that what you believe is driven entirely by political expediency, PlymouthDem? You really should.”
No. But I do get the sense that what I believe is driven by political REALITY. It’s clear on this post that republicans are in some fantasy land where they ignore what really happened. Funny, that’s exactly what Bush did wrong following Katrina.
September 1st, 2008 at 4:09 PM
Plymouth Dem:
Lets keep a point in mind that Democrats keep overlooking. Disasters are always considered to be a local response with the federal government supplying aide to help recover. For example when a blizzard hits Buffalo, NY do we expect the news to be asking when is the Federal government showing up? Just like we don’t ask when the federal government shows up when the blizzard hits Minnesota.
In this case the governor of Lousiana and the mayor of New Orleans had bad plans written up, they ignored people wanting to give advice like Jeb Bush who had to deal with four hurricanes in one month, and no sense of urgency to use resources that were available like the hundreds of school buses that were ideled and than damaged (needing to be replaced because of the floods). That is bad local leadership that can’t be blamed on President Bush.
You know during World War I there was a battle where the Germans were about to make a break through and put Paris in danger. How did the French general get the key reinforcements needed to stop the German attack. The French general took control of literally every single available vehicle and rushed troops to the front line. If the mayor of New Orleans and the governor of Lousiana couldn’t understand that simple concept they didn’t deserve their jobs. Fortunately, one is no longer in office and her replacement did everything right.
You like to say that 200 people died in Mississippi. That was fas less than Lousiana! Of course when the media is obsessed about protraying a disaster taking place to try to get ratings you’re going to hear the worst.
One more thing. Are you blaming the Bush Administration for not having the levies working properly. Oh you can’t since the environmental groups sued to stop better levies from being made. Aren’t these the same groups that said we can’t drill for oil in ANWR and offshore without disaster taking place.
The people to blame are the environmental groups, the governor of Lousiana at the time, and the mayor of New Orleans. That is fact. Quit supporting the myths that the liberal left like to tell to divert attention away from their horrible acts.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
September 1st, 2008 at 6:30 PM
“Lets keep a point in mind that Democrats keep overlooking. Disasters are always considered to be a local response with the federal government supplying aide to help recover. For example when a blizzard hits Buffalo, NY do we expect the news to be asking when is the Federal government showing up? Just like we don’t ask when the federal government shows up when the blizzard hits Minnesota.”
This is complete crap. The first question is when does the president designate the area a federal disaster area so that Federal relief can pile in. Massive disasters are handled by the Federal government. What the hell do you think FEMA was designed for? Not to give your friends kush jobs.
” You know during World War I there was a battle where the Germans were about to make a break through and put Paris in danger. How did the French general get the key reinforcements needed to stop the German attack. The French general took control of literally every single available vehicle and rushed troops to the front line. If the mayor of New Orleans and the governor of Lousiana couldn’t understand that simple concept they didn’t deserve their jobs. Fortunately, one is no longer in office and her replacement did everything right.”
What the hell are you even talking about here? Are you saying Mayor Nagin, with his city in shambles following a hurricane, should have commandeered all of the vehicles in the city that, incidentally, were floating in the flood waters?
“You like to say that 200 people died in Mississippi. That was fas less than Lousiana! Of course when the media is obsessed about protraying a disaster taking place to try to get ratings you’re going to hear the worst.”
No, I don’t like to talk about 200 people dying. But, let’s for the moment. Again, can you point me to a single major metropolitan city in Mississippi that was directly hit by Katrina? New Orleans does not equal coastal and often rural Mississippi.
“One more thing. Are you blaming the Bush Administration for not having the levies working properly. ”
Let’s see, yes, I am. The Army Corps of Engineers? Do you even know what the COMMANDER IN CHIEF does? He’s the head of the military. Now, let’s look at the facts:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/06/01/national/main1675244.shtml
“A contrite U.S. Army Corps of Engineers took responsibility Thursday for the flooding of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina and said the levees failed because they were built in a disjointed fashion using outdated data. ”
Ready to admit you are have no grasp of the facts yet?
“Oh you can’t since the environmental groups sued to stop better levies from being made. Aren’t these the same groups that said we can’t drill for oil in ANWR and offshore without disaster taking place.”
You truly are amazing. The environmental groups did no block levy design, and they certainly didn’t make the corps build them with substandard materials or data. What the environmental groups have been warning about are (1) ensuring we don’t have an environment that creates mega storms (global warming); and (2) not destroying the bayou which acts as a natural barrier to hurricane strength. And, yes, the flooding of New Orleans means we should drill in ANWR. Jesus.
I’m not even going to respond to your last paragraph because it is just an idiotic conclusion.
September 1st, 2008 at 11:39 PM
Plymouth Democrat:
I’m not desperate. To be exact you’re desperate.
There was a story in the Los Angeles Times on September 9, 2005 by Ralph Vartabedian and Peter Pae.
The lead reads as follows:
In the wake of Hurricane Betsy 40 years ago, Congress approved a massive hurricane barrier to protect New Orleans from storm surges that could inundate the city.
But the project signed into law by President Johnson was derailed in 1977 by an ENVIRONMENTAL lawsuit. Now the question is: Could that barrier have protected News Orleans from the damage wrought by Hurricane Katrina?
“If we had built the barriers, New Orleans would not be flooded,” said Joseph Towers the retired chief counsel for the Army Corps of Engineers New Orleans district.
Tomer’s view is endorsed by a former key senator, along with academic experts, who say a hurricane barrier is the only way to control the powerful storm surges that enter Lake Pontchartrain and threaten the city. Other experts are less sure, saying the barrier would have been no match for Katrina.
The project was stopped in its tracks when an environmental lawsuit won a federal injunction on the grounds that the Army’s environmental impact statement was flawed. By the mid-1980s the Corps of Engineers abandoned the project.
*****
I can go on, but the article clearly showed that they were trying to fix the problem since the Johnson administation and that environmental lawsuits stopped the project. The only thing that the army corp of engineers did was not win the lawsuit to build the project.
FEMA was designed to respond to a nuclear attack. They have been turned into a natural disaster aide organization! Once again you’re not informed!
Plymouth those buses were parked in a parking lot and not taken out. They got flooded. If you put two and two together a person who knew what they were doing would’ve used the buses to help try to get people out of New Orleans. He didn’t! He blew it!!! And the only reason why he didn’t blow it this year was because the governor of Louisiana who knew what he was doing unlike the lady in 2005 got the job done!
Sorry Plymouth, but the LA Times in 2005 exposed your lie that it was the Bush’s Administration’s vault.
Once again you tried to end with the lie that environmental groups did nothing wrong. As per the LA Times once again, “But the project, signed into law by President Johnson, was derailed in 1977 by an environmental lawsuit.”
THE LA TIMES ISN’T PART OF THE RIGHT WING MEDIA YOU LAUGH AT!!!
Game! Set! Match! Me!
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
September 2nd, 2008 at 9:16 AM
“I can go on, but the article clearly showed that they were trying to fix the problem since the Johnson administation and that environmental lawsuits stopped the project. The only thing that the army corp of engineers did was not win the lawsuit to build the project.”
You truly are dumb. I can’t stop myself from saying it anymore. Once again you have zero understanding of the facts of either history or the present. Let’s start with the later, it is your argument that a 1970s environmental lawsuit led the corps to build the existing levies with inferior technology using flawed mathematics? Because I don’t recall them saying the lawsuit made us F this up in their comments post Katrina.
Now, let’s talk about the past. The barrier you are talking about failed to get implemented for three reasons: (1) because the corps didn’t do an environmental study, namely discovering it would destroy wetlands that most scientists actually believe are MORE IMPORTANT to preventing damage to the bayou — specifically it zaps energy from the hurricane before it hits the likes of New Orleans; (2) CONSERVATIVES’ position on property takings. Even if the Corps weren’t blocked by a lawsuit they couldn’t get the land anyway because of takings laws; and (3) the corps never met their mandate to show a cost benefit for the barriers. So, even if there weren’t an environmental lawsuit (which there should have been because the project would have done more harm than good) it wouldn’t have mattered. Why didn’t the corps just do the environmental assessment Walter? Nice job trying to cut all of that out of the article though!
Here’s the kicker. When the corps finally DID do the environmental study required by the lawsuit, they concluded that building up the existing levees would be a far superior option than the barrier proposed by the legislation. Whoops. Sorry, Walter.
“Judge Charles Schwartz orders the Army Corps of Engineers to do a new Environmental Impact Study on the Lake Pontchartrain and Vicinity Hurricane Barrier Project. During the trial one of the key arguments of Save Our Wetlands was that alternative hurricane protection measures should be considered including building up preexisting levees. The new EIS conducted by the Corps concludes that building up the existing levees is in fact a better alternative to the Hurricane Barrier Project ….. Under the guise of hurricane protection, this project was not only going to destroy Lake Pontchartrain but was in fact going to drain the wetlands of New Orleans East and promote development in these newly drained areas, regardless of the fact that they would have been highly susceptible to flooding due to hurricane tidal surges. This project was also going to create hundreds of millions of dollars in dredging contracts for F. Edward Herbert political supporters and for the cronies of the Orleans Levee Board.”
Nice try Walter, but, once again, you are proven to lack any actual knowledge behind what you say.
September 2nd, 2008 at 9:18 AM
“FEMA was designed to respond to a nuclear attack. They have been turned into a natural disaster aide organization! Once again you’re not informed!”
How again does this random statement do anything to negate the fact that FEMA is responsible for major national disasters such as caused by hurricanes?
September 3rd, 2008 at 11:13 PM
Plymouth:
Since you have admitted you live on another planet lets admit this. You clearly have ducked the facts. The dike wasn’t built because it was stopped by an environmental lawsuit. The same environmental groups that tell us we shouldn’t drill for oil in ANWR and offshore.
The fact that you try to ignore facts shows you only want to engage in an argument if people agree with your views.
Go back to kindergarten and start your education again. You might actually come back being able to think.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN