Now they're blaming President Obama for Katrina

[babylonsister]

Posted with permission.

http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/08/21/20121741-forgetting-the-relevant-katrina-detail-eight-years-later?lite

Forgetting the relevant Katrina detail, eight years later
By Steve Benen
-
Wed Aug 21, 2013 3:12 PM EDT


How much do Louisiana Republicans dislike President Obama? Many of them blame him for the government's tragic response to Hurricane Katrina -- which struck the state more three years before Obama took office.

The latest survey from Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling, provided exclusively to TPM, showed an eye-popping divide among Republicans in the Bayou State when it comes to accountability for the government's post-Katrina blunders.

Twenty-eight percent said they think former President George W. Bush, who was in office at the time, was more responsible for the poor federal response while 29 percent said Obama, who was still a freshman U.S. Senator when the storm battered the Gulf Coast in 2005, was more responsible. Nearly half of Louisiana Republicans -- 44 percent -- said they aren't sure who to blame.

I realize that 2005 was a while ago, and among Republicans there's some disagreement about the efficacy of George W. Bush's handling of the crisis, but the PPP results really don't make any sense.

So what explains this? There are a couple of things to keep in mind. First, it's possible that after several years in which the political world described all sorts of different developments as "Obama's Katrina," a lot of folks may have gotten confused and started to connect the words "Obama" and "Katrina" in a mistaken way.

Second, let's not underestimate the scope of reflexive GOP opposition to the president, in Louisiana and elsewhere, and the way in which that leads Republican to blame Obama for just about anything. More Louisiana Republicans blame Obama than Bush for the response to Katrina, which obviously don't make sense, but I imagine if PPP asked, a non-trivial number of Louisiana Republicans would also blame the president for 9/11, Watergate, the Hindenburg disaster, the 1919 White Sox, and the U.S. Civil War.

In other words, Louisiana Republicans may say they blame Obama for the response to Katrina, but what they're really saying is they just hate the president and blame him reflexively for everything.

[EC]

1. So now maybe the media and pundits

will start reporting that these repubs that scream the loudest are screaming about somethings they know nothing about? Bring back the phrase"no nothings" and maybe embarrass them enough to send them into hiding? But I'm thinking they are proud of being dumb.

[RevStPatrick]

3. Do you mean the "Know Nothings"?

The irony is that the "Know Nothings" REALLY WERE the spiritual great-great-grandparents of the Tea Party. Or should I say of the Tea Baggers? The Boston Tea Party was an anti-corporate action, but the Baggers wouldn't know that if you smashed them in the face with it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Know_Nothings

[EC]

4. yep, them...

just noticed I wrote no instead of know...wow, I became dumb just from reading the original post.

[arcane1]

2. Santorum blamed Obama for the 2008 financial crisis and bailout, too.

When your entire base consists of "low-information voters" you can convince them of anything

[AtomicKitten]

5. The Know Nothing Party rears its ugly head again.

herp derp