I am a Republican and would like to talk for a moment

[Blitzburgh]

I have been upfront and honest with you as to who I am and what I am doing here. (I cannot be a complete Repub as I voted for John Kerry...cannot stand GWB)

I have been on numerous other boards and something is starting to concern me and FWIW, I want to bring this to your attention. I have noticed an alarming trend on other websites (no, not FreeRepublic - I am not even registered there and have never spent more than 10 minutes there) that are starting to backlash against the victims. i.e. here is a copy paste.

"...I believe that some of these comments are going to backfire. We are being insulted, accused of being racist, and then asked us for money. Why do you alienate and insult people that are going 'above and beyond' to help you. It just doesn't make sense....

"...How can anyone in their right mind possible believe this. Do they really think that President Bush, Cheney, the leaders of the military, FEMA, etc, just sat around and said lets delay things because most of New Orleans is Black! I furious just thinking about it..."

"...that's been bugging me too, these so called activist leaders are sticking their hands out and at the same time calling us names..."

"...I've watched a lot of tv the last few days... have they checked the color of most of the reporters in there risking there lives to cover the story... white, have they checked the color of the majority of the relief workers, I started paying attention... and it's white. race has nothing to do with this. idiots shooting at relief workers and poor planning (isn't the mayor black?) have more to do with the slowness than anything else..."

I believe as many here have pointed out, that virtually everyone agrees this evacuation was a disaster.

My wife and I had a large argument the other day about future planning. In the end, I reminded her that it only took the LARGEST disaster in America's history to make her right. Folks, from my perspective, it is just that. An unimmaginable disaster on the scale of never before.

Like I said, I did not vote for GWB. Still wouldn't. But you are beating a sitting President and it may backfire IMO. Throw in the fact that virtually none of you are willing to hammer the Mayor. If you stand by the fact that the poor had no means of leaving, you will have this picture thrown in your face a 1,000 times.



Rows upon rows upon rows of buses that could have been utilized by this very mayor you are praising.

As for my wife and I, we have already done something for these poor people and I intend to do more. But, possibly it may be time to give it a rest and start working on solutions instead of harping on problems.

Okay, shoot the messanger.

[karlrschneider]

1. BANG.

.

[Obamarama]

2. Oh great...now we get to hear from the peanut gallery. n/t

[GreenPartyVoter]

3. Evacuating before the storm was more on the shoulders of the

Mayor and governor, but if they needed help the feds should have been there.

After the storm it was ALL about Homeland Security. They ARE the first responders in a major disaster. They should have been there as soon as the winds died down and not a second later.



-----------------------------------------------------
Would Jesus love a liberal? You bet!
http://timeforachange.bluelemur.com/liberalchristians.htm

[elehhhhna]

4. A REAL President would have ridden a fukkin ALLIGATOR to help

American people in extreme danger.

Your boy screwed the voodoo pooch, sporty.

[LSK]

5. EXCUSE ME!!! but the Mayors city just went through a hurricane

What the hell do you expect the mayor to do??? His city has no power, no comunications, half the police force just survived a HURRICANE, who knows how many city vehicles and buildings were damaged!!!

WHAT DO YOU EXPECT THE MAYOR TO HAVE DONE?????????

This is a disaster that NO CITY could handle on its own. NONE!!!

This is the exact reason that FEMA exists.

I am sorry to come off yelling at you, but blaming a mayor whos city just survived a HURRICANE is just beyond belief!!

[LSK]

7. in addition, i think something like 75% of the city was evacuated n/t

[speedoo]

6. I agree with you.

I think the Mayor's performance in this disaster is a huge weakness in our case against the Feds.

It appears to be a fact that he failed to develop, much less implement, an evacuation plan that would account for the City's huge poor population. And that is incomprehensible to me.

[PatriotGames]

8. Points taken, Discuss.

I can see where you are coming from on some of these things.

[derby378]

9. An ounce of prevention is still worth a pound of cure

I appreciate your frustration, but both Republicans and Democrats failed New Orleans in the realm of long-term planning. And it was GWB who slashed the funds that could have at least mitigated the flooding NO would experience if a Category 5 hurricane bullseyed them.

[blonndee]

10. Straight from the horse's mouth:

From the Department of Homeland Security's website:

Preparing America

In the event of a terrorist attack, natural disaster or other large-scale emergency, the Department of Homeland Security will assume primary responsibility on March 1st for ensuring that emergency response professionals are prepared for any situation. This will entail providing a coordinated, comprehensive federal response to any large-scale crisis and mounting a swift and effective recovery effort. The new Department will also prioritize the important issue of citizen preparedness. Educating America's families on how best to prepare their homes for a disaster and tips for citizens on how to respond in a crisis will be given special attention at DHS.

http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/theme_home2.jsp

[steve2470]

11. Bilions of points for being honest.

However, if we speak rationally to power and leave out the tin foil stuff and really over the top stuff, we will help the American people.

[Walt Starr]

12. Sorry, the failure to respond was classist acism, nothing more. n/t

[stepnw1f]

13. The Problem=Bush

We aren't just harping on problems... we are solving them by addressing them. The backfiring you talk about is just not looking so bad.

Bush cannot hide from the fact that he underfunded NO and depleted National Guard numbers. He also got caught delaying relief efforts.

[The Magistrate]

14. Locking

Flame-Bait