RNC Talking Points Leaked on Randi Rhodes Show 9/9/05

[reprehensor]

On the Friday, September 9th Randi Rhodes show, Randi read from what she said were the official RNC Talking Points for this weekend on air. She said there were 8 pages worth! These points are directed to pundits and pols who shill for their Dark Master.

Here are some verbatim points;

“The most important thing every single one of us can do is show our compassion. Contribute to disaster relief funds; Red Cross, Salvation Army.

The focus should be on helping people recover, not playing the blame game.

The eagerness of some to play the blame game and blame President Bush for everything from the levee breach to the hurricane itself is a disappointing reaction to an extreme tragedy we’re only beginning to understand.

Using the coverage of this disaster as a media hole to make political accusations, introduce knee-jerk legislation, or grandstand while victims are suffering is totally outrageous!”

(Apparently, President Bush didn’t get the memo. http://newstandardnews.net/content/index.cfm/items/2339 )

In a separate section called;

DEMOCRATS, POLITICAL RESPONSE, AND IRRESPONSIBLE RHETORIC

This section picks out targets for Bush-friendly pundits to direct their fire at. Specifically;

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, and MoveOn.org.

“…televised images of poverty-sticken evacuees from hurricane Katrina are nothing more than a provocative last-minute effort by a liberal interest group… MoveOn.org.”

Sen. Harry Reid, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, DNC Chairman Howard Dean, Sen. Hillary Clinton, Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, Rep. Rahm Emanuel, Rep. Elijah Cummings are all to draw fire this weekend, September 9th – 11th.

Of course, Blanco and Negin are to be vilified and blamed for the post Katrina tragedy.

According to Randi, the memo goes on to say that when doing ‘response analysis’, invoke this Wall Street Journal OpEd;

‘Blame Amid the Tragedy’ by Bob Williams.
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/0,,SB112596602138332256-IVjf4NilaJ4nZupaoGGa6uBm4,00.html

Invoke it and blame Negin and Blanco for the inability for poor people to evacuate.

And quote Michael Grunwald from the Washington Post;

'Money Flowed to Questionable Projects'
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/07/AR2005090702462.html

“Over the five years of President Bush’s administration Louisiana has received far more money for core civil works projects than any other state.”

Use passages from this Washington Times editorial;

‘The Governor Procrastinates’
http://washingtontimes.com/op-ed/20050906-093817-7790r.htm

‘Governor Blanco did not accept the offer of additional troops when it was offered.’

‘To the dismay of New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, the governor told the president she wanted 24 hours to decide whether to accept the offer because Mr. Bush, as commander-in-chief, wanted control of the troops.’

The Bob Williams OpEd is to be cited extensively;

‘The evacuation plan warned that "if an evacuation order is issued without the mechanisms needed to disseminate the information to the affected persons, then we face the possibility of having large numbers of people either stranded and left to the mercy of a storm, or left in an area impacted by toxic materials." That is precisely what happened because of the mayor's failure.’

‘Instead of evacuating the people, the mayor ordered the refugees to the Superdome and Convention Center without adequate security and no provisions for food, water and sanitary conditions.’

‘In addition, unlike the governors of New York, Oklahoma and California in past disasters, Gov. Blanco failed to take charge of the situation and ensure that the state emergency operation facility was in constant contact with Mayor Nagin and FEMA.’

‘Mayor Nagin had to be encouraged by the governor to contact the National Hurricane Center before he finally, belatedly, issued the order for mandatory evacuation. And sadly, it apparently took a personal call from the president to urge the governor to order the mandatory evacuation.’

--------------------------

In other words, don’t play the blame game unless you intend to win.
Download the September 9th show here, FFWD to the 3:09:25 mark, the talking points dominate the hour.
http://www.whiterosesociety.org/Rhodes.html

If you watch the Sunday political shows, let's see how accurate Randi was!

--------------------------

Catapulting Katrina

[Garbo 2004]

1. I recall Blitzer sounded as if he was using the talking pts like a cue

card. And I'm sure he was. (Yeah I heard Randi too.)

I recall once Keith Olberman mentioned their news operation had been faxed talking points to "help" them with their discussion of an issue. He didn't use them of course, just ratted out the practice.

[eleny]

2. My responses

These are my responses pretty much point by point.

Our blaming is not right. But the right have been blaming, also. And that includes blaming the Fed/President.

Showing bodies is irresponsible? Not showing them is a cover up and the same tactic as shielding Americans from the deaths in Iraq. The right wing doesn't define or determine was responsibility is. I determine and define that for myself. They're ruining America and have no level of moral authority. Destroying FEMA is the glaring example of where their priorities sit.

Those who will draw fire on the left are our heroes. Their mission is to preserve the lives of the working class and bring the poor into the working class. The right abandons both.

Blame the locals? Okay, blame them. So why didn't the administration use its clout to help clear up any corruption or malfeasance? Bush preferred to eat his cake while Cheney went house hunting during the storm. *Now* you care? Hardly credible.

The governor didn't procrastinate. She requested help two days before the storm hit. The administration procrastinated up and down the chain of command. So, lying is part of the talking point strategy this weekend?

Blaming Nagin? Hmmm.... I thought this was a time of national tragedy when no blame should be assigned. We're supposed to be showing compassion for those affected by the storm. Don't you even follow your own talking points? Hmmmm? See talking point numero uno.

And that's off the top of my head. These are easy to refute and smash.

Now let them explain the hatefulness of their right wing talking heads on radio. I'd tell them to go clean house before they throw stones.


Edit - I'm listening to NPR's Ira Glass right now. First hand accounts of NOLA residents. No number of talking points will be able to survive these first hand accounts that we'll be exposed to forever. The backlash is coming. The right wing needs to beware and prepare for the concussion.

[Gregorian]

3. Don't read, just sign!

Don't ask why there was a disaster in the first place.
Don't think, just be good little republican robots.

How can they show compassion if they are just following orders? Compassion comes from within. Kind of like democracy. They don't see it. I never liked the "just do it" mentality. Lemmings are followers. Look where it gets them.

Next time they enter into a contract, I dare them to not read the fine print. Don't worry, everything is just fine.

[eleny]

4. Compassion isn't included in the Republican kit

[Lochloosa]

5. It did not say "be compassionate" it said show our compassion

BIG difference

[eleny]

7. That's why their display of compassion falls short of any credibility

[Nothing Without Hope]

6. I saw Blitzer last night, and he was definitely in the GOP bag. I'm sure

those New Orleans school busses - endlessly hyped as "proof" that Mayor Nagin was responsible for the deaths of New Orleans people - must be on the list of talking points somewhere.

In his interview with Howard Dean, The Beard repeatedly harped on these talking points. It was sickening. And Howard needs to be better at answering these "charges." He could have had a much better response to the "school busses" card, one that would show the truth. He did respond, but I doubt many people followed the point he was trying to make. Wolfie showed the same old photo of the flooded school busses, and I think that carried the argument without reference to vital facts. Nagin was "convicted" on-air without the facts being known.

Our spokespeople need to be prepared to answer all these bogus talking points. You can bet they'll be pushed again and again to convince the American people the Bush Administration was not to blame, it was the state and local people.

This is not just to escape blame. It's also, I strongly believe, to prepare the way for Pentagon-directed domestic civil control: martial law. (Doubtless they'll call it something like "Operation Safe America.") Hey, if the locals and the state can't save you from natural disasters or from "looters™," the Pentagon has just the answer for you! THis is NOT tinfoilhattery, there is a huge mass of documentation that this has long been a plan, and evidence shows they are trying to use the hurricane and its manipulated aftermath as the trigger.

Read more in this post and follow the links to more:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=1765780&mesg_id=1766896
This is just the tip of the iceberg. I've been researching this, and the evidence is damning.

[Gabi Hayes]

9. can't tell you how much I agree with your Dean/bus analysis

he blew that big time by not having a soundbyte comeback that would throw it back in Wolfie's face

that's the dem problem in a nutshell....they frame the debate in their terms, and the dems ALWAYS fall for it. they need to play it the pug way: turn it BACK on them

he coulda said that Guiliani was similarly responsible for the deaths of EVERYBODY in the second WTC tower for not instantly evacuating after the first plane hit


can you imagine Leslie's response to that?

and your link should be a thread of its own

[Nothing Without Hope]

23. I've tried to post a thread on this and it rose immediately to the

Greatest Page where it was promptly vaporized out of existence. Not locked, but "disappeared" so no one can ever see it. Because I was busy headsupping some people from whom I wanted criticism of the ideas, I never even got to read the comments, I was too slow. Within half an hour of posting, it was GONE. Someone at DU clearly views discussion of the factual history; the known laws, plans and statements; and their extremely logical application to what is happening as wild, embarrassing conspiracy theorizing. I've been pulling my hair with frustration, because we ignore all this at our peril, and it would appear to be a target of censorship. Hey, if it has even a 10% chance of being all true, hadn't we better prepare ourselves to block it?

[Mr Rabble]

20. N_W_H is absolutely right here.

How was Dean so under-prepared for this line of questioning?

There have been numerous threads here @ DU detailing why this issue is not only easy to debunk, but totally irrelevant to the criminal activity of the * administration.

[Amonester]

8. Wait a minute... (scratch... scratch... scratch... (my hair):))

First, this:

"The eagerness of some to play the blame game and blame President Bush for everything from the levee breach to the hurricane itself is a disappointing reaction to an extreme tragedy we’re only beginning to understand."


And then, that:


"Invoke it and blame Negin and Blanco for the inability for poor people to evacuate."



Any Flip-floppin' to take out with it?

[reprehensor]

10. I recommend downloading the MP3.

She talked for a good 40 minutes on topics directly related to and around the points.

It's better than my transcript.

[Amonester]

16. Thank you! Good find. Same necon patterns (they're gettin' old).

Recommend.

[Just Me]

11. Maybe, we should do a weekly media blitz: "We got their talking points,...

,...we'll be watchin' to see if you got them, too". }(

[Podface]

12. The Real Spin

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4728071

[G_j]

13. Special Report with Brit Hume Following White House's lead

http://mediamatters.org/items/200509100003

Following White House's lead, Special Report investigation into Katrina response shifted blame to state, local officials

In news segments on four successive nights, correspondents for Fox News' Special Report with Brit Hume have focused blame for the widely criticized response to Hurricane Katrina almost entirely on state and local officials, largely ignoring the federal government's widely reported failures in handling the hurricane and its aftermath. Special Report's focus on the failures of state and local officials reflected an alleged White House public relations strategy -- as recently reported by The New York Times and The Washington Post -- to deflect blame onto the Louisiana governor and state agencies.

According to Special Report host Brit Hume, Fox News congressional correspondent Brian Wilson's September 5 report would provide insight into "ho has authority to organize relief and rescue in times of natural disaster." But Wilson placed the blame squarely on local officials. After asserting that "city and county leaders across the Gulf Coast were calling the shots" when Katrina first approached the Gulf of Mexico, Wilson baselessly claimed that New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin ordered the mandatory evacuation of New Orleans "only after President Bush insisted that he do so." As Media Matters for America has noted, news reports indicate that Bush called Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco -- not Nagin -- on the morning of August 28 to ensure that such precautions would be taken, and Blanco stated that Bush called "just before" she and Nagin walked into a press conference to announce the mandatory evacuation, casting doubt over Wilson's claim that Bush's phone call triggered the decision to evacuate.

Wilson's report also defended the federal response to the hurricane. Wilson claimed that "federal resources were being pre-deployed two days before the hurricane hit land," and in any event, "experts we spoke with today said that state and local planners should always operate under the assumption that, in a major natural disaster, it will take 48 hours for the federal government to respond in a meaningful way." The only "experts" Wilson cited in his report were current and former Bush administration officials: Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) director Michael D. Brown, former Bush administration homeland security official Frank J. Cilluffo, and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.

Hume provided a similar introduction to a news segment by Fox News correspondent Major Garrett on September 6, suggesting that in light of the "near universal agreement among politicians and the press alike that there was a major failure by the federal government," Garrett's report would help answer "ow much responsibility belongs there, and how much may belong elsewhere." But Garrett's report also focused almost entirely on the actions of local and state officials. Of the six rhetorical questions Garrett included in the "raft of nagging questions" remaining after the hurricane, five dealt exclusively with the state and local response. Some of those questions included: "Did New Orleans assume lead authority for dealing with Katrina?," "When did New Orleans officials tell residents to evacuate?," and "Did Democratic Governor Kathleen Blanco hesitate when offered federal military aid?" Only one of Garrett's answers even suggested that the federal government might share responsibility: "Did New Orleans and federal officials know how dangerous Katrina could be? Yes."

..more..

[reprehensor]

25. Brit Hume, Bush lapdog.

Does he check with the White House to see what kind of undies to wear?

Loser.

[MADem]

14. Why this BLAME GAME SHIT is BACKFIRING

Many people out there are, sad to say, STUPID. They keep hearing the word BLAME coming out of GOP mouths, and they are making the connection that these clowns are indeed to BLAME and gosh, they think it is a GAME.

Pisspoor choice of words, frankly. Laziness on the part of the GOP 'brains' who thought it up.

Good!!!!

[dbt]

15. Kick!

Remember New Orleans.

[BrklynLiberal]

17. kick

[crispini]

18. .

:kick:

[tallahasseedem]

19. Hopefully our Democratic "leaders".....

will be prepared for this.

[NVMojo]

21. HAHAAHA!! the fuckers are worried!!!

[linazelle]

22. Need to watch the pundits and see if they spew this stuff...and post here

[Nothing Without Hope]

24. Except for the school busses, Oliphant got the GOP talking points right

days ago:



And isn't there something incredibly unnatural and repulsive about talking points based on Karl Rove schemes even MENTIONING the word "compassion"? It's the ultimate hyprocrisy, and incredible insult to all feeling human beings.