Senator Lieberman Says U.S. Should `Dissolve' Embattled FEMA

[KittyWampus]

Instead of lauding how FEMA operated well and served Americans faithfully under Clinton when a responsible POTUS appointed someone QUALIFIED to head FEMA...

Instead of lambasting Bush and the GOP for folding FEMA into the new DHS...

Instead of saying FEMA should become a seperate Department accountable to POTUS the way the DEMOCRATIC PARTY is doing....

Fucking Joe Lieberman stabs the American people and the Left in the back again.

From LBN posted by sabra
Senator Lieberman Says U.S. Should `Dissolve' Embattled FEMA


Feb. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Senator Joseph Lieberman, the senior Democrat on the Senate homeland security panel, said the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency should be abolished in light of its performance in handling Hurricane Katrina's devastation.

Lieberman, from Connecticut, said the agency, which oversees the federal response to natural disasters, should be taken apart and a different organization should be created in its place.

``It's time for FEMA as we know it to go,'' he said on ABC's ``This Week.'' ``It's time to dissolve and rebuild it within'' the Homeland Security Department.

FEMA has been at the center of criticism of the Bush administration's response to the storm, which struck the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29, forcing the evacuation of New Orleans.

[Divernan]

1. It's time for FEMA to be returned to cabinet level status and

brought up to fighting level strength. Rehire all the mid and top level, well experienced emergency professionals who took early retirement or were otherwise driven out by Bush's appointees, Joe Albaugh and Brownie.

I mean, these were the Americans with the greatest knowledge and experience and proven track records in responding to disasters.

Why is Lieberman doing this? It presents the perfect opportunity for Bush to privatize the whole emergency response field - which he's doing a lot of already. Something must be in this for Joe or his nearest and dearest.

[kentuck]

2. Joe can never admit he made a mistake....

He was one of the leaders in creating the Homeland Security Dept, and now he doesn't want to admit it was a major screw-up. Just like he would never admit that he may have cost Al Gore the election in 2000 by his rush to get on TV and defend the Republican position that all military votes should be counted, even if the dates on the ballots were invalid, and many may have been cast after the election. But, Joe said when our military are risking their lives "over there", their votes should be counted no matter what. Thanks Joe!

[KittyWampus]

3. Did Joe make 'mistakes', I now seriously question his intentions

[deminks]

4. His Republican counterpart, Mr. Davis, is making democratic

noises for us. He advocated taking FEMA out of DHS and making it a cabinet position. He talked about how it worked when the FEMA head was the right hand of the president (did not mention any particular president). He was saying FEMA is about recovery and DHS is about preparedness, and they are two different things. Mr. Davis was talking about how the WH did not respond to requests for documentation and information. Mr. Davis talked about how the committee ran out of time and could not subpoena the WH. I was surprised that a Republican was talking like a Democrat this morning, but wholly embarrassed at the Democrat for talking like a fool. IIRC.