Rep. Blackburn: "We're not going to cry 'emergency' every time we have a Katrina.'

[babylonsister]

Run time: 00:26 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_xnUVrJx1I   Posted on YouTube: July 22, 2009 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: July 22, 2009 By DU Member: babylonsister Views on DU: 4785

 
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2009_07/019183.php

KATRINA WASN'T AN EMERGENCY?.... Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R), a far-right lawmaker from Tennessee, was on the House floor this morning, extolling the virtues of a balanced budget and PAYGO rules. Blackburn lost sight of these concerns during the Bush/Cheney years, but there's a lot of that going around.

But as part of her speech, Blackburn said PAYGO rules are not, in and of themselves, good enough, because lawmakers can point to emergencies or crises that occasionally warrant exceptions to the spending rules. That, Blackburn said, is the problem.

"Let's agree that we're going to have PAYGO enforcement," she told her colleagues. "That we're not going to cry 'emergency' every time we have a Katrina, every time we have a tsunami, every time we have a need for extra spending, that we don't go call for a special appropriation that allows us to circumvent the PAYGO rules."

This is awfully nutty. Chris Harris reminds us that Hurricane Katrina killed 1,464 people in Louisiana alone. "While we can all appreciate the benefits of a balanced budget, those benefits pale in comparison to the virtues of saving lives in the midst of an actual emergency. If saving thousands of lives costs a few extra dollars, so be it. That's why it's an 'emergency.'"

I'm curious what Blackburn would say the next time there is a catastrophe on U.S. soil. "Sorry, PAYGO is more important than the emergency"?

Republican lawmakers are supposed to have some kind of internal check, reminding them to turn down the crazy while speaking in public. It's amazing how often that check doesn't work.

—Steve Benen

[LynneSin]

1. Must be nice to live safely away in a non-coastal state like Tennessee

:grr:

[GreenPartyVoter]

8. Imagine if they'd had tornadoes that caused the amount of death and

destruction Katrina did. Think she would have considered _that_ an emergency?

[PatSeg]

21. Oops, sorry about that devastating tornado,

but it's not included in the budget. You're on your own. Better luck next time.

[AlbertCat]

31. Uh...the Mississippi can flood there too, y'know.

And there are forest fires in a heavily forested mountain state.

And they had earthquakes back in 1800 and...something that were so violent it threw folks out of their beds and the Mississippi flowed backward.

(But not as backward as Rep Blackburn)


No state is immune to disasters.

[Joe Bacon]

44. Just wait till the New Madrid fault breaks!

This idiot will be begging for money when the New Madrid fault goes again.

[GTurck]

62. TN was...

the location of the most powerful earthquake recorded in this country; the New Madrid event in 1811. It is expected to occur again at any time. Blackburn most likely would be one of those who would demand that the US help in rescue and rebuilding. Of course then pay-go wouldn't matter, for her. It only matters when it wouldn't effect her or her family.
Now you know the criteria for compassion: only when it matters personally to me.

[pattmarty]

65. Yeah, like Tennessee is somehow like NYC with tons of money and millionaires.

You really have to wonder about the voters in their districts. Her, Bachman (Mn), King (Ia), and a lot of others like them. They fucking live in the twilight zone.

[Tanuki]

70. Tennessee gets frequent destructive tornados,

we are at risk of catastrophic collapses of aging dams, and as others have pointed out below we are on the New Madrid earthquake fault line (which rang church bells as far away as Boston and changed the course of the Mississippi River the last time it did its thing, in the early 1800s). Blackburn is a crackpot and a corporate stooge. You give her way too much credit if you think she is basing anything she says on an analysis of the needs/interests of the people of her district.

[TwilightGardener]

2. What constitutes an emergency for Republicans, then?

White people being drowned by the thousands?

[phantom power]

3. CEOs in need of bailouts.

[TwilightGardener]

5. True that.

[indimuse]

6. NO!!!

A BLACK man in the Whitehouse!!! :mad:

I'm really starting to HATE these scum...

[havocmom]

9. White bankers drowning in bad debts is more their idea of an emergency

White stock brokers too.

[bertman]

13. Beautiful analogy, havocmom!!

[Chulanowa]

30. A white chick being taken off life support after being declared brain dead

We can convene an emergency session of Congress, pass a new law for this one person and ONLY this one person, and it's a national crisis and cause for prayer.

She will now complain about being attacked for her "fiscal responsibility" ratehr than the fact she said the most asinine thing i've heard in two years

[Enthusiast]

34. People of color

moving into their schools and neighborhood. And what if black kids went to all white swimming pools? That would constitute a TRUE emergency. :sarcasm:

[unapatriciated]

54. nope,

only old rich christian white people, preferably male.

[Thor_MN]

60. War materials companies with excess production capacity

[OwnedByFerrets]

74. Tax dollars to fund an illegal war.

[tomm2thumbs]

4. crazy as a fox! (with brain injuries)

[AspenRose]

7. Marsha Blackburn....listed as a member of "The Family."

Quelle surprise.

[havocmom]

10. Adams or Manson's

:shrug: Could go either way from my point of view.

[AspenRose]

12. ROFL

:rofl:

[LynneSin]

14. Worse - David Coe, who says it's ok 2 rape 3 girls if you're a member of the family

since they are above the law

[aquart]

18. Texting from your phone? Playing a rebus game?

[LynneSin]

19. ??

:shrug:

The article is (was) on the DU homepage

[AlbertCat]

32. Adams or Manson's

Good one!...
BTW, it's Addams.

[AlbertCat]

35. Dup

Oops!

[ellenfl]

80. huh? oh, you mean the 'addams family'. eom

[spiritual_gunfighter]

15. And has signed on to the "check the birth certificate" bill n/t

[burning rain]

22. So, who's she banging?

~

[Shallah Kali]

40. Yep right here in Sharlet's Salon piece on these facists w/a thin veneer of Christianity

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2009/07/21/c_street/print.html

Today's roll call is just as impressive: Men under the Family's religio-political counsel include, in addition to Ensign, Coburn and Pickering, Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Jim DeMint and Lindsey Graham, both R-S.C.; James Inhofe, R-Okla., John Thune, R-S.D., and recent senators and high officials such as John Ashcroft, Ed Meese, Pete Domenici and Don Nickles. Over in the House there's Joe Pitts, R-Penn., Frank Wolf, R-Va., Zach Wamp, R-Tenn., Robert Aderholt, R-Ala., Ander Crenshaw, R-Fla., Todd Tiahrt, R-Kan., Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., Jo Ann Emerson, R-Mo., and John R. Carter, R-Texas. Historically, the Family has been strongly Republican, but it includes Democrats, too. There's Mike McIntyre of North Carolina, for instance, a vocal defender of putting the Ten Commandments in public places, and Sen. Mark Pryor, the pro-war Arkansas Democrat responsible for scuttling Obama's labor agenda. Sen. Pryor explained to me the meaning of bipartisanship he'd learned through the Family: "Jesus didn't come to take sides. He came to take over." And by Jesus, the Family means the Family.

[sasquatch]

11. What a fucking loon!

:wtf:

[Bankhead_ATL]

16. She soo sad....but she not bad looking...but still so sad :(

[PSzymeczek]

46. Keith! Come Back!

The Yankees will go on without you. Crap is happening that needs to be called out as the Worst Persons!

[jmondine]

17. Oh, this needs to go Viral.

The media needs to crucify her for this.
Start with Keith making her the Worst Person in the World.

[Piewhacket]

20. She needs a "Turn down the crazy" light on the podium. (permanently on!) hey!

[Hulk]

23. Yeah...Jesus....don't be crying "emergency" the next time we have a Katrina....

Just keep bobbing until the water receeds. Is this idiot STILL in Congress?? She is pretty...yes. She is brain dead stupid....DEFINITELY!! What an ass-wipe!

[PSzymeczek]

47. Pretty. Doesn't. Matter. She's Dumb. n/t

[lobodons]

24. We want our money back!!

FEMA Provides More Than $37 Million To Evacuees In Tennessee

http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=19333

[snake in the grass]

25. I'd go insane...

...if I had this country bumpkin representing me. What a waste of protoplasm.

[dgibby]

26. Forwarded to Rachel.

With this comment: A "Family" Birther at work. Hope she uses it!

[N.Y. to Paris]

28. Thanks for forwarding this to Rach

I live in this state, and it seems everytime I turn around....one of our "Reps" comes up with yet another........"wait, dare I say it?" ok, I will, "Fucking Brilliant" ideas!!! like; how about making it perfectly ok to carry guns in bars!! Jesus! why didn't I think of that? How do they do it? Or this totally invalidating and flippant remark about the pain and suffering those people had to, and still have to endure. PIGS!!!! It makes me want to start learning the fine art of "projectile vomiting" just in case I ever come face to face with one of these heartless fucks! I'm sorry ....was that out loud????

[dgibby]

29. I hear you.

I live in SC, where we're treated to the likes of Sanford, Graham, and DeMint, our answer to the 3 Stooges! Talk about taxation without representation!

[AlbertCat]

36. we're treated to the likes of Sanford, Graham, and DeMint,

Could anyone beat STROM though????

"The penis knows no bigotry"

[wryter2000]

72. Welcome to DU

:hi:

[asjr]

27. This Tennessean wishes Blackburn would

move to Mississippi. I have nothing against Mississippi--it was the first state I thought of.

[Amos Moses]

48. makes two of us

Let her take that stupid bastard Zach "health care is a privilege" Wamp with her. Maybe they could pick up Bob Corker on their way out of town.

[edc]

33. I have a friend

who back in the 70's thought that having more women and minorities in politics would be good for the country by making things more representative. And he was right or course but only to the extent that it has democratized the electoral insanity and political corruption that already existed. Looking back, it's hard to understand why anyone ever thought that women and minorities would be less corruptible than white males.

[JBoy]

37. Apparently it's only the really expensive disasters she doesn't want to fund

http://blackburn.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=111612

Washington, Feb 13 - Congressmen Marsha Blackburn (TN-7), Steve Cohen (TN-9), and John Tanner (TN-8) introduced legislation today that will expand eligibility for FEMA housing relief to the heirs of those killed in natural disasters.

...

“The families of the thirty three Tennesseans killed during last year’s storm experienced a great tragedy. The government should not compound their loss by refusing them assistance we all know they are entitled to.” Blackburn said.

[tanyev]

38. Hey, Marsha, how about the GOP not cry 'terra-ists' every time some federal agent

lures a few dead-enders into a bogus plot?

[Confusious]

39. Fucking nut

She's the one who's going to be crying EMERGENCY when she gets a hangnail.

BooHoo, save me from my toe!

[Shallah Kali]

41. Blackburn makes DisHonorable Mention on CREW's Most Corrupt List

http://www.crewsmostcorrupt.org/node/426

full report in pdf http://www.crewsmostcorrupt.org/files/Blackburn%20FINAL.pdf

Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) is a third-term member of Congress representing Tennessee’s 7th congressional district. Her ethics issues stem from her repeated failure to properly report campaign receipts and expenditures, including payments made to a family owned business.

Unreported Campaign Expenses/Contributions

In April of 2008, Rep. Blackburn announced that her campaign committee had discovered errors in their reporting extending back six years. The committee failed to report $286,278 in expenditures, including $18,821 paid to a firm owned by her daughter and son-in-law. The campaign also failed to report $102,044 in contributions. Additionally, the campaign had misreported over $52,025 in campaign contributions and disbursements.

Rep. Blackburn’s campaign committee has had a pattern of erroneous reporting. During Rep. Blackburn’s first three campaigns, the FEC sent 33 letters pointing out 90 possible errors in the committee’s reports. In 2005, the FEC investigated the campaign committee for major reporting discrepancies - including failing to report a 2004 contribution from Friends of Duke Cunningham, the former committee for the now imprisoned ex-congressman. The matter was eventually resolved with the campaign committee paying a $1,500 fine and the committee treasurer agreeing to attend an FEC compliance seminar.

After the 2005 FEC enforcement case, Rep. Blackburn hired election lawyer Donald McGahn to conduct an internal audit. Following the audit, Rep. Blackburn’s campaign committee filed amendments for all 32 reports it has submitted to the FEC.

[Historic NY]

57. Is she related to failin palin?

[Jack Rabbit]

42. When is a disaster not a disaster?

When you're a Republican and the disaster was made worse by Bush the Frat Boy.

[troubledamerican]

43. Every new day under Bush was a new crisis requiring new tax cuts.

[winyanstaz]

45. What a bubblehead

sheesh...smart as a bucket of rocks that one is....

[Divine Discontent]

49. what a vile shrill nasty ugly windbag! she's as valuable as the puss from a sore!

For her to denigrate the 1464 people who DIED in Katrina as being something we shouldn't fund to help prevent in the future just says how clueless and uncaring this woman is about "life". She doesn't deserve the seat she holds, the people there are clearly a majority 'bigot', and you can bet if 1/4 of TN were swallowed up by an earthquake, she'd be screaming for emergency aid....

what a f*cking pig....

[JHB]

50. Actually, there is a sensible point in there, if one properly ignores the absolutism...

...and depending on the rule under which the budgets are made.

You can count on emergencies happening somewhere, and it's only prudent to factor in relief funds to deal with them... as long as one isn't an absolutist idiot about it and opposes supplemental spending in years where real events exceeded the standing disaster fund.

It also may be (I really don't know about this point of law) that budgetary rules simply don't allow for this sort of generalized fund that isn't allocated until specific emergencies arise. (I mean, it's not like this money is going to Iraq contractors, with their dilligent bookkeeping. :sarcasm: ) If this should be the case, then you can't simply PAYGO just by the structure of the budget.

[Are_grits_groceries]

51. EVERY state is vulnerable to some kind of major disaster.

Hurricanes
Tornados
Floods
Earthquakes
Manmade disasters such as a nuclear incident or toxic chemical spill
Fires
Volcanos
Tsunamis
Terrorist attacks - foreign and domestic
You can budget some money in for emergencies, but there is no way to know how much will be needed. She is a complete and utter idiot.

[PatrynXX]

52. gee I woulda thought they'd learn. but of course they have no brains.

Bush pretty much killed the Republican party by thumbing his nose at Katrina victims. So by all means blackburn. Make it waaaaaaay to easy to win in 2012.

[ToolTex]

53. Sounds good bitch. Would that have saved us from that "Emergency" in Iraq?

[agentS]

55. Keith Olbermann- phone this one in.

A few years back, Keith was covering a sports event of some sort and so he had the pretty lady from E! (the soup?) host the show. I think her name is Allison and she fills in for Rachel now.

Anyway, Allison was hosting the show and she started the "Worst Persons in the World" segment. Keith called in and said "I wish I could give them all golds" and proceeded with the segment by phone. It was a particularly crappy lot too, with Rush or Klannity or both. I don't remember whom exactly but the asshattery was off the scale.

*Back on Topic*
Something happened to the Republicans after Y2K. It's like Benen's "switch" was turned off. Now the stupidity flows from the mouths like water from a faucet. maybe they were always stupid but the shit just wasn't put on the air until 2000.

This woman is yet another example why Blacks hate Republicans.

[Hubert Flottz]

56. What about the cost of a war based on lies?

[Vinca]

58. This is one of the most hateful women I've ever seen, but

I bet she's in the front pew every Sunday morning.

[BuelahWitch]

59. What is it with Rethuglicans and their dumbshit blondes?

It's only an emergency if WHITE PEOPLE are drowning, ya know...:sarcasm:

[hulka38]

61. She sucks but that was taken completely out of context.

The context was how to appropriate funding. It's clear that she wasn't saying that Katrina wasn't an emergency in terms of loss of life, property, etc. Put down the freeper playbook.

[xocet]

76. 18 Dive on 1 - BREAK...

Actually, the context was provided at the beginning of the video and at the end again. That which is being criticized is her clear point that PAY-GO should be enforced even if disasters occur.

Both Katrina and the tsunami that happened a few years ago were major disasters. Note AGAIN that she is not arguing for budgeting adequate amounts for disasters*, but, instead, is arguing to strictly enforce spending limits as provided by PAY-GO.

Her argument is simply that if one cannot pay for disaster recovery, no money should be appropriated to fund such efforts.

Thus, there is no Freeper playbook in use here unless it is lying next to your monitor.






*How could one do this anyway? Imagine, if you will, that - say - an asteroid struck Memphis. There is (as far as I know) no 'Save Tennessee from the Asteroid Impact'-line in the budget. How would one even predict the cost in this example? Would one just say: "Ok, zero-out Tennessee, there is nothing left. Too bad. I guess rebuilding is out of the question - damn PAY-GO!"

[whathappened]

63. bimbo

who turned her mic up so loud , were they all sleeping in the Chambers again ???? , what was tenn thinking when they voted her into office , i wouldn't invite her to my camp fire for sure

[pattmarty]

64. It's funny, when I first saw this (7:30 in the morning) I saw the name.........

.........and my mind saw Michelle Bachman, no shit. As I read thru the article I realized when I saw TN (and after a cup of coffee) that it was Marsha Blackburn. Are the Republicans secretly cloning people now? Because God damn, they kinda look alike, definitely sound alike, and they're both fucking crazy.

[wryter2000]

73. That's what I was thinking

She and Michelle Bachman are in some kind of crazy competition.

Besides, didn't the Republicans used to hate Pay-Go? Oh, right...that was when they were in charge of spending the taxpayers' money.

[pattmarty]

75. Yeah, their new slogan ought to be "do as we say, not as we do".

I think that someone on TV, maybe Rachael Maddow or Ed Schultz should have a segment on "know your congressman". I mean you have what 435 of them and some are real prizes. And, you have some excellent ones also that you can highlight. I e mailed the maddow show some time ago about this and never heard anything.

[xocet]

77. Send in the Clones...

Check the initials:

Michele Bachman (R-MN)
Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)
Mary Bono (R-CA)
...

Will there be more? What does M.B. actually stand for?

[Fredfon]

66. Blackburn/Palin 2012! (NT)

[ScottLand]

67. If it keeps the cost down

what's a few floaters? :sarcasm:

[mac56]

68. Michele Bachmann version 2.0

Another rodeo clown. A useful distraction, put forward by the GOP to divert our attention.

[rateyes]

69. Blackburn, jump

into the middle of a tornado and blow the fuck away.

[Deep13]

71. "We're not going to cry "war" everytime we have a Pearl Harbor! nt

[proud2BlibKansan]

78. This woman makes my brain hurt

Teh stupid!!

[SemperEadem]

79. so the next time a tornado tears up tennessee

or a flood displaces large communities, don't cry "emergency", Marsha.

[predfan]

81. Williamson County bitch............It's no fun being Democratic in Tennessee

There are so many Blackburn wannabes

[Naturyl]

82. Yeah, because poor black people dying is not an emergency. (n/t)