Why BP is the Anti-Katrina

[ProSense]

Why BP is the Anti-Katrina

— By Kevin Drum

<...>

This conflates two very different things. Katrina was an example of the type of disaster that the federal government is specifically tasked with handling. And for most of the 90s, it was very good at handling them. But when George Bush became president and Joe Allbaugh became director of FEMA, everything changed. Allbaugh neither knew nor cared about disaster preparedness. For ideological reasons, FEMA was downsized and much of its work outsourced. When Allbaugh left after less than two years on the job, he was replaced by the hapless Michael Brown and the agency was downgraded and broken up yet again. By the time Katrina hit, the upper levels of FEMA were populated largely with political appointees with no disaster preparedness experience and the agency was simply not up to the job of dealing with a huge storm anymore.

The Deepwater Horizon explosion is almost the exact opposite. There is no federal expertise in capping oil blowouts. There is no federal agency tasked specifically with repairing broken well pipes. There is no expectation that the federal government should be able to respond instantly to a disaster like this. There never has been. For better or worse, it's simply not something that's ever been considered the responsibility of the federal government.1

In the case of Katrina, you have the kind of disaster that, contra Levin, can be addressed by the federal government. In the case of the BP spill, we're faced with a technological challenge that can't be. They could hardly be more different.

But there is one way in which they're similar. As Levin says, Katrina would have been an immense disaster no matter what. But it was far worse than it had to be because a conservative administration, one that fundamentally disdained the mechanics of government for ideological reasons, decided that FEMA wasn't very important. Likewise, the BP blowout was made more likely because that same administration decided that government regulation of private industry wasn't very important and turned the relevant agency into a joke. If you believe that government is the problem, not the solution, and if you actually run the country that way for eight years, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. But we shouldn't pretend it's inevitable.

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[Clio the Leo]

1. And it didn't storm for 35 days straight....

.... and the problem was not one of trying to stop the storm ... but protecting the people and restoring the infrastructure. Something the military was capable of doing.

.... and the problem was that the President at the time didn't know his butt from a hole in the ground. And probably, at some point, blamed the storm on Saddam Hussein. :)

[Richardo]

2. Excellent analysis

:thumbsup:

:kick: and Rec :patriot:

[BeFree]

3. Obama's Katrina

Is a mere analogy depicting the inaction of government in response to a crisis.

Obama is now visibly acting. Two weeks ago? Not so much.

Obama is a mere mortal, who is where he is, because many people imagined that he could and should be president. And many of those same minds who put him there are worried because they don't think he has acted fast enough.

All Obama can do now is hope he made changes fast enough. Because in the end, this 'Katrina' could blow him away.

That's the way it goes with politics.

[ProSense]

4. "Is a mere analogy depicting the inaction of government in response to a crisis."

"Obama is now visibly acting. Two weeks ago? Not so much."

Bullshit!

Statement about day one activities.

For Immediate Release April 22, 2010

Statement by the Press Secretary on the President's Oval Office Meeting to Discuss the Situation in the Gulf of Mexico

The President and First Lady's thoughts and prayers are with the family members and loved ones facing the tragic situation in the Gulf of Mexico. The President was briefed in the Oval Office this afternoon by a number of senior officials including Department of Homeland Secretary Janet Napolitano, Admiral Thad Allen, United States Coast Guard Commandant, Department of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, EPA Deputy Administrator Bob Perciasepe, FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate as well as a host of senior white house officials including Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change Carol Browner, Chair of Council on Environmental Quality Nancy Sutley and Director of the National Economic Council Lawrence Summers.

The United States Coast Guard informed the President that search and rescue efforts are ongoing. The President made sure that the entire federal government was offering all assistance needed in the rescue effort as well as in mitigating and responding to the environmental impact and that this response was being treated as the number one priority. The President asked the responding departments to devote every resource needed to respond to this incident and investigate its cause.

The National Response Team has been activated and Unified and Area Commands have been established near New Orleans to coordinate search and rescue operations and oil spill response efforts.

The Department of the Interior and the Minerals Management Service as well as the Coast Guard are also working with responsible parties to support their important efforts to secure the pollution sources. Deputy Secretary of the Interior David Hayes was dispatched to the region yesterday to assist with coordination and response. The President wishes to thank the bravery of the professionals across the government who have worked non-stop over the last two days to save lives and protect the environment.

[BeFree]

6. Sternly worded letter?

Obama knows he's in trouble.

No amount of sternly worded letters is gonna fix this.

Neither will placing internet protection zones around Obama's actions.

But I understand, Obama has much to fear and you have his back. There are worse things you could be doing, fer sure.

[ProSense]

7. "Sternly worded letter?" What?

What the hell are you talking about?

[BeFree]

8. Easy, now

I know you are upset and fear for Obama.
Know that I am not your enemy, unless you make me into your enemy. That is up to you.

The intricate web of politics now enveloping this situation will trap many politicians.
And you better believe Obama knows that. That's why he had that presser yesterday.

[ProSense]

9. " I know you are upset and fear for Obama. "

Obama's Armageddon!

Oh brother.

[BeFree]

10. Denial, eh?

Armageddon? Gawd, you are making it look stupid to blindly support Obama. Yep, a real pro.

Don't you think Obama can handle the criticism himself?
Guess I have more faith in him than you?

[ProSense]

11. "Sternly worded letter?"

In response to a release about the administration's actions.

You: "Don't you think Obama can handle the criticism himself?
Guess I have more faith in him than you?"

Previously:

"All Obama can do now is hope he made changes fast enough. Because in the end, this 'Katrina' could blow him away."

Yeah, hope!

[BeFree]

12. That was a good one, right?

I got 'hope' and 'change' and 'Katrina' in the same sentence. (no applause, throw money!)

Lets try this:

"I hope Obama flies down there, puts on his supercape and plugs that well."

Is that better?

Befree.

[BeFree]

13. Oops

Make that in two sentences. Gawd. Hey, I hated english in HS. Shows, doesmn't it?

[Jennicut]

5. The conservative way: break govt, then complain it doesn't work.

Govt. must be a failure when it is not doing everything perfectly...except the same idiots that complain about govt. not working are the same ones that helped mess it up to begin with...leaving a Dem President to clean up their messes.