You're Doing a Heck of Job Brownie

[tw]

Nixon's problem was that some Republicans were more patriotic rather than loyal. Loyalty at the expense of partiotism is a hallmark of the George Jr administration. But something has happened. What was obvious is, well, from the NY Times of 13 February 2006:

Republicans' Report on Katrina Assails Response
House Republicans plan to issue a blistering report on Wednesday that says the Bush administration delayed the evacuation of thousands of New Orleans residents by failing to act quickly on early reports that the levees had broken during Hurricane Katrina.

A draft of the report, to be issued by an 11-member, all-Republican committee, says the Bush administration was informed on the day Hurricane Katrina hit that the levees had been breached, even though the president and other top administration officials earlier said that they had learned of the breach the next day.

That delay was significant, the report says, rejecting the defense given by the White House and the Department of Homeland Security that the time it took to recognize the breach did not significantly affect the response.

[richlevy]

Originally Posted by tw

Nixon's problem was that some Republicans were more patriotic rather than loyal. Loyalty at the expense of partiotism is a hallmark of the George Jr administration. But something has happened. What was obvious is, well, from the NY Times of 13 February 2006:

Part of this was the fact the the Democrats stayed away because they were tired of having any criticism by them labeled as partisan. In effect, they challenged the Republicans to issue a non-partisan report or appear as spineless hacks.

To my surprise, the Republicans actually rose to the challenge. Nice job, guys.

Of course we are coming up on an election year, and covering up for the adminstration would have a political cost in the next elections.

[tw]

In an earlier post, I thought Chertoff had nothing to worry about. However, not for one minute did I expect this from any Republicans. From the Washington Post of 12 Feb 2006:

Report Spreads Blame for Katrina Failures
The House investigation criticized Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff's actions, saying his overall responsibilities for the federal disaster relief were fulfilled "either late, ineffectively or not at all."

The special report concluded that Chertoff unnecessarily delayed naming a top federal coordinator for relief efforts and the activation of an internal disaster management group. More prompt action by Chertoff would have quickened the relief effort, the report said.

The House report also faulted Chertoff for not following a response plan specifically for catastrophic disasters.

also reported
Excerpts released from the House report, which issued a total of 90 separate findings, spreads the blame through all levels of government.

Remember what Chertoff is. He is a lawyer. Another example of a well proven guideline: 85% of all problems are directly traceable to top management.