Reply #38: Disgusting quote in LA Times: Fraud is culture of NOLA and Iraq [View All]

[Helga Scow Stern]

Image Problem Is Costing Louisiana

Whatever the reason -- its corrupt history, its demands, its Democrats -- sympathy on Capitol Hill is ebbing, and with it, maybe federal funds.

By Mary Curtius, Times Staff Writer

WASHINGTON — After battling in Congress for months to get more federal money for their hurricane-ravaged state, some Louisiana officials have come to believe they are up against something more than concerns about the budget deficit or conflicting visions of reconstruction.

Maybe, they speculate, their colleagues just don't trust them.
Maybe they are right.

What is clear is that the initial outpouring of sympathy for victims in the state hit hardest by Hurricane Katrina has been replaced on Capitol Hill by a climate of suspicion — even resentment — toward what is seen as an increasingly demanding supplicant.

Sen. Larry E. Craig (R-Idaho) echoed sentiments expressed by many of his colleagues when he insisted recently that every federal dollar sent to Louisiana be strictly monitored.
"Louisiana and New Orleans are the most corrupt governments in our country, and they have always been," Craig told a newspaper in his home state. "Fraud is in the culture of Iraqis. I believe that is true in Louisiana as well."

More....
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-katrina3dec03,0,1177741.story?page=2&coll=la-home-headlines