WP: New Orleans Mayor Faces Tough Questions: Some Say Lost Control

[DeepModem Mom]

New Orleans Mayor Faces Tough Questions
Some Say Feisty Leader Lost Control

By Robert E. Pierre
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, September 10, 2005; Page A14


NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 9 -- Mayor C. Ray Nagin created many new friends and probably as many enemies for his decision to pointedly chastise both Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (D) and the Bush administration for talking too much and working too little. Now, however, difficult questions are being directed at the mayor.

Until Nagin spoke out, Yancy Brown, a native of the Big Easy, had little respect for the mayor, whom he considered too corporate and too disconnected from the black community. "He wasn't acting like a brother," said Brown, 60, a former member of the Black Panther organization. But after Nagin defiantly told the feds -- and indirectly President Bush -- to get off their "asses" and do some work, Brown became a fan....

***

Around the world, particularly in places where Bush is unpopular, Nagin is now recognized for refusing to back down against Bush. But with federal forces providing security in a largely vacant city and attention turning toward what it will take to rebuild, it is Nagin who is getting the tough questions.

Should there have been a better plan to evacuate those without cars? Was his police force up to the task? Why weren't there supplies for the legions of people directed to the Superdome? Why were all those city buses left in low-lying areas? Why did so many of his officers leave their posts as the city descended into a chaos that left many residents afraid that either thugs or the elements would kill them?

On conservative talk radio, especially, Nagin has been characterized as an irrational and incompetent local official who lost control of his city, his police force and, ultimately, his senses when he publicly dressed down the president. Even some of his underlings think the critics may be right....


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/09/AR2005090901767.html

[xray s]

1. and this means nothing as far as our current situation

NOLA is lost. The facts will be sorted out by history.

But new threats abound, and we still have the same lame, corrupt incompetent lying federal government running the show.

That is the only issue that deserves full attention now.

Where will they fail NEXT?

[Sarojin]

2. More spin

The firefighter asked not to be identified for fear of retribution.

Did he look like Gannon?

Just like the "State officials" wouldn't allow the Red Cross in, when it was the State DHS office, working for the federal gov't, that told them not to come in.

[notadmblnd]

3. I'd say he regained his senses

when he blasted bush. I only wish more people would come to their senses and speak up!

[blue sky at night]

4. some of his critics are fucking assholes...

walk a mile in his shoes, lets see what the likes of these RW talkers would have done...anyone for the airport?

[Teaser]

5. Whore!

What a piece of shit article.

[rwheeler31]

6. He is former R

Just political punisment that is all they know.

[Newsjock]

7. "Some say" BS

There are exactly two people saying negative things in this story.

1. "He should have evacuated the place earlier," said one city firefighter, echoing a mostly whispered sentiment here as the collection of dead bodies begins in earnest. The firefighter asked not to be identified for fear of retribution.

2. Now his strong criticism of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other agencies has earned him more than a few enemies, said Robert Hogan, an associate professor of political science at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. "In this crisis, some of his comments have done him a huge disservice," Hogan said. "Some of his comments come across as a crackpot. To me, he's just exasperated, but he may not be viewed that way in Washington."

And that's it. One anonymous firefighter (did the Post even bother to verify that he really is a firefighter?), and one ivory-tower academic.

"Some say," my ass. Did the Post go on vacation for the weekend and leave the place in the neocons' hands?

[donheld]

16. "On conservative talk radio, especially, Nagin has been characterized..."

Well now this just makes all the difference in the world. Now i guess we know who "some say" is. Fuck them.

[SlavesandBulldozers]

42. "On conservative talk radio, Nagin was called Nagir"

why don't they print that?

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

8. New Orleans had to let go of 100 cops in 2003 alone due to cuts in the

COPS program under Bush. Those questioning if he did enough should consider that.

[Tatiana]

9. Significant points made:

But Hogan said it would be unwise for any of them, especially Nagin, to keep the fight going.

"The Bush administration has the upper hand because they have the apparatus in place to come up with fingers to point," he said. "They have surrogates. They have a huge network that can help them through talk radio and national radio. They have talking points. State and local governments in Louisiana aren't in the propaganda mode. They don't have the ability to fight back. They are in the rescue and rebuilding mode."
<snip>

(This 60 year-old maintenance worker seems to have figured out something the MSM and even some Dems keep forgetting.)

New Nagin supporter Brown, who lost his home and his wife's business in the storm, said the mayor's hands were tied. If he had ordered an earlier evacuation, and enforced it, Brown said, he would have encountered another problem.

"Where are we going to send them?" Brown asked. "If you say mandatory, you got to have somewhere for people to go. He don't control nothing but New Orleans."

[delen]

10. Excuse Me!!!!!!

Why did the Super Dome not have enough supplies? Was the the Dome a civil defense shelter? If so then isn't it under some "over site" from the feds and aren't there standards for such preparedness ?Nothing but spin and heine covering.As far his control of the police goes the city got washed away in a flood and presumably several precinct houses.
If the wingers are so insistent on saying that Mayor Nagin was unprepared for this disaster, then aren't they admitting they KNEW it would happen

[YankeeFan]

11. The Super Dome Was a Refuge of LAST RESORT

That means just that.

Go there if you have nowhere else to go.

It was never meant to be used as a shelter.
This was in the news several times before the Storm hit.

[Name removed]

47. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[merwin]

12. The plan to evacuate those without cars is FEMA's duty.

If the emergency is bad enough to evacuate an entire city (not just to the superdome, but completely leaving the city), then FEMA needs to step in and help.

[I_Make_Mistakes]

13. Actually, Dateline tonight did a great job of exposing the truth.

Nagin had actually pre-taped a broadcast to be aired about what would happen in such a situation to be aired later this month. They had ex-FEMA people saying what they had expected to be done, based on their experience. I only taped the 2nd 1/2(Did the Washington Week & NOW) instead.

I couldn't help but think Dateline was indicting this Admin. by it's title "Katrina, What went Wrong?".

Anyone who saw this show, will know the truth, from top to bottom. The professor at (LSU, I think) who participated in the FEMA PAM exercise, where just about everything they predicted came true.

[rfkrfk]

17. evacuation is Blanco's job, not Fema

from
'State of Louisiana Emenrgency Operations Plan supplement 1C'

http://www.ohsep.louisiana.gov/plans/EOPSheltersupplement.pdf

pdf page 10, {document page 5}, Item A-5,
Governor. Request Federal/State Government assistance as needed.

pdf page 14, {document page 9}, Item D,
The primary means of hurricane evacuation will be personal vehicles.
However, school and municipal buses and, where available, specialized vehicles will be used to transport those hurricane evacuees who do not have transportation.

[leesa]

21. It is also FEMA's job. If there were too many people to get out and

the city did not have adequate resources, that is when FEMA must do its part. They didn't do it. They didn't lift a finger to assist.

[rfkrfk]

24. it was too late for school/transit busses to evacuate, what could Fema

what could Fema do?

Fema is a combination,
help advice line
supply closet


Fema is not,
command authority

Fema is not,
law enforcement

[ElectroPrincess]

29. FEMA is *presently* run by incompetent Bush Lackeys and Morons ...

If the personnel in FEMA were experienced they could have anticipated much of the disaster situations and coordinated MUCH BETTER with state and local officials.

FEMA is responsible for the lion's share of this disaster and if justice is served: Heads must figuratively roll!

[rfkrfk]

31. I didn't believe the Huff n Puff from Fema, why did anybody else?

Fema --> nitwits and assclowns

There are times when you have to take things
into your own hands.
Why wait for Fema to send a fax,
taking three days,
when a phone call would do?
Letting Fema do it, is one way,
but not the only way.

[stepnw1f]

38. Surrrre... Should Have Known Republicans Would Drop the Ball

Blame game.

[ninkasi]

14. To the ones who say he lost control...

I saw a man, deeply anguished at the lack of response from FEMA, who saw his city being filled with water, and his fellow citizens stranded, and dying. Nagin had no authority to call in the National Guard, and the police department was in the city which was in a state of crisis.

The police officers could not magically go where ordinary citizens couldn't, and their homes were being destroyed, too. They also have families. This was a failure on the part of the Bush administration, and I gained a lot of respect for a man who was fighting for the life of his city.

[donheld]

15. Whoever "some say" is

They can kiss my ass.

[bklyncowgirl]

18. Not a bullshit article

Clearly indicates who is blaming him i.e. conservative talk radio and who is holding the prospects of screwing with further relief over his head, i.e. the Bush administration. As for the idea that some police and firemen in New Orleans might be pissed with the guy--oh dear me, what a shock.

Also, If I hear one more TV talking head or radio talk show host natter on about how great Guiliani was on 9/11 compared to how terrible Nagin was in New Orleans I am going to break something. Nagin did a rather incredible job under the circumstances. Only a small part of New York City was directly effected by 9/11. Yes Guiliani responded with courage in a bad situation but how good would he have looked if all of Manhattan had gone up in flames and the federal government had sat on its hands for several days.

Just something to think about.

[leesa]

20. Guiliani was not courageous. He was part of it.

[FlaGranny]

26. Maybe not, but he sure made B* look bad. n/t

[Wordie]

44. Yep...I really admired G's response, but the situation was entirely

different. On 9/11, there was a crisis, affecting one part of the city (as you already pointed out), but the crisis also had a limited time, in other words, it happened, and then it was done, in a relatively short period of time. In Nagin's case, the crisis is STILL ongoing, and the most severe part of the crisis lasted over a week. There are still, apparently, people waiting to be rescued.

NYC, also, is a wealthy city, with a lot of resources and in an area where there are a lot of other cities with a lot of resources nearby to assist. The cities in the immediate vicinity of NO for the most part were not as wealthy, and were as hard hit by the hurricane as NO was. Further, at the WTC, transportation, although affected, was not so seriously affected as in NO where major ways in and out of the city had been destroyed by the hurricane.

There may be things Nagin did wrong...I do not know all the details about what happened yet in order to evaluate that, but to compare him unfavorably with Guiliani is unfair, imho.

[leesa]

19. Ah, the notorious "some say"

[Triana]

22. Spin Alert: "Some say"....

....most anytime I see that phrase, my spin alert light goes on.

I'm just sayin...

[Lochloosa]

28. Some say you might be right

[DoYouEverWonder]

23. NAGIN EVACUTED 80% of the people in the CITY OF NEW ORLEANS

I am sick of this crap, the M$M trying to blame this man for not doing his job, while the PRESIDENT OF THE UNTIED STATES, the COMMANDER IN CHIEF, the man who on Sunday Aug 28 issued a STATE OF EMERGENCY and went back to bed should not be the ones to caste the first stone.

When is the lapdog whore talking points media going to tell the truth about the disaster in New Orleans and the people who deliberately caused it.

[FlaGranny]

25. Interestingly, a National Guard (?) officer

was interviewed night before last about the Superdome. It seems there were 250 guardsmen there and some NO cops. He said there were some hairy moments, but that those at the Superdome were given 2 meals a day while they were there. ??

I, myself, heard the Mayor tell people who went to the Convention Center to escape from the flood to bring food and water because there would be none there. I'm certain that most of them couldn't do it. They were lucky to escape with their lives. I don't know why more people weren't bussed out. It seems there should have been a plan in place to get people out by rail and bus. Then I heard the stories of buses not being allowed back into NO after evacuations. The mayor may share some blame but, at this time, not sure exactly how much.

It seems to me that agreements have to be made with major carriers for evacuations like these. I'm not sure that is within the power of a mayor OR a governor. As for the school buses - perhaps they COULD have been used, but there weren't enough for everyone.

None of this, however, excuses the FEDERAL nonresponse. Can you imagine trying to evacuate a city like NY, Chicago, or San Francisco?

[Lochloosa]

27. Why did so many of his officers leave their posts as the city descended in

Why did so many of his officers leave their posts as the city descended into a chaos that left many residents afraid that either thugs or the elements would kill them?

Last I heard the were not accounted for....maybe dead

[Pathwalker]

41. That's what the NO Police Chief said yesterday -

they weren't even supposed to be at work, they had been saved for relief, and were with their familes. He said that so few of them had checked in that he thinks they're dead, since they mostly lived in the area that's still submerged.

[Lochloosa]

30. Hey Mods....is this really Late Breaking News...smells like an editorial

to me.

[demgrrrll]

33. Me too. eom

[IndianaGreen]

34. Your post is an editorial

The WP piece is not an opinion piece.

[Lochloosa]

35. Forgot to add....

:sarcasm:

[IndianaGreen]

32. This is part of the GOP ploy to redirect blame to anyone but Bush

Let's not fall for the rightwing propaganda! Our response should be: Bush must resign or be impeached!

[GrantDem]

37. Firms with Bush ties snag Katrina deals

Should have known this was coming. GOP has to exploit every instance to reward their coffer stuffers.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050910/pl_nm/contracts_dc

[DeepModem Mom]

40. Thanks for posting this link, jmauller -- and welcome to DU!

[GrantDem]

48. Thanks glad to be here.

[Name removed]

36. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[DeepModem Mom]

39. Thank you for this heartfelt post, Blue State Boy -- and welcome to DU!

[ElectroPrincess]

43. No, I don't buy it ...

"The police officers (and I guarantee you it was mostly the African-American ones who had homes in this area) in NO are only all too aware of the kind of people these people are and there was no way they were going to stick around to enforce Blanco's "shoot to kill" order to her 'Iraq-hardened', 'locked and loaded' killers and stop these people from getting the basic necessities they needed for their families to survive."

You assume far too many facts not in evidence. My husband was born and raised in NO and we go to visit our in-laws often. The police were overwhelmed. Stop making the police a "certain race" and referring to Nagin getting out "his people."

Please? This is way too telling that you don't mix with people of color on a daily basis. I worked in a black owned and run business and was fortunate to develop lasting friendships with two fellow employees there. I know how "they" talk and "we" talk BUT when we're together it's no longer US vs. THEM.

[geckosfeet]

45. Under the circumstances I can forgive him for losing control. But in

general how is a mayor of a city supposed evacuate hospitals, jails, nursing homes, college residences, halfway houses etc.?

Where does he send them? Across town? In order to get them to safety they need to go to comparable facilities in other cities and residences.

Any mayor or city official needs state level and federal level support and cooperation because they will not have the appropriate jurisdictions to move citizens into other states and cities.

[NuttyFluffers]

46. "some say WaPo sycophants should blow it out there ass. some say..."

if i was mayor nagin i'd not even bother with such questions, except say "do you believe your own eyes and ears? do you believe i have the power of the whole country at my disposal? just how empty-headed are you for asking that?"