Monday, September 05, 2005

The queen of state-worshippers

If Paul Krugman is their patron saint, who else could be their queen?
Hillary Clinton calls for 9/11-type 'Katrina Commission'

US Senator Hillary Clinton has urged President George W. Bush to set up a "Katrina Commission" to probe the government's response to the killer hurricane that has ravaged New Orleans and its surroundings, possibly killing thousands of people.

In a letter sent to the president Sunday, the wife of former president Bill Clinton said the panel should be fashioned after the 9/11 Commission that investigated the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States.

"It has become increasingly evident that our nation was not prepared," Clinton said in the letter.

She added that the slow pace of relief efforts "seems to confirm that our ability to respond to cataclysmic disasters has not been adequately addressed."

Clinton said she also planned to propose legislation to separate the Federal Emergency Management Agency from the Department of Homeland Security and convert it into a cabinet-level agency.
Like all other believers in statism, Hillary never finds government's current size "sufficient." To her, there's always room for one more program, one more set of hearings, one more reason for government to spend people's money. Billions of dollars would be wasted turning FEMA into a bigger bureaucratic behemoth than it already is. Why don't we also elevate the ATF and Secret Service? Well, Hillary has given the answer to Michelle Malkin's question this morning: "What is the President supposed to do--fire all of the city's inept officials and replace them with FEMA bureaucrats?"

A "Katrina Commission" would waste untold millions of dollars on "research" and "expert testimony" that would illuminate us no more than we are today. We already know that no amount of government could have prevented the hurricane, and that Louisiana did not follow its state emergency plan of using buses to get people out. Capital Freedom correctly predicted that big government deciding to house disarmed civilians in the Superdome "for their own safety" only made them easy prey for criminals. What more is there to know except that big government failed, and that leftists like DailyKos are fools to say that this crisis proves we need big government?

Would a "Katrina Commission" admit that government failed people, not only in protecting them, but in preventing non-government groups from assisting the disaster victims? If Hillary wants to point out the slowness of relief efforts, let her blame Louisiana's government for hindering private organizations. Quincy alerted me to Cafe Hayek blasting officials for keeping the Red Cross and Salvation Army out of New Orleans.

But let's stop pretending: Hillary's "call to action" just reeks of political opportunism. She'd no doubt maneuver to get her political allies on the commission, who would then turn it into a massive witch hunt, looking for any way to blame the federal government when the "emergency response plan" was up to Louisiana's state government. Meanwhile Hillary would fall back on the "Blame Bush" mantra, putting on a "I feel your pain and Republicans don't!" facade. She wouldn't even need Senate hearings (which she'd nonetheless love, especially since she'd naturally chair them) to gain more prominency as the next DNC presidential candidate. All she needs is an image of the candidate "who cares the most," who uses the power of government to help people...without telling them that it's hardly a gift, since they're ultimately footing the bill.

Can't the American people see right through her? Jeanine Pirro is trying to warn us, but the American people in 2008 might just believe Hillary's state-worshipping. After all, we elected Bill, and again in 1996, after falling for his January 23, 1996, State of the Union speech:
We know big government does not have all the answers. We know there's not a program for every problem. We have worked to give the American people a smaller, less bureaucratic government in Washington. And we have to give the American people one that lives within its means.

The era of big government is over. But we cannot go back to the time when our citizens were left to fend for themselves. Instead, we must go forward as one America, one nation working together to meet the challenges we face together. Self-reliance and teamwork are not opposing virtues; we must have both.
It's not a village they're talking about. The entire Clinton philosophy can be summed up in, "It's not big government...it's teamwork!"

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4 Comments:

Blogger Mike said...

It's gotten to the point where I can't watch the MSM's coverage of the hurricane anymore. Every time I hear Nagin or that stupid twit of a governor open their mouth I start throwing things at the TV.

Anyway, can't say I'm surprised at all. Where there's a disaster, there's a commission to tell us that the solution is to put our trust in faceless beaucrats and give them our money.

Monday, September 05, 2005 9:38:00 PM  
Blogger TKC said...

Does anybody else see the Clinton quote as a contradiction? Especially if you see the 'working together' part as a call to collectivism.

Tuesday, September 06, 2005 3:56:00 PM  
Blogger Perry Eidelbus said...

Sadly, of course Clinton's quote is a contradiction. Most of his presidency was, and now his wife is playing political chameleon -- perhaps all too well.

Tuesday, September 06, 2005 7:24:00 PM  
Blogger Scorpius said...

If we are to believe NO Mayor Nagin, then the biggest FEMA agency and endless federal spending would not be enough; the problem was a state governor who decided to take her time (a whole day in the middle of a catastrophe of epic proportions) to ask for federal help. From CNN’s “American Morning” (do a search for "Nagin"):

NAGIN: The president looked at me. I think he was a little surprised. He said, “No, you guys stay here. We’re going to another section of the plane, and we’re going to make a decision.”

He called me in that office after that. And he said, “Mr. Mayor, I offered two options to the governor.” I said—and I don’t remember exactly what. There were two options. I was ready to move today. The governor said she needed 24 hours to make a decision.

S. O’BRIEN: You’re telling me the president told you the governor said she needed 24 hours to make a decision?

NAGIN: Yes.

S. O’BRIEN: Regarding what? Bringing troops in?

NAGIN: Whatever they had discussed. As far as what the—I was abdicating [ed. - brief “Norm Crosby riff” to break up the mood] a clear chain of command, so that we could get resources flowing in the right places.

S. O’BRIEN: And the governor said no.

NAGIN: She said that she needed 24 hours to make a decision. It would have been great if we could of left Air Force One, walked outside, and told the world that we had this all worked out. It didn’t happen, and more people died.

Tuesday, September 06, 2005 9:19:00 PM  

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