Reading this post this morning caused me to go back through my email and blog posts from two years ago. Before I move on to the work of the day, I need to write something so I can put this behind me. Reading those emails and blogs reminded me of just how disheartening that time was. Watching Bush smirk about his drinking days in NO when he finally visited the region was unbelievable. Until his mother chuckled at the refugees and noted that they were better off. Or when Bush did his photo op in NO complete with lights that only turned on for his speech. Or when they all blamed the NO people for not getting out, or said that no one ever suggested that the levies might fail.
I wrote a lot at the time about a need for accountability and for a need to recognize that government can do important work to keep us together and help us through such disasters. Some accountability has occurred. Many people voted Democratic in the last midterm because of Katrina, though Bush seems to have internalized none of that. His incompetence seems purposeful now as he plods along ignoring past mistakes and even pushing for new ones (Iran).
Katrina changed things for me. I remember BB blogging about his belief in a basic social safety net and how its failure during Katrina disheartened him. It did me too. The monumental incompetence of this administration and belief that they should cut taxes further in response to such a huge disaster filled me with disbelief. I remain convinced today, as I was then, that most conservatives (even the evangelicals who continued to support Republicans in the last election) actually want good government and have never quite figured out that Bush doesn't share that goal.
I remain hopeful that we can recover from this administration, but also cynical that the next snake-oil salesman that comes along brandishing a Bible and toting the next Karl Rove behind him will further undermine our Republic.
Ok, back to the work of the day. One more thing. The memories weren't all bad. Who can forget Dick Cheney's heckler?
1 comment:
Streak- If you didn't catch it, watch Bill Moyers Journal . Tough Talk on Impeachment | PBS. Many great points are made but one that really struck me was the whole expansion of the executive branch powers and/or their disregard for their limits. Unless something is done (they advocate for impeachment) then these same expanded limits will be handed on to the next chief executive. It is the rare individual who would on their own accord relinquish that kind of power. The point being, we don't need a president starting a new administration with the current norms in place, regardless of whether it's Hilary, Obama, Guliani, or Bush. The power of the executive needs to be curtailed again and accountability put back in place. Later-BB
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