Katrina: Bush's #1 vulnerable spot
Political Wire relays this interesting information:
"Among the many controversies surrounding the Bush Administration, its response to Hurricane Katrina is most troubling to voters," according to a new WNBC/Marist poll.Question: If Katrina is Bush's #1 vulnerability, why aren't Democrats making Katrina their #1 issue?
The survey found that 66% of registered voters nationwide "are bothered a great deal or a good amount by the administration’s response to Hurricane Katrina. Although Democrats are most critical, 64% of independents and 42% of Republicans are bothered by how the administration handled the disaster."
The second most troubling is the Bush administration's wiretapping of Americans without a warrant, with 50% bothered a great deal or good amount.
6 Comments:
I don't know Chris. I've been hollering till I'm blue in the face that as much, even much more so than 9/11, Katrina changed everything to anyone who'll listen. No seems to be. Especially those in any position of influence. Even here. Mindblowing incompetence, now squared.
Hey Chris --
Great blog. I recently moved to Louisiana from Michigan and I've found your blog to be a great resource for progressive politics in this region.
I have a blog as well: E Pluribus Unum and you can visit it here:
http://www.rubyan.com/politics
I blogrolled you and wrote this piece about the issues you raised.
http://www.rubyan.com/politics/2006/02/bushs_1_vulnerability_what_are_democrats_doing_about_it.html
If you get a moment, perhaps you can blogroll me as well.
Keep up the good work.
Ara Rubyan
Ah shoot -- Blogger cut off the URL.
No matter -- just visit here:
www.rubyan.com/politics
Thanks again.
why aren't Democrats making Katrina their #1 issue?
Good question. And beyond that, making Bush's Department of Homeland Security an even larger issue.
Apparently one of the largest federal bureaucracies ever devised (created by a small government conservative Republican, no less) is functionally unable to protect Americans from disasters, natural or otherwise, or respond to time-critical emergencies to save lives.
So what exactly is the point of DHS? If they can't mobilize any sort of preparation for or response to a natural disaster that was seen coming from a long way off (and even modeled in an exercise called "Pam" a year earlier) how are they going to prepare for unknown terrorist threats or heaven forbid respond to an actual surprise attack?
Where do all the "Project for a New American Century" neocons who helped elect Bush and continue to promte the Cheney/Haliburton war agenda stand on this internal threat? They seem awfully quiet.
Why would they pick one issue?
Katrina was a very public failure. But I suspect that warrantless spying on American citizens will end up concerning an equal or larger number of Americans.
That story is still developing.
As an independent, libertarian who voted for Bush, I'd really like to see a change. For the Democrats to woo me and get my vote they need to do more than criticize Bush. They need to show how they would do it better or at least give a glimpse, not just John Kerry's, "I have a plan..."
My theory on voters is that 30% will always go Republican, 30% will always go Democratic and the other 40% actually decide the election. The Democrats need to get the votes of this 40%. The Democrats need to be smart and consider the problems they face. Senator Dodd, "We seem to be losing our voice when it comes to the basic things people worry about,..." Harold Ford showed signs of getting smarter the other day. The Democrats can make great gains in the next two elections. If they don't, they've shown they are as out of touch with the typical American as the Republicans.
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