Screaming Penguin - Source Does Matter

Malkin is pathetic.

The FEMA response has not been great no, but apparently none of these normally "conservative" commentators/pundits now stepping up to criticize Brown dont realize what Bush has done to FEMA. FEMA is not the same "emergency management" agency it once was, doesnt have the same budgets, doesnt have the same manpower, etc. Where are all the "conservative" critics of Bush who put Brown in charge and basically gutted FEMA?

And the corps, in that district alone 71 million in cuts?

Come on great critics call it out?

Now personally I agree with scaling back federal responses to local issues with predictable weather patterns (hurricanes and floods) but at the same time I would admit that we need to state/debate and accept/reject that. If we cut back FEMA and the corps, we need to ADMIT IT, we need to say "its not our responsibility" or flat out "its not sufficient to protect X area".

Rather at present we have gutted all these programs while still smiling and saying "its all under control" - thats the real tradgedy.

Its a familiar Bush pattern, cut something important and then claim its still being handled, rather than just fucking ADMIT its now a problem but one that we accept (in which case the admission would either spark new debate or get others to prepare for what is no longer being federally handled).

With Bush we get FEMA and the Corps gutted, all the while each organization claiming (at least within) that its crazy to do this and it wont be able to fulfill its role - then something happens and the response is "not acceptable"?

I will admit that after the hurricanes in Florida, during an election year, Bush paid more attention to FEMA and changed a few things, but his overall legacy is clearly one of focusing on other priorities and changing FEMA from an organization of action to one of delegation AND reducing its budget greatly. (I mean he has appointed non emergency managers to lead it each time, to him its a business and needs to delegate and "privatize" - which is debatably acceptable so long as you admit the change - when you DONT admit it - you just say - same protection level without spending the billions! hooray!! - thats a problem.)

Brown is not an emergency manager, and hes arguably said some stupid shit and the response has been slow, but all the blame shouldnt stop at Brown.