Breaking from The Drudge Report - Obama was the only one to criticize the federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina!
Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson had a simultaneous orgasm on Fox News last night when reporting on a video which showcased then Senator Obama criticizing the federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina. As Obama is currently the president, it's safe to say this video is over four years old - in fact, it's over five years old, as it took place in June of 2007. The full transcript has been available for multiple years.
The far-right is claiming that Obama's speech was divisive and racially-charged, as he said the following:
“Down in New Orleans, where they still have not rebuilt twenty months later. There’s a law, federal law — when you get reconstruction money from the federal government — called the Stafford Act. And basically it says, when you get federal money, you gotta give a ten percent match. The local government’s gotta come up with ten percent. Every ten dollars the federal government comes up with, local government’s gotta give a dollar. Now here’s the thing, when 9-11 happened in New York City, they waived the Stafford Act — said, ‘This is too serious a problem. We can’t expect New York City to rebuild on its own. Forget that dollar you gotta put in. Well, here’s ten dollars.’ And that was the right thing to do. When Hurricane Andrew struck in Florida, people said, ‘Look at this devastation. We don’t expect you to come up with y’own money, here. Here’s the money to rebuild. We’re not gonna wait for you to scratch it together — because you’re part of the American family.’ What’s happening down in New Orleans? Where’s your dollar? Where’s your Stafford Act money? Makes no sense! Tells me that somehow, the people down in New Orleans they don’t care about as much!”
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, then President Bush said the following during a speech (no, this video wasn't showcased on Fox News last night, as it would have resulted in Hannity and Carlson attaining blue balls as opposed to an orgasm):
"That poverty has roots in a history of racial discrimination, which cut off generations from the opportunity of America. We have a duty to confront this poverty with bold action. So let us restore all that we have cherished from yesterday and let us rise above the legacy of inequality. When the streets are rebuilt, there should be many new businesses, including minority-owned businesses, along those streets."
It's not as if Obama was the only person to criticize the federal government's reaction to Hurricane Katrina. In a Marist poll taken during that time, it showed that 66% of registered voters didn't approve of the federal government's response to Katrina, including 64% of Independents and even 42% of Republicans.
I find it to be quite remarkable at the level of desperation exuded by the Romney team and Republicans in general in releasing and attempting to make a big deal out of this five-year old video. What has the Romney team attempted to stray away from almost more than anything? George W. Bush. The guy wasn't even present at the Republican National Convention (outside of a short cameo on video). What is the one thing the former president probably wishes he had handled differently? Hurricane Katrina. With the releasing of this video, both George W. Bush and Hurricane Katrina will be front and center in political dialogue - the last two things Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan want Independent and undecided voters to be thinking about before casting their ballots on election day.
http://thinkprogress.org/media/2012/10/02/946441/in-new-bombshell-video-obama-criticizes-federal-response-to-hurricane-katrina/
http://dailycaller.com/2012/10/02/obama-speech-jeremiah-wright-new-orleans/#ixzz28GJ50OHU
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/16/national/nationalspecial/16bush-text.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print
The far-right is claiming that Obama's speech was divisive and racially-charged, as he said the following:
“Down in New Orleans, where they still have not rebuilt twenty months later. There’s a law, federal law — when you get reconstruction money from the federal government — called the Stafford Act. And basically it says, when you get federal money, you gotta give a ten percent match. The local government’s gotta come up with ten percent. Every ten dollars the federal government comes up with, local government’s gotta give a dollar. Now here’s the thing, when 9-11 happened in New York City, they waived the Stafford Act — said, ‘This is too serious a problem. We can’t expect New York City to rebuild on its own. Forget that dollar you gotta put in. Well, here’s ten dollars.’ And that was the right thing to do. When Hurricane Andrew struck in Florida, people said, ‘Look at this devastation. We don’t expect you to come up with y’own money, here. Here’s the money to rebuild. We’re not gonna wait for you to scratch it together — because you’re part of the American family.’ What’s happening down in New Orleans? Where’s your dollar? Where’s your Stafford Act money? Makes no sense! Tells me that somehow, the people down in New Orleans they don’t care about as much!”
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, then President Bush said the following during a speech (no, this video wasn't showcased on Fox News last night, as it would have resulted in Hannity and Carlson attaining blue balls as opposed to an orgasm):
"That poverty has roots in a history of racial discrimination, which cut off generations from the opportunity of America. We have a duty to confront this poverty with bold action. So let us restore all that we have cherished from yesterday and let us rise above the legacy of inequality. When the streets are rebuilt, there should be many new businesses, including minority-owned businesses, along those streets."
It's not as if Obama was the only person to criticize the federal government's reaction to Hurricane Katrina. In a Marist poll taken during that time, it showed that 66% of registered voters didn't approve of the federal government's response to Katrina, including 64% of Independents and even 42% of Republicans.
I find it to be quite remarkable at the level of desperation exuded by the Romney team and Republicans in general in releasing and attempting to make a big deal out of this five-year old video. What has the Romney team attempted to stray away from almost more than anything? George W. Bush. The guy wasn't even present at the Republican National Convention (outside of a short cameo on video). What is the one thing the former president probably wishes he had handled differently? Hurricane Katrina. With the releasing of this video, both George W. Bush and Hurricane Katrina will be front and center in political dialogue - the last two things Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan want Independent and undecided voters to be thinking about before casting their ballots on election day.
http://thinkprogress.org/media/2012/10/02/946441/in-new-bombshell-video-obama-criticizes-federal-response-to-hurricane-katrina/
http://dailycaller.com/2012/10/02/obama-speech-jeremiah-wright-new-orleans/#ixzz28GJ50OHU
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/16/national/nationalspecial/16bush-text.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print
http://maristpoll.marist.edu/tag/hurricane-katrina/
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