When you think about all the sick and ederly who were just left to die in nursing homes, etc, Blanco's failure to evacuate them seems all the more heinous... http://impeachblanco.org/ -- This is a sad time for all of us who live in Louisiana. While I'm personally thankful for the efforts of thousands of people from across America who have helped us in our state's greatest time of need, I'm enraged by the lack of responsibility displayed over the last few weeks by many of the officials we elected. Kathleen Blanco, the Governor of Louisiana is completely responsible for our state's lack of preparedness and for mishandling the rescue and relief operations in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Governor Blanco's incompetence and disregard for the citizens of Louisiana before the hurricane struck and her inexplicable actions in the days afterward can only be considered dereliction of duty. Louisiana needs a new Governor, and I hope you'll join me in demanding a Recall Election. Specifically Governor Kathleen Blanco: 1. Failed to execute the state's emergency plan to safeguard the citizens by ordering a mandatory evacuation of Southern Louisiana in a timely manner. 2. Purposefully withheld food, water and hygiene items from the tens of thousands of victims stranded at the Superdome and the New Orleans Convention Center in an effort to get them to leave the area. 3. Delayed sending the Louisiana National Guard to maintain order in the city of New Orleans for four days, allowing snipers to hamper rescue efforts and permitting looters to ransack homes and businesses. 4. Chose to spend the days after Hurricane Katrina engaged in partisan bickering and finger pointing rather than giving FEMA and the U.S. military the authority they needed to take over the rescue effort, relieve suffering, and save lives. Kathleen Blanco on CNN Governor Blanco is indecisive, more concerned with politics than duty, and has demonstrated a serious lack of judgment that clearly shows she is the wrong person to be the chief executive of Louisiana. I believe Governor Blanco should be removed from office immediately and replaced by a competent individual with the ability to take responsibility and make the decisions necessary to lead our state. Louisiana state law provides a remedy, and that remedy begins with a Petition to Recall. Governor Blanco, you can point the finger at whoever you want. You can shift the blame, obfuscate the truth, and deny culpability in as many press conferences as you like. Until the day you stand before the citizens of Louisiana, admit your mistakes, and accept responsibility for your poor choices, I will not rest. Your actions cost lives, and you will be held accountable.
Let's recall Roy Nagin and George W. Bush while we're at it. Too much went wrong at all levels of government to only hold State level people responsible. If you're going to throw them out, throw them all out.
i agree with you...but there aren't any provisions for a presidential recall that i'm aware of...and i have no clue about the mayor's office in NOLA.
A nice idea in principle, but really, I think Louisiana has bigger issues to worry about than trying coordinate a recall petition, new election, etc. You don't even know where a substantial chunk of the Lousiana residents are right now to get them to vote!
I think they wouldn't have been left there if the Feds hadn't promised that they were coming to get them, and then fell through with their promises. Blanco deserves blame, and Nagin deserves even more. But deny the feds role in any of this doesn't bode well for your argument. http://impeachblanco.org/
I agree with you, but feds did have a hand in what happened to them after the storm hit. The feds instructed them to do various things in various circumstances and promised relief would be there. The people followed those instructions, and relief didn't arrive people died. In other cases the feds actually took resources away from local officials who were set to deliver them. There is plenty of blame to go around, and pretending that only the locals are to blame isn't realistic, and might cause people to think you have an agenda other than fairly assessing where the problems were.
Republicans want to recall the Deomcratic governor and shift blame from the federal f*ckup. A complete and total SHOCKER!!! This is a good poitical move though. Constant press attention to Blanco's miscues may make Louisana voters confused on whom to blame. Without this move, Louisiana would be a lock blue state for decades. The no-brainer Democratic response would be to continue point out the magnitude of the federal f*ckup. The Democrats could take the high road now, but that payoff would be very short term. Both parties should focus on rebuilding, but that is not the current of politics in America.
