Game, set, match:
Olbermann and the lefty blogs: the game is up, we have video of the late Sheriff Lee attesting to then-Congressman Jindal’s role during the days following Katrina:
When Hurricane Katrina hit, the day after, Bobby was in my office, saying ‘what do you need’…He was hands on…He was there all the time…He got equipment for us…
Time for an apology.
PS – If you read Ben Smith’s story earlier, make sure you have caught up with the updates.
PPS – Josh Marshall should consider a little less smug and a few more facts of his own. Marshall now has no leg to stand on; the entire basis of his site’s work on this has been eviscerated.
Jindal’s own spokesperson contradicts the good sheriff. From Politico:
“The spokeswoman, Melissa Sellers, said the story Jindal told in his response to Obama actually took place some days later in Lee’s office — though still in Katrina’s chaotic aftermath — as Lee was “recounting” his frustrations with the bureaucracy to someone else on the telephone.”
*******
“It was days later,” Sellers said. “Sheriff Lee was on the phone and the governor came down to visit him. It wasn’t that they were standing right down there with the boats.”
Try reading your own links.
The point here is, he was in Lee’s office repeatedly that week, and Lee’s statement confirms precisely that. Which is why it’s impossible to pin down exactly when this particular incident happened, but probably around mid-late in the week.
Keep digging. I know, it’s impossible for you to admit that the entire thrust of the charge against Jindal – that he made up being in Lee’s office, that he was 75 miles from the action, that he played no role in responding to Katrina – has been utterly destroyed.
Crank,
I never even tried to defend the 75 mile meme. I wrote that Olbermann et al went too far.
My argument is that Jindal implied an immediacy that was not accurate and, more importantly, that the lessons he draws from the experience are irrelevant.
Yeah, the problem here is Jindal tells the story as if the crisis over the boats is still going on while he’s in the sheriffs office, with the sheriff yelling at the other person that he’s got Jindal’s backing to release the boats over the bureaucrat’s objection. Jindal’s office admits that isnt what happened at all; rather, that the sheriff recounted the story to Jindal after the fact. The “Jindal is here!” stuff is false.
That doesnt mean that Jindal was absent from the ground in Katrina’s aftermath. It does mean he that he was absolutely wrong about his involvement in the sheriff’s battle with the bureacrats over releasing the volunteer boats.
And Obama was were during any of this? Oh, he was back in Chicago doing what ever silly thing he did before.
The truth is in between. It is correct to take media members to task for claiming that Jindal wasn’t on the ground at all during the week following Katrina, but it is also correct to take Jindal to task for telling the sheriff vs. bureaucrat story as if he was in the sheriff’s office backing the sheriff when the sheriff released the volunteer boats over the bureacrat’s objections. Jindal wasnt in the sheriff’s office during the phone call and had nothing to do with the sheriff’s decision.
There are more problems with Jindal’s story than the concession by his office that he wasnt there when it happened. The sheriff didnt even in fact override the bureaucrat and launch the boats. Lee’s own words from a 2005 interview with Larry King:
LEE: I fully believe that when then matter is looked into, we tried to get some boats in the water early on … Those boats where not allowed to get into the water when they were needed and I just found out about seven days later one of the reason boats couldn’t get in was they didn’t have enough life preservers and some of them didn’t have proof of insurance.
Clinton didnt land under sniper fire, and Jindal’s story is false.
Lee,
The more appropriate question is where was Bush. Oh, that’s right, he was flying over in Air Force One and congratulating Brownie for doin’ a heckuva job. Glad Jindal reminded everyone of this episode.
Crank,
I think your mistaken about Jindal. He tarnished his image by suggesting he has more faith in citizens like super-patriot Sean Penn than he does in the government he himself runs.
Magrooder, if Crank paid attention to the links he posted, then he would not be able to continue his love affair with Bobby Jindahl.
Conservatives are a hoot. During the campaign they so needed to invent a politician who could excite them that they leaped on board the Palin bandwagon without knowing anything about her other than she could read a speech full of sarcasm and insults. They stuck by her even when it quickly became clear how far in over her head she was.
Now, still desperate to find their own version of Obama, they’ve settled on Bobby J. Some of the comparisons are apt – Bobby J is clearly brilliant and he does not have a whole lot of big-time government experience. And, of course, he’s brown, which Republicans love as they attempt to trick themselves into thinking they have a racially diverse party. But the problem with Bobby J., as his embarrassingly awful speech showed, is that the dude has the charisma or brick.
All that said, I do hope Crank continues to hold up Bobby J. as presidential material. The man will have no chance in 2012, but Crank will continue to believe. Just as he did in Rudy Giuliani long after the rest of the world had moved on.
Crank, why are you arguing with the mental patients? They received their orders regarding Jindal and they are carrying them out like the good little drones that they are. You would think that self proclaimed free thinkers would at some point you know catch on to the game, but you would be wrong.
BTW-I am a little confused has the deficit tripled or quadrupled under 1 month of President Empty Suit.
Additionally, this deficit, unless I am wrong, is now bigger than all the deficits under Reagan combined, correct? And can anyone explain to me with a projected 13 trillion dollar shortfall in Social Security and a 26 trillion dollar shortfall, what is the llogic backing up the creation of more government entitlements? I eagerly await any logical answer to that.
dch,
Just because you are paranoid does not mean that we are not out to get you.
“Marching orders”? From whom? The voices you hear through your fillings?
As for the deficit, aside from the stimulus, we are no longer pretending that we are not spending trillions on George and Dick’s Excellent Adventure in Iraq, and because George and Dick presided over disastrous economic policies that led to the recession. You’ve heard that news right? I mean, even Faux News reports on it.
Magrooder, you are a friggin’ mess. ” Faux News”? Could you think of a cliche more exhausted than that one?
Iraq is a needle in a massive haystack, but Democrats voted for Iraq in droves. You people OWN this deficit and I could count the Republicans who voted for it in my Levis. What’s more, you cannot cite a single economic policy of Bush/Cheney that “led to the recession” and you won’t even try. You don’t know a damn thing about it and you know you’ll look silly trying.
You should consider limiting your posts to things you know about yourself rather than what you’ve read at Atrios or Kos. Comment on your Mom’s basement or delivering pizzas–on those subjects we’ll take your word.
Oh, and on this ridiculous swing-and-miss and Jindal, choke on it. You have been completely and thoroughly beclowned.
Unintentional comedy — the sputtering spongeworthy
Magrooder,
Were you going to name one of those Bush/Cheney economic policies that “led to the recession” (with sources, of course)? I mean, they should be out there; the administration was hardly free market in mentality. Your apparent lack of a response to this question posed by spongeworthy isn’t very convincing, though.
Bush and Cheney?
They put the nail in the coffin that holds Conservativism.
Don’t worry. The GOP brand will be back as surely as Soviet-style socialism will be.
Sponge and Crank,
What’s it like to be the last men to support a failed ideology?
Do you guys feel like the Captain of the Titanic?
Jindal’s sheriff story was false. He wasnt in the room during the fight with the bureaucrat, the sheriff didnt overrule the bureaucrat, Jindal wasnt used by the Sheriff to fight back. It’s a false, self serving story. But there’s no point in getting Crank to admit it; cons are protecting their up and comers at all costs, just like Redstate did urging blacklisting when McCain staffers came out publicly with Palin’s antics behind the scenes.
Next story.
DHK,
Bush polices that led to the Bush Recession? Here’s a start. To understand the origins of the current U.S. financial crisis and soaring credit defaults Bush made early destabilizing decisions, starting the unnecessary Iraq war, and pretended it did not cost anything, so that he could enact the 2001-2003 tax cuts. Bush loosened financial regulations, deprived the regulators of resources and did nothing to ensure market integrity.
Iraq? Tax cuts? Talk about a stretch. Next you will tell us he failed to drop a virgin into a volcano, so the market gods were angry.
Which financial regulations are you talking about, specifically? Other than GSE regulations Bush tried and failed to get passed over Democratic opposition, the only one I can think of that’s arguable is the decision to loosen the net capital rule, which is a fair complaint.
There’s no sign that the regulators saw, or would have seen, this coming when the businesses didn’t.
Magrooder,
The war in Iraq was free of charge. We don’t pay the soldiers. The bombs we drop were given to this country as gifts. NOBODY (in which I mean Conservatives) knows anything about some $9 billion (with a “B”) missing from the reconstruction.
All of the above is true, because Crank is making believe it’s so.
Extra credit for Crank, because he used the classic “no one could have foreseen…” excuse.
Of course that saying really means “no one in the circle jerk of clueless, sycophantic folks I associate with could have foreseen…”
Yeah, it’s really hard to believe that the foxes W had guarding the hen-house couldn’t stop the looting of the nation’s economy.
One last one: Crank, who says the businesses didn’t see this coming? Your naivete is ADORABLE. I can practically picture your dimples.
Crank,
The Bush Administration’s mechanisms for deregulating were more insidious than actually promulgating regulations, seeking enactment of new laws, or even vetoing bills passed by the GOP controlled Congress.
In true Cheney fashion, they worked to make sure that agency head’s neither pursued aggressive regulatory and enforcement powers. For example, in the first term, the SEC sought more aggressive regulations of mutual funds and hedge funds, but gave up after White House pressure forced the chairman to resign. Chris Cox got the message and did little during his tenure. Was Clinton to blame also? Sure, he pushed deregulation in the housing market, but Bush continued and advanced those policies. There was plenty of warning that things were going too far and, whit complete control of the government, Bush did nothing to correct it.
Jindal gives response to President Empty Suit-Jindal must be attacked and brought down by the flying monkeys. A guy throwing his football around with his kid dares to question candidate Empty Suit-well we will just you the organs of government to try and destroy him. Etc, etc, etc-again I guess you free thinkers would have to actually pay attention and notice the patterns.
dch,
What part of Jindal’s response was good? The artistic impression of Kenneth the Page from 30 Rock? The inane argument that the government has no role to play in responding to an international crisis? Or, the tired, old warmed-over Reagan nostrums?
Oh, and please, let’s have more Joe the Plumber. Please!!
I wouldn’t know what part of Jindal’s response was good ,bad or indifferent, because I like 99% of the population didn’t watch it nor have I ever watched any of those responses from either party. I simply don’t care about it, however, what I do care about is how when anyone dares to step up and speak about Obumbler, or lefties, how the attack dogs are totally and predictably unleashed. Lets waste time talking about Jinda and Katrina, Jindal and his speech, lets talk about everything except Obama his hard left policies, the stock market weighing in every day what it thinks about Obama and his plans and the 1.8 trillion annual deficit.
People did not vote for any of this and I can’t wait for the midterm elections. The quickest way back for conservatism is just to let liberals run things for a little while.
The story of Jindal’s direct involvement in the sheriff’s battle to get the boats in the water is false. As is the claim that the Sheriff got the boats in the water. This attempt to distract from Jindal’s lie by pointing to larger themes….i.e., the primacy of individual volunteerism in responding to Katrina vs. inefficient govt intervention…doesnt detract from Jinal’s fabrication, and I’ve yet to see Crank confront that head on. Hillary lied about landing under sniper fire, that doesnt mean that the region’s general dangerousness makes her lying a good thing. And so it goes for Jindal. Man he went from shooting star to wounded dog in the public’s eyes in record time.
Man Crank, why are the dems are so worried about prospective 2012 Republican candidates for President? I have never seen anything like this. I guess somewhere, somebody realized that with the massive deficits that are going to occur under Empty Suit coupled with the raising of the taxes in a recession, the markets tanking for as long as the socialist policies are proposed and/or followed, that they have to pre-emptively attack people because there is going to be no record worth defending.
BTW-per Rasmussen, approval rating 58-40, strong disapprovals higher than it was under George Bush at this time in his presidency. Figure it will be at about 50% by September and under that by the New Year.
dch,
We keep bringing up the GOP stars — Princess Sarah, the Boy Wonder and the head of the party, no other than Rush — because of their comedic value. Just what we need to take our mind off the Bush Recession.
As for your poll numbers, as Darth Cheney instructed us, the only poll that counts happens every 4 years.
Why does no one remember that the crisis actually began on the 3rd, 4th, and 5th days after the landfall of hurricane Katrina. This is when the levees and pumps broke. If Lee says that Jindal was there “the day after Katrina”, Lee is referring to August 30, 2005. Jindal would have been there in Jefferson Parish at the start of the crisis. This is basic Katrina chronology, people.
Look at Spike Lee’s movie and he backs this up (levee failure is the real crisis, this occured on 3rd/4th/5th day, etc.).
Hey guys remember how 8 years ago everyone gave George Bush a pass on the economic problems caused by the bursting of the dot com bubble and the declining econony that started under Clinton? Yeah, I don’t remember that either-with the “stimulus” package and the 3.6 trillion dollar budget and everything else this is empty suits economy now-BTW-last I looked DOW down another 160 points and now under 7000.
I’ve no knowledge of what Jindal did/didn’t do during Katrina, but ActuallyInLouisiana is correct. Katrina was a category 3 by the time the water surge hit the city, and did not overtop the levees.
As far as the most useless officials during the crisis, however, the mayor of New Orleans and the governor of Louisiana win first and second prize, both of them putting their primary efforts into finding someone else to blame. Nagin was unable to so much as follow his own evacuation plan, leaving hundreds of busses sitting to be ruined by flood waters while the citizens were jammed into that stupid stadium. And that fool is still mayor!