I've seen this post a few times, and laughed at it repeatedly, along with the comments coming from both sides of the aisle. The general (mis)understanding seems to be that President Bush took too long to respond to the disastrous effects of Hurricane Katrina.

Frankly, I wish the President would have just done the right thing and sit in his cushy office in Washington, DC, and tended to legitimate matters, such as defending the people from terrorists. Instead, he responded to the liberal whiner-Nazis who demanded that he do something in his capacity as President to help the relief efforts by launching a huge unconstitutional spending program just to shut them up.

When he did some really good things to help the relief efforts, such as rolling back unconstitutional restrictions on personal and economic freedom in the area, he's crucified by the Left. It's the old "damned if you do, damned if you don't" scheme. Do the right thing and stay out of it, you get bitched at for that. Do the wrong thing and start spending money you have no authority to spend, and you get bitched at for trying to ease the negative effects of your evil deed by reinstating some of the people's legitimate freedoms.

Here - read it for yourself:

Republicans See Opportunity in Katrina Disaster

Are you surprised?

"Congressional Republicans, backed by the White House, say they are using relief measures for the hurricane-ravaged Gulf coast to achieve a broad range of conservative economic and social policies, both in the storm zone and beyond." (WSJ)

I'm not. Bush suspended wage protections for reconstruction workers, meaning companies can pay low wages for any construction jobs funded by the federal government. He's considering suspending wage protections for the service industry too. He's put Karl Rove in charge of the reconstruction effort. Didn't he learn anything about appointing people with no experience to critical jobs when FEMA failed so miserably to respond to the disaster Katrina wrought? Apparently not.

So how do the Republicans plan to take advantage of the greatest natural disaster in our history and the terrible human tragedy that followed it? Well, besides suspending the prevailing wage laws - something the Republicans have been trying to get rid of for decades, Bush is also waiving some affirmative action requirements for reconstruction contractors. The Republicans in Congress are reportedly planning to pass legislation to limit victim's rights to sue, introduce vouchers for schools, eliminate environmental protection laws, and give tax breaks to companies working in the reconstruction areas.

I particularly like the sly way they've included expanded off-shore drilling and new refineries in the legislation - those are things that didn't survive the energy bill. So why not slide them in here? Well, the oil lobby is already knocking on doors and this is the least the Republicans can do to thank them for being so prompt.

What I want - desperately - is for Congress to exercise its oversight responsibilities. Instead, what I'm getting is Congress using the devastation in the Gulf Coast as a real-world petri dish for trying out Republican ideologies. I just hope that 2006 changes the balance in Washington. We won't get accountability any other way.

Posted by Kathy at 12:27 AM

All of these so-called "conservative economic and social policies" are simple rollbacks of clear violations and/or usurpations of the Constitution. So the Republicans are being maligned here for standing up for the Constitution for once. Well good for them. It's about time someone did. I have my doubts as to how long it will last, but let's give credit where it's due, shall we?

Anyway, I did post a response to the post - not to any of the other comments that were there. Here it is:

Bush suspended wage protections for reconstruction workers, meaning companies can pay low wages for any construction jobs funded by the federal government. He's considering suspending wage protections for the service industry too.

Good. These things will help get the work done more quickly at a fair cost, using real market factors rather than by artificially inflating the per-worker wage, which keeps people out of the workforce.

... FEMA failed so miserably to respond to the disaster Katrina wrought?

FEMA is an unconstitutional, illegitimate big-government agency doomed to fail at everything it attempts.

Bush is also waiving some affirmative action requirements for reconstruction contractors.

Affirmative action is a violation of the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, and is, as such, unconstitutional as well. Waiving "some affirmative action requirements" will likewise have the effect of filling the necessary jobs in a more timely fashion.

The Republicans in Congress are reportedly planning to pass legislation to limit victim's rights to sue, introduce vouchers for schools, eliminate environmental protection laws, and give tax breaks to companies working in the reconstruction areas.

All very useful and productive ways to speed up the process of getting the work done and respecting the rights of those coming to do it.

I particularly like the sly way they've included expanded off-shore drilling and new refineries in the legislation - those are things that didn't survive the energy bill.

Both things that have a genuine effect on the price of gasoline, which is essential both to the relief efforts and to the overall economy of the United States. Again, good move. However, it shouldn't take government legislation to get oil companies to increase drilling and refining capacity. The government has no business getting involved in the first place.

What I want - desperately - is for Congress to exercise its oversight responsibilities.

Congress has no authority under the Constitution to oversee anything of the sort. All of the government actions in the case of the relief effort are outside of the government's authority under the Constitution and are properly left to the States and the people, per the Tenth Amendment.

Why is it that you guys (Democrats and Republicans alike) can't accept the idea of someone besides the federal government trying to solve problems? It's as if you thought the fed were somehow more intelligent than you or I.

RWR

Posted by: RightWingRocker

It's too soon for anyone to have responded to this, and it's not a particularly busy blog, so I wouldn't expect anything soon.

I do remain cautious with regard to the Republican Party, even though they did take this stand. It will take a lot more than a hurricane or two to bring them around to a true conservative perspective. We Federalists will have to play a key role in persuading those within our party to recognize and defend the Constitution, and it is becoming increasingly clear that the Libertarian and Constitution Parties will also have to play a key role.

It is true that the Federalists have the most pull of the three conservative factions, since most are registered as Republicans, but there is one thing the Libertarians and Constitutionites can do - offer endorsements and other support to Republican candidates who support key aspects of their respective agendas. First and foremost on any conservative agenda should be the reinstatement of the Constitution as the supreme law of the land, and an insistence that its provisions be followed. Can the Libertarians and Constitutionites agree with us on that?

Federalists have even greater power. As Republicans, we have the ability to approach those within our party directly. We have the power to change the Republican Party from within. We have the power to encourage those within the party to suport candidates who will place the Constitution above all other interests when it comes to our country and our government. We are the ones who must bring forth the candidates that will gain the support of the Libertarians and Constitutionites who will stand with us in this endeavor. We have he power to educate our fellow Republicans as to their responsibility as citizens of this great country and as servants of the Constitution.

If liberals are going to fight us every step of the way, especially when someone actually does some semblance of the right thing, then let that be their demise.

RWR