Does anyone think Kerry needs to call Bush out on the handling of Katrina?

I know General Clark has today. It's all over in GD/P (including the 08 threads). People are saying that he is the only leader that is speaking out against Bush. It wouldn't hurt for Kerry to join him, would it?

This is genocide. Genocide. Nothing, not future political ambitions, not caution, nothing gets in the way of saving the lives of those people in New Orleans.

This is unbelievable. I can't believe I am seeing this. Not in America. That POS Bush should resign, as should his robotic VP. We need new leadership.

Congress is back in session tonight, rushed back by the Dems. We should start to see some non-clueless people in DC real soon.

God bless the poor people of New Orleans in this genocide.

EDIT: Oh, and one of the most blatantly racist reactions I have ever seen. If the Democrats don't scream about this I will just blow up. I cannot believe the amount of pure racist reactions and comments I am seeing. This is just awful.

Our Dems MUST step up. It is long overdue. I am letting them know how I feel. I am not standing for anymore from either them or the GOP. The Dems have a duty to speak out NOW! We should call for Bush's resignation and I don't care if it "looks bad". Massive genocide looks worse.

work within the system first? The situation seems to become worse by the minute and the federal government seems asleep. Kerry warned that the National Guard was needed at home and was way overcommitted in Iraq.

It may be that in addition to calling Bush out - Kerry needs coherent suggestions of what Bush should do now that preventive action wasn't done. (either in the sense of long term levee repair over the last 4 years or in terms of a better planned evacuation when they knew they were in trouble. )

The situation in the Gulf Coast region is simply disgraceful. What the fuck is Bush* doing? I honestly don't think I've ever been angrier about anything in my life. I think Bush's* resignation should be called for immediately. What difference would it make? And where the fuck is Cheney? Does he still exist? I read in GD that Condi was in NYC shopping for $1000's of worth of shoes! Isn't she from that general area originally? (Mississippi or Alabama) Doesn't she give a damn? The whole world is going crazy - WE NEED GROWNUPS IN CHARGE!!

My mom talked to my aunt in South Carolina and they are running out of gas in her little town (just off I 95). I have a feeling there are going to be a lot of stranded people along the nation's interstates before long. This is a crisis and what the fuck is anyone doing about it? It's begining to remind me of the movie Mad Max.

Sorry for the rant. I'm glad we all have a place like DU to come and let off steam in a time like this even if it isn't always coherent or particularly productive.

P.S. Does anyone else feel as helpless in this situation as I do? I've made a donation, and I'll make more - I just wish there was something more I could do. My heart is broken for those poor souls.

If she was getting boots for a trip to LA at least it would make sense.

ME!!! I just had one of my posts deleted by the moderator! My first time, so I guess I'm "officially a member of DU" now!!! I am kind of glad they deleted it, 'cause I was ranting, and can't repeat what I said. I didn't even have to swear!! All I can say is, it had to do with the snipers in NO. !!!! If they hadn't deleted it, I might have had the FBI knocking on my door, and DC would have been neither seen or heard from anymore!! As soon as my SS check is deposited tomorrow, the Red Cross is getting a donation from me. I'm going away tomorrow night for an overnight visit to my old friends in the Berkshires. I have to get myself away from the TV!!! I just can't stop watching this!! I've cried more tears for these people than I have since my hubby died 3 yrs. ago!! Jesus help us all!!!

You have more humanity and compassion in your little finger than that idiot Bush has in his whole fricking body. Here you are on a fixed income, with disabilities and you are thinking of sharing with others. You are the very backbone of America. You make me proud to be a Dem and, btw, a human being.

Thanks for posting this. You gave me a smile.

Love you kiddo!

You made me cry again, but this time tears of joy. I'm so grateful to have you guys, otherwise I would be going insane about now. I love you all too! What a hell of a way to finally get America to open their BLIND EYES AND EARS! This will probably be the straw that breaks the proverbial camels back;.......but dear God at what a price!$##&%*^^()(&*^%##^^%!!!!! Love, DC

I also can't believe there are people that don't know what is really going on.

After 9/11 all the channels had constant coverage but with this, people can go home and watch the standard BS on Network and Cable TV and be clueless as to the human catastrophe happening in our own country.

Last night I couldn't fall asleep. I was haunted by the little girl from the footage on Countdown. She was wet and standing on a highway divider in water that would have been up to her chest BEGGING for help and crying. She was begging the people in the boat the camera man was in "Please, please help us, please, please help us" and just crying. Her grandfather was pushing a floating car through the water. When she got no response, he asked "could you at least point us to higher ground". She kept begging for help and crying, and the boat drove away. :cry:

I tried to read a book until I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore so I could fall asleep.

Why is Kerry being a polite politician? This could be civil war! If Kerry does NOT speak out about this negligence I will switch my support to Clark. Teresa and John having a fundraiser is NOT enouch. He should be calling for impeachment. People are dying!

I wish the Democrats would stop being so soft. This clown should be impeached!!


All this is really getting to me so I think I will step away for a while.

speak out. I am praying it is Kerry. I too wrote to him .Someone has got to sstep up to the plate!

I hope he steps up to the plate. I just saw a post (I think in GD) that the Heinz Corporation is sending at least a half mil $ worth of food, with more to come later. And that Teresa is sending a good size chunk-o-change to help out as well.

urgent first.

This does not surprise me at all.

for leadership. I am too. And I also wish the democrats, especially Kerry, would publicly tear Bush to shreds. But I also understand why he may not be willing to do so just yet.

Bush is the president. It is his job to lead - that's what being president is. This is the job he lied, cheated, and stole to get, and he ought to be allowed to put his full incompetence on display so his admirers get the picture of what they put in office. I don't blame democrats at all for taking a few days before they speak out. Those with consciences are working to raise money. It doesn't seem inappropriate to me for the opposition party to be hesitant to make a noisy political fuss while people are dying, particularly Kerry. We see him as the true president, but the people of Mississippi and Louisiana may not. It's not like he can just rip the reins of power from Bush's hands and make things right.

And no, I'm not one of those people who thinks that we shouldn't bring politics into it. The reason this even happened is political. The 100% disconnect between Bush and the people who fall below his personal radar screen is something for which he should burn in hell. He gambled the lives of these people away on Iraq. I just don't think any democrat of conscience wants to be grandstanding at a time when people are going through absolute hell. I think they are trying to figure out a way to deal with this (See Harry Reid's letter to Frist. See Judiciary Democrats call for inquiry into gas price gouging) without having the power to actually do anything unilaterally.

Don't you think Kerry is thinking about how differently he would have handled this situation? Does any one of you think he's lying low and afraid to speak? I imagine that the phone wires are burning up among the dem leaders trying to figure out what they can do. But short of a revolutionary uprising in which the people demand that Kerry be made president immediately and that the cowardly fraud be thrown in jail - no, change that to thrown into the SUPERDOME immediately without secret service protection - there is no power to do much more. It's in a way the same argument we've been having since the election with the lunatics over in GD. What's the point in just shooting your mouth off without a plan to back it up?

Kerry's 3 emails, especially the one with Teresa were appropriate for the disaster and he like others is trying to raise money to help. I agree that he likely does think of how differently he would handle it with the power of the Presidency.

I doubt he is out partying or buying $1000 of shoes. I'm sure he is working on something - possibly a plan for fixing the situation (as he did with Iraq) as quickly as possible. Then he can simultaneously suggest reasonable actions and implicitly call out Bush for not working on this himself. One think I've always liked about Kerry is that even in the opposition he seems as much about solutions as criticisms. Also, the criticisms may be limited to just the lame excuse of a rescue mission.

Only when things are dry and people safe should he or others push the issue that the cuts to the levee programs and intransigence on global warming had an impact. The sad thing is that N.O. might have been doomed by a level 5 storm, but it was lowered to level 3 before it hit. Even after it hit is looked like N.O. would be ok, until it was flooded. This might have been preventable. It will be interesting to hear what the expert earth scientists conclude. If it was preventable this is on Bush's conscience.

Even on this friendly turf I was hesitant to post this. Emotions are high - mine are as well - but one of the things I look to Kerry for is a reaction that is heartfelt but tempered with common sense. If he came out raging I would be disappointed in him.

It goes way back. Did you see my review of Unfinished Symphony? (here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=273&topic_id=39507&mesg_id=39629) It got buried, I think. But as you said, one of the most impressive things about young John was his calm thoughtfulness. It's the quality that first brought my admiration. Hotheads all around, and there was John in the middle, making his point without losing his temper. He's that man today, not changed a bit, except older and even wiser.

I was very impressed by the almost seamless quality of it - from the music to the people. It must have been even more interesting when you really know the places - which incidentally were pretty. I thought that was what he meant when he said something about expecting that to be hard - but the people seemed to be at least kind to them if not openly supporting them.

I wonder if the calmness is emphasized by his typical very tiny pause before he speaks. It's interesting because he also has this huge amount of energy behind his calm focused statements.

I agree with you on the reaction - I understand the emotion that all of us have at the death and destruction that occurred because of bad priorities (I hope Bush enjoyed his tax cut) and now aggravated by incompetence and lack of concern. This is likely to be a bigger tragedy than 911, and Bush has been unable to be the emotional leader of the country. Although they couldn't have written it, even the emotional solace that a letter like John's and Teresa'sfrom the first couple combined with really coordinating a rescue mission using every resource at our disposal would have been the leadership needed. (Where is Laura - supposedly the perfect First Lady?)

However, if Kerry came out raging against Bush, it could make it harder for him to get them to accept any good ideas he has. DU were cheer him for about 10 posts, and then bash him for everything from not winning to speaking out too late. I think putting the anger to work on forcing Bush to spend the money needed for recovery and for fixing other ignored problems that can also blow up later makes more sense.

I trust John Kerry to do the right thing. Always. End of story!

I don't mind seeing Bush twist in the wind for a while. If the Dems come out and speak, it might dilute the message that is now coming across loud and clear. Then the right wing media would have something to use to turn away the attention from this debacle.

And I agree--those phone lines are probably burning up! ;)


If indeed Congress is coming back early--that's very good indeed. :)

I just spent 1/2 writing it up, trying to make sure it was "perfect"
and was even going to spend the 8.95 to have it hand delivered, but my stupid computer wouldn't communicate with the site those numbers that you need to copy to authenticate your letter! And I think I lost everything I typed - ugh.

But then I come here and read that you all are doing the same thing, and I just have to smile. Great minds think alike:grouphug:

One thing I asked of Kerry was to stand up with a smile, and caring words. Not to point fingers and not to use political rhetoric.
That's all we get anymore from the politicians is finger pointing.
Kerry has a big heart and a beautiful smile. I want him to show that side to the world.

Going to try and find my letter!

Pihana said:

"One thing I asked of Kerry was to stand up with a smile, and caring words. Not to point fingers and not to use political rhetoric.
That's all we get anymore from the politicians is finger pointing.
Kerry has a big heart and a beautiful smile. I want him to show that side to the world. "

That Kerry was shown so often at the rallies and it was hard not to really like him - but rarely seemed to be on regular TV . Then it was always the serious Kerry (debates and Sunday shows) or the witty Kerry (like on the Letterman show). I think as President that would have been the Kerr we would have seen more of - especially at times like this.

We are all on the same page concerning Kerry.
Dammit, he is MY President!!!

How can WE be more effective in communicating to him?
You know he gets 100s of letters, we need impact.

Any ideas?

I am not saying you are, of course. But if we contact him, our respect for him should shine through in our words, instead of harshly demanding "Why the #$%$! aren't you crucifying Bush over this?! Coward!!!1" and whatever. In my opinion, the time for blame is after everyone has been rescued. Not now. His current letter exhorting help and unity is exactly what he should be saying right now. That's what's needed now. Help. Blame can come after the tragedy has been dealt with, and much as we might want him to, JK is powerless to make Bush react to this any better. As whome said in an earlier post, Bush is fucking this up, but it's HIS fuckup, and JK can't do anything to stop him from fucking it up. With 1000s of people left in New Orleans, he is spot on in asking for relief - he can rip Bush a new asshole once the recovery and analysis starts.

I want Kerry to just stand up, work on the sidelines. Fill in the loose ends. Not point fingers. But to stand up and lead. Not to say a word about Bush, but just do what needs to be done. To do what is missing in this country.

Kind of like after the election when he went to the mideast. He spoke with leaders there about how to keep terrorists out of Iraq. He tried to be a "normal" voice coming from America. That's what I want from Kerry. He did what needed to be done, without VERBALLY attacking this administration.

Clinton. People are dying and it is due to negligence and incompetence and it is high time someone held Bush accountable. The buck stops at the oval office and just as Cindy demands answers on Iraq , the nation is demanding answers about the handling of this disaster. We cannot afford to be nice and time is wasting. I think we must demand with dignity that Kerry speak up about this negligence. BTW< his current letter is fluff that accomplishes nothing. Nice words big deal. Sorry Wilde, I don't agree. We need to get the Dems on the stick to DO something, especially as the public is now demanding answers!

He obviously needs to do what you say, but it can wait a few days.

In addition, this must be done in front of the biggest audience so that it is heard by the country. AAR or a blog is not the venue for something like that. This must be done either in the Senate or at a major press conference. Doing that today will accomplish nothing.

And I don't see what the letter accomplished. What good did it do? It wasn't covered by anyone and it doesn't help NO. At least Clark's coverage and he got some MSM, puts pressure on. Whether it truly dores any good, we will have to see but something is better than nothing!

The letter filled one need, getting people to help and calling the country together. Do we still care about people or is it just a pissing match?

More needs to be done, but this must be done on major venues. Doing that on TMPCafe is nice*it made me feel better), but absolutely useless. Of course, if he said that on FOX, this is different.

THIS IS NOT ABOUT US FEELING BETTER. THIS IS ABOUT HELPING PEOPLE WHO MAY DIE and people who will suffer for the rest of their lives one way or the other. Many of the posts I have seen on GDP seem to miss the point. It will be about feeling better when these people's lives will be saved and their immediate needs fulfilled.

What I want now is somebody to propose a plan to help them for the immediate future and for the future (nobody has done that yet). We will see a little later how to get at Bush.

The letters were sent to groups of Kerry supporters, some of whom may have been affected directly or indirectly. To those people he was offering comfort and letting them know people are thinking of them. These types of statements (esp the joint one he and Teresa wrote) would have set a nice tone if similar things were said by the First Couple.

He was also speaking to others, not personally impacted, making it easy for them to find places to contribute or using the email to remind them of the need. These emails will result in some help for the victims.

The federal relief effort is in the executive branch - so Kerry was not positioned to do anything and it was about 2 days into the crisis. The size of the disaster became clearer today and Kerry is almost certainly returning to DC for the special session today.

I'm not sure that what Clark did did anything - the news itself has covered the facts. Bush, delayed maintenance on the levees and the people in NO are paying a high price. Once people are safe, Congress better re-address this and other cases where they are not insuring the infa-structure is safe. Kerry will be one of the people fighting this.

calls for extraordinary action. Bush is literally killing American citizens while we watch. Even Fox News reported people are dying in the streets in front of them . People are not getting food or water. There is NO excuse and there is NO time for this BS. Bush needs to be called on this. And we have to have the spine to do it and so does Kerry.

rather than simply bashing Bush. Bush has the power of the Presidency to do things - if Kerry espouses a sensible plan that people can see is good, Bush may follow it. Otherwise, Kerry's only chance is if he can convince the Senate and House to do something. He is a legislator the Senate gives him some power and a platform to speak from, and I am sure he will take the action he thinks is more likely to benefit the people of N.O.

I don't think it is unreasonable for him to at least try to work within the system to get help -even if it is done quietly and he is given no credit. On the other hand, if he thought Bush would be more likely to ramp up efforts if Kerry (and others) bashed him, Kerry could do this exceedingly well - while still sounding polite.

rooftops and the Doctors at the point of a gun and the dying preemies in hospital stairwells don't have anymore time to be "polite". We need someone to to action NOW.And there doesn't seem to be any "reasonable" plan that can implemented because this is not a "reasonable" President.

people in NO.

Sure, what Clark did today on AAR made AAR listeners happy. Dont forget two things:

-1/ AAR is a relatively small audience, and most of them already agreed with him. So, as much as I agree with Clark and am happy he did that, this is not leadership (though I am sure he would do the necessary if he was president).

2/ People in NO get nothing out of that. Hopefully, Kerry, Clark, and others are working in the background at getting help that can be useful for them. Talking on AAR will do nothing at all.

So, it depends what you are waiting from in a leader. If what we want is somebody who goes in selected audiences to say something that make you feel good, we already have Bush for that.

If you want somebody who will lead to find solutiona and fix problems, people like Kerry or Clark are what we need, but not because they say the words we want, just because they will do the right thing.

This said, I expect Kerry (and others) to very soon criticize Bush on his handling of this crisis. However, what he said today is only a very small part of the problem. The real problem is that they should have been ready and were not. For now, the urgency is make sure people still in NO get out of there ALIVE.

Email him...

They are getting lots of calls, I spoke with them today... hopefully soon...

All democrats need to come out against Bush and his "casual" action towards Katrina.
Kerry can also try to help them and come up with proactive approaches while in senate.

of the SBC, such as proposing measures to actually help people.

As much as I like the idea of a pissing match, there are concrete measures that must be taken and we need people to do that.

On edit: Just checked on his sbc website:

Here is the letter he send with Landrieu.

http://sbc.senate.gov/democrat/lettersout/050901-ExtendKatrinaLoanDeadline.pdf

This is a crisis in the soul of America. We have American citizens who face imminent death unless the government gets their act together now and flies in some aid. Now. Tomorrow may be too late for hundreds, if not thousands of people. We need a moral voice that speaks truth to power and says that if we do not do this then the government has the blood of it's own people on it's hands.

It is beyond despicable that the RNC sent out a letter asking for the repeal of the Estate Tax. (One of the more progressive taxes ever enacted, btw.) This will deprive the treasury of $1.5 Billion dollars a week at a time when we need money to give to the poorest of the poor. This is moral issue. Someone has to speak up and say, "How dare you do this" to the unfeeling bastards who sent this out.

I don't support John Kerry just because he's my home state Senator. I support him because of his history, his conscience and his moral voice on the issues that face America. I believe in that. I have been defending that all day in other DU forums. And I want to hear this voice, this reason, this appeal to the better angels of our nature to go in NOW and save the lives of Americans who are in deadly peril. I want Kerry to speak up. I want that moral voice that I believe in so strongly to speak and be heard. It's the whole reason I post here. It's the whole reason I believe in the man. It's the reason that I have, even now, faith.

We need Democrats to stand up and speak for the people. The current occupant of the White House has disgraced himself and he has no voice, no humanity and no moral voice whatsoever. There is a vacuum. I want a leader and I know where there is one. And I strongly, totally and completely believe that he has been screaming at people on the phone all day to get off their asses and get help to the desperate. And now I want to hear him speak and challenge the current leadership (if I may laughingly call it that) to fulfill their constitutional oaths to protect the people. Because he can. Because he has. And because, in my heart, I know he will.

People, I believe!

He must speak, because it is the right thing to do and he is the right man.

This was not my point.

I 'd like Kerry to do all you say, but we also need people who will DO things, concretely, and what he and others can actually do to alleviate other people's sufferings should not be belittled.

Kerry's truly compassionate side leads him to do that naturally, and I hope he will do that also.

I am not taking any issue with you Mass at all.

MEa Culpa.

It was meant to stand alone.

Sorry.

I found a post where people were congratulating themselves to have evacuated a children's hospital yesterday. I think reading that made me even more sick than I was before.

How deficient was the evacuation plan that they did not evacuate hospitals BEFORE the hurricane.

Add to that this 04 article in the washington post:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A20277-2004Sep14.html

describing exactly what is happening.

And now Bush tell us we could not imagine. I think what I want to see investigated before all is who wrote this evacuation plan who did not plan to evacuate sick people and those who were too poor or too old to have a car. But Bush was too busy to be bothered with his vacations.

They have different jobs to do. They are supposed to make sure that the right people, intelligent people are assigned to the right jobs. This is the supervisory aspect of being a legislator. Kerry is very conscientious in doing this part of his job. (Again, we have all seen the man in action in committee. His questioning of Chertoff was dead-on and superb.)

He can also speak from the bully pulpit of the Senate as the last nominee of the Democratic Party who lost the last election by a very close margin. He has the platform he has. He can use it to ask people to send in money, to volunteer if they possess needed skills and to be the eyes and ears of a nation that demands accountability, responsibility and some damn competence from a government that has given up on it's mandate to protect the people in times of trouble.

The Globe once prefaced an article about Kerry by calling him, 'The Avenger.' That's the guy who risked official military reprimands because he took an opportunity to rescue 42 Vietnamese civilians. Kerry has seen senseless death and suffering up close and in a way that I never, ever will. He knows. He came back a different person and one who took all the rage and frustration about a failed government policy and channeled it into action. I want that guy. I want the guy who risked his image, his reputation and his career to go after a lying government that allowed drugs to be sold so the money could be illegally sent to the Contras. I want that guy. I want the Avenger and I want him to take on Bush. He can affect actual change and light a fire under Bush and his gang of incompetents by speaking up and reminding Bush that someone is watching him and is going to raise holy hell once the immediate danger is over. Oh God in Heaven, do I ever want that guy.

And, as a private citizen who happens to be connected to vast wealth, I expect him to send whatever aid he is personally capable of mustering. (Never any doubt on this one. THK is an amazingly giving woman. Her compassion is one of the things I really love about her. Any Sen. Kerry was one of the first Dems to send out letters imploring people to give to the Red Cross and other relief charities.)

A lot needs to be done. Today, a symbolic vote will give Bush the possibility to send funds there, but how will that be used? Will the fund help the people who need it? How will that be financed: by more federal deficit or by asking rich tax payers to help by raising taxes?

I guess these are the first types of actions that I expect Kerry to lead. The rest must follow, but there are emergency measures to be taken and we need people to make sure they are taken in the interest of the people (and not of the oil companies like the lifting of anti-pollution measures).

I guess this is what I have been trying to say in my previous posts, but I guess I am too upset to express that clearly.

You are doing a fine job. You are a compasionate and caring person.

That part of yur message came through loud and clear and I really appreciate it. You, and the others on this forum, give me hope. We are America and we will make sure that the Rethugs bastards remember this.

I also said and think that he should be doing as much as possible in the Senate to help these people but he should also keep the republicans accountable for their fumbles.

so Wes Clark called Bush out. good for him. and Kerry is calling for help for the victims. it's not as if he is sitting around doing nothing.

But these threads about "Where are our leaders?" or "Where are the Democrats?" are repetitve and unnecessary. It seems like once someone speaks against Bush they say "___ has guts, balls, the rest are DLC-DINOs, spineless and so on."

I do (and always) appreciate what Kerry does I saw a thread where Momma T and the Heinz corporation are donating millions to the relief fund (Kudos to Momma T. :) )


I wasn't trying to create friction when I posted this, I was just wondering yes or no. Sorry. :shrug:

the replies would have been "and why didn't he do this last year" and other complaining. these people LOOK for ways to complain, whine, and bash. you don't do things or hope for things according to these people as they don't really care.

i think Kerry should do just what he always does and not according to constant bashers on the internet.

I wish the media would talk about what Dems are doing but it probably won't happen until weeks after this disaster has simmered down. There just aren't enough dems cramming onto the news circuit because FEMA, Bush, and others are in the spotlight.

Luckily Gov. Blanco is doing well, wish I could say more about Laudriue but she's acting sort of goofy.

especially with Dems now out of power.

i am pretty impressed by Blanco.

He has the luxury of not having to negotiate with this criminal regime t get funds to aid the hurricane victims.

I'd like to see him tear him a new ass.

I don't think bashing the chimp will help at this juncture. The Dems need to come up with a plan to help all ravaged areas and need TO STAND TOGETHER AND FIRM ON IT. TO GET IT OUT TO ANY AND ALL NEWS OUTLETS THAT WILL CARRY IT. Ignore the repukes like they don't even exist and get on with doing something about this, instead of blaming the victims.

I would like to know this: If Faux and CNN reporters can get in the area, why can't the rescue workers get in with the needed supplies? And this administration is supposed to protect us from a terrorist attack, where there is no warning? They had 3 days warning with Katrina and look at the results. Terrifying. God help us all.