Pulling out before the job is done seems to be Bush's general attitude toward South Louisiana at this point. Oyster bullet points the various ways in which the federal coffers are not being opened to speed the Louisiana recovery, flood protection, and crucial (see just how crucial here) coastal restoration efforts. I find this a bit ironic as it was Oyster who pointed out to us in late 2005 that Bush claims to be sitting on a plan to "increase the wetlands by three million". If the President has indeed misplaced this plan, I should remind him that experimentation on such a scheme has already occurred in my neighborhood with results available for review here.
Particularly galling in this situation is the complicity of Louisiana Republicans in Bush's determination to feed us to the sea. Senator David Vitter has worked to prevent Louisiana from being forgiven the local matching requirements for federal disaster aid granted through the Stafford Act.. although this requirement has been waived numerous times in the past under less dire circumstances. US Rep and Gubernatorial candidate Bobby Jindal has repeatedly carried the water (so to speak) for Bush's anti-coast agenda. In fact, in Jindal's 2 page fund raising letter (leaning once more on Oyster here) he makes no mention of the most important issue facing the state he seeks to govern.
What is the deal with Louisiana Republicans? Here you have a lame-duck, historically unpopular President facing an all-out revolt by Congresspersons of his own party on what used to be his meat-and-potatoes type issues. And yet Louisiana Republicans continue to shill for his (non) recovery agenda at the most dire expense of their Louisiana constituents. If this is what we can expect from bona-fide Louisiana citizens, one can only tremble at what might have happened should a dangerous foreigner such as three-time Louisiana Senator John Breaux have been permitted to seek the Governorship. Truly, our state has dodged another bullet.
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