BRING BACK THE DADDY PARTY [Rod Dreher]Meanwhile, President Bush says Congress should examine whether the United States is prepared to handled another disaster...
I carry no water for Gov. Blanco or Mayor Nagin, both of whom will, I am certain, come out worse than anybody when the crisis moment passes and we examine the record of who did what. That said, I was startled to see a quote from a "senior administration official" in a Times story today, explaining why President Bush did not invoke the Insurrection Act and seized control of the Louisiana National Guard:
"Can you imagine how it would have been perceived if a president of the of one party had pre-emptively taken from the female governor of another party the command and control of her forces, unless the security situation made it completely clear that she was unable to effectively execute her command authority and that lawlessness was the inevitable result?"
Excuse me, but what? Is it really the case that a Republican president was so worried about the conniption fit the left would have if he told Gov. Edith Bunker to stifle it, and sent in troops to save the lives of poor black people who were being set upon by anarchists? Sure, the usual suspects would have howled, but they would have howled anyway. The Normal-American community, however, would have seen a commander in chief who was not going to let political considerations stop him from overruling an inept governor and moving in to save lives and prevent an American city from turning into Mogadishu? And the Normal-American community would have cheered this extraordinary example of firm executive leadership, and told the Meathead-Americans to take a hike. But that didn't happen, did it?
The more I look at this situation with my "leadership glasses" on, the more I am seeing that perhaps our lefty friends MIGHT have a point, however small of one it might be...
The President has an obligation to protect and defend. So does the governor and the mayor. It was evident pretty early on that the governor and the mayor weren't up to the task. Why didn't the President step up?
BUSHITLER.
That's why. It really is. The administration decided not to use the Insurrection Act (which I'm not convinced is a valid argument anyway; but for the prupose of this discussion, let's go along with it) because it would appear inappropriate for a male Republican to take power from a female Democrat... I'm supposed to believe this nonsense?
Let's get real. The reason why the Insurrection Act wasn't used is that there wasn't an Insurrection to Act against. Certainly not in the timeframe we're talking about, the hurricane hadn't even hit the shore yet.
What Congress needs to look at is whether or not we want the power to enforce an evacuation of our cities rests with the state and local governments, which it has for all these many years, or do we want that power to rest in Washington DC at the White House. Me? I'd rather that decision be made at the local level, but there is an argument to be made for centralized control...competence matters.
9/13: Mark's Remarks
And once Bush did this, after the hurricane, he would be impeached precisely because:1. there was no insurrection, thereby nullifying the use of the Insurrection Act
2. there would still have been casualties, and with him taking full responsibility, they would have crucified him in the media and press.
OK, let's think here: who would know more about the local situation and conditions than local leaders? Do we want a federal control over issuing ecac orders? Think about how much the feds are criticized for overreacting and underreacting. If a tornado hit an area, there would be federal suits vs. the government for not evacuating. If we did evacuate, and the storm turned away, there would be federal suits for instilling panic.
Folks, the system is not perfect. However, our Constitution was designed for the States and Locals to be the chief arbiters of local matters, not a Daddy or Mommy State. I am shocked and appalled that NRO is advocating immediate federal superceding of state authority.
This is an indictment of incompetent leadership, not the federal system. Besides, the feds can only go on what they get from the locals.
It is disgusting that even folks over at NRO have fallen prey to this Blame Bush mentality.
The argument the White House makes is correct and sound. Never has it been done, except in times of extreme internal strife. This hurricane, if the locals had handled it correctly, would not have qualified.
Bottom line, end of story: the locals failed. Bush did what he could within his power under the Constitution. It is disgusting that so-called orignalists over at NRO would seek for the President to override the Constitution merely to score political points of leadership, at the cost of risking the federal system we have.
