A Tale of Two States

UPDATE: important info below.

Mississippi's Governor is Republican Haley Barbour. A Washington insider since the Reagan Administration, Barbour returned to his home state in 2003, winning in his first attempt at elective office.

Democrat Kathleen Babineaux Blanco is Governor of Louisiana. Originally from Coteau, and then Lafayette, she frequently touts her Cajun roots. Blanco served two terms as Lieutenant Governor before becoming the state's first female chief executive elected, like Barbour, in 2003.

I despise the blame-game. But it's unavoidable: the MSM doesn't conceal its "blame Bush" agenda. So one can't escape the bickering.

I recognize hurricane Katrina wasn't an equal opportunity destroyer--it hit Louisiana square-on; Mississippi escaped dead-center. But there's another difference, says Washington Times Editor in Chief Wesley Pruden:

[T]he governor, Kathleen Blanco, resisted early pleas to declare martial law, and her dithering opened the way for looters, rapists and killers to make New Orleans an unholy hell. Gov. Haley Barbour did not hesitate in neighboring Mississippi, and looters, rapists and killers have not turned the streets of Gulfport and Biloxi into killing fields.

Not good. But I remained unconvinced--until Louisiana relief ran afoul of state medical licensing:

Volunteer physicians are pouring in to care for the sick, but red tape is keeping hundreds of others from caring for Hurricane Katrina survivors while health problems rise.

Among the doctors stymied from helping out are 100 surgeons and paramedics in a state-of-the-art mobile hospital, developed with millions of tax dollars for just such emergencies, marooned in rural Mississippi. . .

Dr. Jeffrey Guy, a trauma surgeon at Vanderbilt University who has been in contact with the mobile hospital doctors, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview, "There are entire hospitals that are contacting me, saying, 'We need to take on patients," ' but they can't get through the bureaucracy.

"The crime of this story is, you've got millions of dollars in assets and it's not deployed," he said. "We mount a better response in a Third World country."

Mississippi, by contrast, welcomed out-of-state doctors "with open arms."

Disaster relief is primarily a state, not Federal responsibility. So far, the response from Democrat run Louisiana and New Orleans is no way to run a railroad--much less a recovery. I've heard few complaints from Mississippi.

Barbour in '08 anyone? Liberals are worried (caution: language).

More:

Why didn't I see this before? Federal disaster relief is conditioned on a specific statutory process (42 U.S.C. § 5191):

All requests for a declaration by the President that an emergency exists shall be made by the Governor of the affected State. Such a request shall be based on a finding that the situation is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the State and the affected local governments and that Federal assistance is necessary. As a part of such request, and as a prerequisite to emergency assistance under this chapter, the Governor shall take appropriate action under State law and direct execution of the State's emergency plan. . . Based upon such Governor's request, the President may declare that an emergency exists.

This is from Louisiana's 2005 State Emergency Operations Plan (page 3):

State assistance will supplement local efforts and federal assistance will supplement State and local efforts when it is clearly demonstrated that it is beyond local and State capability to cope with the emergency/disaster.

And this is on page VI-1 of the 2000 Southeast Louisiana Hurricane Evacuation and Sheltering Plan:

1. Residents who have no means of transportation will be directed to the staging areas.

2. Transportation vehicles will be pre-positioned to transport residents to shelters.

Compare this, from the Washington Post:

The administration sought unified control over all local police and state National Guard units reporting to the governor. Louisiana officials rejected the request after talks throughout the night, concerned that such a move would be comparable to a federal declaration of martial law. . .

Louisiana did not reach out to a multi-state mutual aid compact for assistance until Wednesday, three state and federal officials said.

And this famous photo of pre-positioning, New Orleans style:





(source: Junkyard Blog)

Res Ipsa Loquitur.

Still More:

NY Girl beat me to the punch--and to the title.

More x 3:

This is one stupid Governor:

As floodwaters caused by Hurricane Katrina began to slowly recede with the ruined city's first pumps returning to operation, Nagin late Tuesday authorized law enforcement officers to force the evacuation of the estimated 10,000 residents who refuse to heed orders to leave.

But in a Wednesday interview with FOX News, Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco said she had not signed off on the decision.

"The mayor certainly has ordered that but the governor, and that would be me, would have to enforce it or implement it. We are trying to determine whether there is an absolute justification for that," she told FOX News.

"I think the most important thing driving that decision would be the possibility of disease. If indeed the disease problem is evident, is inevitable, we'll have to move to the next stage," she said.

And developments suggest that "next stage" may come soon. Floodwaters in New Orleans contain bacteria associated with sewage that are at least 10 times higher than acceptable safety levels, making direct contact by rescue workers and remaining residents dangerous, the first government tests confirmed Wednesday.

More x 4:

The NY Times is skeptical about Barbour. And Alenda Lux says the skepticism suggests Barbour's right.

(via SC&A, MaxedOutMama, and [added] Free Republic via LGF)