What is more fetid than the waters flooding New Orleans? Stick your toe into the thread over at Dkos under booman’s diary, and you have your answer.
Meanwhile, back in Louisiana:
The huddled masses are gathered in shelters, sleeping in their cars on the outskirts of Baton Rouge, sleeping in the Motel Sixes all over the state, some of them wondering just what this “internet” is, according to one dkos diary, that they are supposed to go to to apply for FEMA assistance.
They won’t hear about, be concerned about, or care about this inner-party quarrel raging on a blog near you.
The flood waters aren’t even drained from New Orleans yet and already attention has turned to the Party apparatus that never gave a rat’s ass for most of the black faces anyway, you know, the ones we watched dying a slow death of dehydration and human neglect on CNN two weeks ago.
Desperate they are and have been, even as a democratic president named Bill Clinton severed the safety net and eliminated welfare as we know it, sending many to fall between the cracks.
And the masses have gathered wherever they can, having been flooded out of their city, out of their homes by an inept federal government that for decades ignored our cries for help in restoring our wetlands, America’s wetlands.
Where were the parties when we asked for help with this? When democrats controlled both houses of Congress, the issue wasn’t solved. When republicans controlled both houses, the issue wasn’t solved.
Meanwhile, back in your inner city neighborhood, party politics is something that comes to the neighborhood every four years when the democrats remember their “base”.
In-between elections its business as usual: corporate interest. Screw the poor. Screw the middle class.
Let them eat the hearing on John Roberts, who will represent a supreme court so far removed from the plight of the working poor in this country that issues concerning them aren’t even asked during the “hearing” for the next chief justice, and we watch as though there really is a question as to how the corporate owned congress will vote on Roberts.
If you asked an evacuee from the 9th ward as to whether NARAL or LBGT groups should have a say in party politics, you might get that if looks could kill look that I got convasing last spring in the Iberville Housing Complex, encouraging people to vote. “You know what happened in the last election”, was the response I got.
They know they are forgotten, they know no one really cares about their plight, they know that when the headlines move on to other more compelling stories, like they already are, they know they will be left on their own as they have been, well, possibly throughout the history of our american government.
Party politics? Don’t ask me for a handout. My pockets are turned out and my attention turned elsewhere, which probably means you may not even see or hear me. I’m invisible, in an invisible world, like the forgotten ones.
amen brother….i hear ya there….and so do others…been there done that one too. i must say i sometimes feel very bitter to this plite. if it werent for depending on me i would have still been there doing that…ya know…:o(..just a pissy attitude, i know…but that is the way it is…i can not tellyou how bitter i am most days that i think back to those days.
Believe it or not, I’m not bitter. Disgusted maybe with the self-absorption and greed that goes with party politics. Like someone in the 9th ward gives a fuck about what Kos thinks the party ought to do.
Like the party plays any kind of substantial role in these people’s lives.
Instead of commenting on what he thinks the party ought to do, let him go talk to the brothers and sisters in the wards and find out what they need.
Then transcribe that into what the party, or the player, or the politician ought to do.
It’s catching up with us. The least of us first. He has the luxury to discuss this now. He may not down the road.
Big fish, rain puddle.
This isn’t about Kos btw. I’m just using him. If you take away all the million dollar consultants, the party apparatus, the corporate politicos and lobbyists, what you are left with is the people, and what’s really needed.
Thanks for posting this. It is The Truth.
One of the Dems, I believe it was Feinstein, asked John Roberts today how he would basically be able to relate to the little people since judges are so isolated and insulated. He recited a few pro bono cases he’d dealt with that involved the little people and he said that, since his kids are involved in soccer etc, he’d have the chance to spend time talking to other parents etc. Feinstein ponted out that those parents would probably be of the same (economic) class. Whoops. Screwed up that answer, Johnny.
Anyway, at least she asked the questions…even if it won’t change anything and the Dem party as a whole needs to take a long, hard look at itself when it comes to these race and class issues. How soon do you think they’ll push them aside? I give them about 2-4 months and then they’ll try to drag them up during election 2006 to score points. They’ll blame everything on the Repubs. The Repubs will say they care but there’s a huge deficit and on it will go.
Meanwhile, back on the streets, people will just have to continue to help each other the best they can because that’s the way it works in North America. The gov’t throws you some tidbits and then you’re left scrounging for the rest even though you don’t know where to look. I have serious doubts that this will change much in my lifetime.
You just make sure you take care and let us know how we can help – because we CAN help.
(By the way, which dkos diary were you referring to? Do you have a link? Thanks!)
Covington or Bust is the name of the diary. Interesting quote on John Roberts. How much shit will have to hit the fan to wake people up? I suppose watching poor people die in large numbers on TV just wasn’t enough.
Worth reading the whole article/post.
From: Aaron Greenspan’s blog via Politechbot.
Thank you for referring me to this.
I’ll be the second to amen on this one…
the democrats have been handed the black vote for many years down the road by Bush and his campaign of ineptitude in the wake of Katrina.
And that scares me a little… Republicans were this-close to grabbing a good portion of the black vote.
I think the democrats needed to lose a good portion to learn to respect it and work for it the way the republicans do the hispanic vote.
if the majority of our black brothers and sisters were able to get a online as you and me and see (like you said) the crap going on between dkos and bt… freep-vegas to red state… ameriblog to mediamatters…
if they could see what is being fought over… what seems to be the only important issues… both parties would probably lose one of the most important… only cared about every 4 years– voters…
the democrats have been handed the black vote for many years down the road by Bush and his campaign of ineptitude in the wake of Katrina
I do not know that this is true. The ‘democrats’ involved in this, including Naglin, are of the DLC variety. And it’s perfectly obvious to everyone that the dems involved in this are not just clueless about the manner in which they come across (where property is valued more than human life by so-called ‘pro-life’ dems) I think that most blacks are fully aware that this was an immense failure on all levels of government.
Because so many people have died and because so many of these deaths were avoidable and because I’ve every reason to expect that the DLC dems will be just as savage towards the poor and vulnerable in future as they were when they implemented evacuation plans (which, as it turns out, did include provisions for those who had no transportation and most of these provisions were ignored). I doubt there will be much help for the homeless, for the poor. I cannot imagine that the New New Orleans will include much low income housing or that the needs of the same people who were left behind will be major or even minor concerns in policy or budget consideratons. I’ve no doubt that the suffering of white middle class families will become the follow-up news stories and that the vast bulk of governmental and charitable concerns will be extended twoards them. Because that’s how America works.
If Roe is overturned (as it most assuredly will be) the democrats should not count on this benefiting them and certainly not the democrats, elected and employed, who have so cynically used the issue to
‘triangulate’ despite the established fact that the vast majority of Americans do not wish to see Roe overturned. If the centrist disregard and obvious contempt for the poor and touching concern for property over human life remains the status quo I would not count on them being able gain politically from this debacle.
Seriously, the LA dems are just as disgusting as their GOP counterparts in a slightly different way.
And just as uninspiring as leaders.
If they eliminate affordable housing in New Orleans, as I think they will try to do, whose going to make the beds in the hotels, bus the tables and wait on customers in the restaurants of the city? Who will drive their buses, cut grass and clean their streets, maintain their buildings, and polish the floors at City Hall?
Nagin let his people die, because it was just too much trouble to adhere to the city preparadeness plan. Now he intends to keep them as exiles.
Duranta my entire family sends their good vibes your way. (I talk about Boo people alot :))
As far as the parties asking me for contributions… Omir has a diary that said it best (no coffe in my blood yet so I can’t find it) but the gist was – ask me for money?? Let me ask you a few questions first.
Personally when we were in the military we were part of the CFC combined federal campaing. Which means each year, despite our near poverty pay, we gave to three charities each year. We haven’t been able to do that in quite some time.
Now… we are giving. Not to parties. But to charities because neither party has done shit to help our fellow Americans.
Sierra Club (to help the planet/animals)
Amnesty International (to help me sleep at night due to the Red Regime justifying abuse, torture)
and now…
Habitat for Humanity
(along with buying my own damn news because our media is so fucked in the head)
They want our money? Why? They haven’t done a damn thing to earn it. Yet they make a shit load of money “working for us”….
Take care Duranta!!!!!
Thank you and your family for the good vibes and good thoughts. Being part of this community has meant a great deal to me these past few weeks. I hope I’m wrong about Nagin. He was Larry King LIve last night skirting the hard questions, though there weren’t many, not yet taking responsibility for not adhering to the city’s evacuation plan.
He talked about citizen participation in the rebuilding. Why am I not trusting or believing this now? He looked so smug and comfortable in his denial last night on CNN.
I suspect “they” will get to him, the ones who believe there needs to be a re-ordering of priorities in terms of who is welcomed back into the city. This is pure instinct I am going on, and knowledge of Nagin’s history: he has always skirted below cover with the developers, and tried to play both sides in public view.
He tried to get the water system in N.O. privatized. He was the CEO of a monopoly, Cox Cable, in N.O. He got city funds to bail out a hockey team he was part owner of before the election.
He’s part of the monied elite and he’s comfortable and he wants to maintain that comfort. It will be interesting.