Two years after the devastation of New Orleans from Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans is still rebuilding and the politicization of the storm is still raging (emphasis added):
(CNSNews.com) – In the two years since Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans on Aug. 29, 2005, the Bush administration has failed to restore the city because of its reliance on conservative policies, a liberal organization charged in a report released Tuesday.
While conservative analysts acknowledged that the federal government could have responded more effectively to the disaster, they noted that the document failed to place any blame on the New Orleans mayor and the Louisiana governor – both of whom are liberal Democrats – while using President Bush as a “convenient scapegoat.”
“The failure we see in the rebuilding of New Orleans is without any question a failure of conservative governance,” said Robert Borosage, co-director of the Campaign for America’s Future, during a telephone news conference announcing the group’s report [pdf], “Compounding Conservative Failure: Hurricane Katrina Two Years Later.”
The report refers to a speech President Bush made on Sep. 15, 2005, in which he said: “We will do what it takes, we will stay as long as it takes, to help citizens rebuild their communities and their lives” in New Orleans.
That Governor Blanco and Mayor Nagin escaped blame is a bit odd. Neither comported themselves well before, during or after the natural disaster. But if your aim is to lambast political opponents, by blaming “conservative policies” for NOLA’s woes, then the omission makes sense.
“This administration believes that tax breaks and private enterprise will redevelop the society,” said Borosage, but “fundamental change has to be done, with the federal government making the commitment to build a modern public infrastructure ….”
“The same combination that crippled the reconstruction in Iraq – lack of planning, crony capitalism, no-bid contracts and scorn for public infrastructure – has undermined reconstruction in New Orleans,” the report said.
(emphasis added). If only that bolded part were actual conservative policy, I would probably count myself amongst their ranks.
As it stands, “conservatives” in the Bush Administration simply believe in a relatively smaller government solution than what the Campaign for America’s Future would prefer to see. In the meantime, while the fight continues over just how much government is necessary to rebuild NOLA “a lot” vs. “and then some”), citizens in the community of Versailles have taken the rebuilding process upon themselves to great effect.
Entire strip malls remain shuttered in east New Orleans.
Apartment buildings are abandoned, and rows of utility poles still lean at precarious angles — a reminder of how viciously the area was battered by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the subsequent flooding — and how hard it’s been to rebuild.
But one enclave, the Vietnamese neighborhood known as Versailles, has rebuilt itself nearly to pre-Katrina conditions.
Homes in the community 12 miles east of downtown New Orleans have been gutted, rebuilt and repainted. Nearly all of its 7,000 residents have returned, and nearly every business has reopened.
While many projects across the Gulf Coast wait on billions of dollars in promised federal funds, Versailles residents have taken matters into their own hands.
While one place bickers with the federal government over just how much of a helping hand should be administered to rebuild the city, another place takes the initiative and nearly completes its rebuilding process on its own. Pastor Vien in Versailles nails the difference on the head.
The rebuilding effort has centered around Vien The Nguyen, pastor of Mary Queen of Vietnam Catholic Church.
“We believe that when you rely on someone else, you’re at their mercy,” Vien says.
Amen, pastor. Amen.
(HT: email from Keith)
[tags] Hurricane, Katrina, Rita, New Orleans, Louisiana, Ray Nagin, Kathleen Blanco, Versailles, Vien The Nguyn, Campaign for America’s Future, conservative policies, private initiative [/tags]
Rebuilding without government aid!? Perish the thought . . .