The idiotic, clueless, mean-spirited and/or heartless comments of elected or appointed Republicans on Hurricane Katrina are so numerous, I thought I'd better start collecting them. Sit back, relax, and laugh at the Republicans as they show their true colors.U.S. Representative Richard H. Baker (R-Baton Rouge, LA): "We finally cleaned up public housing in New Orleans. We couldn't do it, but God did." [Baker later "clarified" as follows: "We have been trying for decades to clean up New Orleans public housing to provide decent housing for residents, and now it looks like God is finally making us do it.' " Oh. Kay.]
U.S. Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA): "I mean, you have people who don't heed those warnings and then put people at risk as a result of not heeding those warnings. There may be a need to look at tougher penalties on those who decide to ride it out and understand that there are consequences to not leaving."
Rick Santorum (R-PA) once again: "the Weather Service gave no warning, or not sufficient warning in my opinion, as to the effects when it came on land in Florida as a Category One hurricane." [Uh, I was following the hurricane for days on the National Hurricane Center site, as anybody could have, and their was TONS of warning. Hello, earth to Senatorum Santorum!]. Meteorologist and National Weather Service Employees Union president Paul Greaves responded to Santorum's bashing of the National Weather Service, whose forecasts were praised by South Carolina Republican Senator Jim DeMint as "one of the most accurate hurricane predictions we have ever seen," by saying, "We know Sen. Santorum is looking out for the interests of his constituents in Pennsylvania, and one of those constituents is AccuWeather." Verrrry interesting.
U.S. House Majority Leader Tom "Scandal Ridden" DeLay (R-TX): Speaking in Houston to children who had been evacuated from New Orleans, DeLay reportedly "likened their stay to being at camp and asked, 'Now, tell me the truth, boys, is this kind of fun?'" [Yeah, about as much fun as the indictment of your political action committee -- TRMPAC - must be for you. Hahahahahaha! Hilarious.]
Barbara "why should I waste my beautiful mind on [body bags and deaths in Iraq]" Bush: "And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this ? this is working very well for them."
President Bush"The good news is...that out of this chaos is going to come a fantastic Gulf Coast. Out of the rubble of Trent Lott's house ? he's lost his entire house ? there's going to be a fantastic house. And I'm looking forward to sitting on the porch." [the comments reportedly drew "nervous laughter"]
President Bush: "I want to thank you all, and Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job. The Fema director is working 24 hours a day." [Brown was relieved of command yesterday, after blistering bi-partisan criticism for NOT doing a heck of a job!]
President Bush (yet again): ?I don?t think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees.? (uh, yeah, just about EVERYBODY anticpated that ? except for you, apparently)
U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL): ?It looks like a lot of that place [New Orleans] could be bulldozed.? (in other words, ?Hastert to Big Easy: Drop Dead!? Thanks, Mr. Speaker. Is that what your master Tom DeLay told you to say or did you come up with that comment all by yourself, you dumb shit?)
Former Virginia Attorney General Jerry Kilgore: In response to Washington Post reporter Marc Fisher's question about whether Hurricane Katrina made him think about the gulf between haves and have-nots in this country, Kilgore responded "no."
Vice President Dick Cheney: Just look at this picture of Cheney yukking it up in the ruins of Gulfport, Mississippi.
Getting the picture yet? This is today's right-wing/neo-con Republican Party. This is Jerry Kilgore's Party. 'Nuff said.
