Louisiana Governor STILL Resists Federal Disaster Efforts

Not content with completely bungling the planning, preparation and evacuation for a disaster like Hurricane Katrina, Governor Blanco (LA-D) continues to resist federal efforts to take control and better assist those in need.

From the Washington Post: Behind the scenes, a power struggle emerged, as federal officials tried to wrest authority from Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (D). Shortly before midnight Friday, the Bush administration sent her a proposed legal memorandum asking her to request a federal takeover of the evacuation of New Orleans, a source within the state's emergency operations center said Saturday.

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. Some officials in the state suspected a political motive behind the request. "Quite frankly, if they'd been able to pull off taking it away from the locals, they then could have blamed everything on the locals," said the source, who does not have the authority to speak publicly.

A senior administration official said that Bush has clear legal authority to federalize National Guard units to quell civil disturbances under the Insurrection Act and will continue to try to unify the chains of command that are split among the president, the Louisiana governor and the New Orleans mayor.

Louisiana did not reach out to a multi-state mutual aid compact for assistance until Wednesday, three state and federal officials said. As of Saturday, Blanco still had not declared a state of emergency, the senior Bush official said.

"The federal government stands ready to work with state and local officials to secure New Orleans and the state of Louisiana," White House spokesman Dan Bartlett said. "The president will not let any form of bureaucracy get in the way of protecting the citizens of Louisiana."

Blanco made two moves Saturday that protected her independence from the federal government: She created a philanthropic fund for the state's victims and hired James Lee Witt, Federal Emergency Management Agency director in the Clinton administration, to advise her on the relief effort.

Who remebers what the Church Lady, the Dana Carvey character on the good Saturday Night Live used to say? "Well, isn't that SPECIAL!"

Yes, special indeed. Perhaps more interesting is what was going on between the Federal and LA and N.O. governments BEFORE Hurricane Katrina struck. We know President Bush was on the phone from Crawford, (amazing, I didn't know they had phones there and that he could do his job) before he declared a state of emergency in Louisiana. We will find out more behind the scenes info the next couple of days that may dispel the flood of raw sewage coming from Michael Moore and the hate Bush crowd.

Thanks V the K for pointing me to this via Moonbattery.