Republican Convention Delayed due to Gustav
[Guest post by DRJ]
John McCain has delayed the opening events of the GOP Convention because of Hurricane Gustav:
“John McCain tore up the script for his Republican National Convention on Sunday, canceling most opening-day activities and positioning himself as above mere politics as Hurricane Gustav churned toward New Orleans.
“This is a time when we have to do away with our party politics and we have to act as Americans,” he said as fellow Republicans converged on their convention city to nominate him for the White House.”
McCain aides chartered a jet to return Gulf State delegates to their home states, and President Bush and VP Cheney canceled their plans to attend the Convention.
McCain also told NBC that “it was possible he would make his acceptance speech not from the convention podium but via satellite from the Gulf Coast region.”
— DRJ
This is the prudent decision for McCain. Obviously Hurricane Gustav’s potential for damage is of far more importance than any ridiculous convention. It would be absurd not to scale it back. There are governors, senators, and the POTUS himself that are needed there. Its refreshing to see commonsense prevail and priority prevail.
And because I’m cynical and realize its crass to voice this, it is also an opportunity for Bush and co. to not screw it up – again. Beyond them actually doing their jobs, it is an opportunity to, at the least, evidence that difficult lessons have indeed been learned by Bush & FEMA, and that nothing, absolutely nothing will prevent them from doing their jobs.
McCain looks classy in this decision. And real.
Dana (084de8) — 8/31/2008 @ 5:12 pmDana, the screwups during Katrina had nothing to do with FEMA or FEMA’s job.
SPQR (26be8b) — 8/31/2008 @ 5:19 pmDana:
Not even, as SPQR left unvoiced, the residents of the affected area who failed to take any basic precautions on their own.
EW1(SG) (625c58) — 8/31/2008 @ 5:26 pmSPQR The screwups were local, agreed. But Dana is correct in that this is a good move by McCain. He is showing that he is a man of the people and not some premadonna. This, along with the Palin pick, is going to solidify his lead well in advance of the election. And the MSM will be frothing at the mouths like rabid dogs – they already are re: Palin, this move will only magnify their partisanship. They will claim that it is a “political” move by McCain. Well Duh! Rock on McCain-Palin, middle America, sane americans love ya!
J. Raymond Wright (0440ef) — 8/31/2008 @ 5:30 pmIf we’re allowed to make crass and opportunistic comments, it also keeps Bush and Cheney away from the Convention.
DRJ (7568a2) — 8/31/2008 @ 5:35 pmFEMA Director Brown was director under the Bush administration. Katrina happened during Bush’s watch. No matter the *factual detail, it will always go down as an insufficient response and handling of the situation by FEMA and the responsibility for it will always remain Bush’s.
*Factual details during Katrina and post-Katrina are irrelevant. The entire debacle became a further proof of racism being alive and well in America, as well as the shame of the Republican party. This meme is forever etched into our history. The media could not get enough.
After all, Katrina was Bush’s fault. As I am sure Gustav’s will also be.
Dana (084de8) — 8/31/2008 @ 5:36 pmSure – because Michael Moore will say it was so.
Dmac (874677) — 8/31/2008 @ 5:47 pmClassy Dems? Not so much. From CNN,
“(CNN) — Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Don Fowler apologized Sunday for recently joking Hurricane Gustav’s expected landfall on the same day as the opening of the Republican National Convention suggested God was on the Democrats’ side.”
Dana (084de8) — 8/31/2008 @ 5:52 pmDana:
Absolutely agreed! And you are right, there isn’t anything they could do this time around but babysit…even if it isn’t really their responsibility.
And even so, they’ll be faulted again this time, because they should have done it this way last time!
Sigh.
#5 DRJ:
Am I allowed another sigh? It’s unfortunate when the presence of a President and Vice President who have shown a much clearer understanding of their responsibilties as stewards of our Constitution (ensuring the physical safety of the polity) than their political opponents have are a liability at a political event where their ideological successors should have the torch passed on to them.
EW1(SG) (625c58) — 8/31/2008 @ 5:57 pmI wonder how much it will cost to retask the convention like this. McCain’s had a spike in contributions since Friday. It would be a shame to burn that money on lost deposits and scrapped plans.
Most of all, I hope the Gulf Coast handles the emergency well.
gp (78ea4b) — 8/31/2008 @ 6:01 pmEW#9, this is why I qualified my original statement with,
“And because I’m cynical and realize its crass to voice this…”
Its a no-win.
Dana (084de8) — 8/31/2008 @ 6:01 pmgp, if they do the PR properly, the lost deposits etc. will pay back many times.
SPQR (26be8b) — 8/31/2008 @ 6:10 pmDana! (How do I look over here?)
I saw the video of Fowler saying what he said, and I think it was just too easy a joke to pass by, and–holy–I’m loving this live preview!–anyway I know nothing about Fowler, but from what I saw (and from the way I think) the thought/joke must’ve been on everyone’s mind.
What say you?
Nancy (e74ffa) — 8/31/2008 @ 6:10 pmMatthew Dowd today on This Week commented that shortening the convention, maybe to just McCain and Palin’s speeches, would be a smart move since nobody wants to look at Republicans right now. I tend to agree. The farther McCain gets from Bush right now, the better.
I think Bush got a bum rap on Katrina BUT he appointed a family retainer like Brown as FEMA director, just as he started to nominate Harriet Meirs for the USSC and appointed that idiot Scott McClellan as press secretary when he had less qualification for that job than I do. The Bushes have time and again chosen for loyalty and not smarts.
Bush has caused a lot of his own grief. Had he vetoed spending bills in 2003, 2004 and 2005, we might still have a Republican Congress. Hastert was the worst Speaker in living memory until Pelosi. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Hastert in court one day over his sweetheart land deals in Illinois. It is no accident that his House seat was lost in the special election.
The Republicans brought a lot of this on themselves. That’s why McCain needs Palin.
Mike K (2cf494) — 8/31/2008 @ 6:12 pmDana,
I was explaining my comment to my husband, and he said Republicans should just move the whole thing to New Orleans.
Nancy (e74ffa) — 8/31/2008 @ 6:14 pmHey Nancy,
On a certain level it is definitely ironic. But considering the devstation of Katrina and the considerable blame Bush & FEMA took for everything, its probably not prudent to say it out loud. Also, considering he explained it this way, I think Fowler realized he put his foot in his mouth and tried to justify it,
“On Sunday, Fowler told The Associated Press that he was making fun of comments made by the Rev. Jerry Falwell, who after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, said the attacks were God’s punishment for abortion, homosexuality and other sins.
“I don’t believe in a God that’s vengeful,” Fowler said. “I believe in a God that’s compassionate.”
Sometimes these people need to just keep their mouths shut.
Dana (084de8) — 8/31/2008 @ 6:15 pmDRJ, am I being moderated on the Sullivan post as I’ve tried to comment but it doesn’t appear??? Was it something I said?!
Dana (084de8) — 8/31/2008 @ 6:18 pmI’ll look. Recently, everyone has been going into moderation at one time or another.
EDIT: I found it, Dana. There was also one from Eric Blair. I blame Alex.
DRJ (7568a2) — 8/31/2008 @ 6:20 pmSometimes these people need to just keep their mouths shut.
Well, it’s always better to err on the conservative side, at the very least.
Nancy (e74ffa) — 8/31/2008 @ 6:21 pmHeck, Dana, I think that everything Sullivan writes should be moderated. I would like to think that he wouldn’t write much of what he does, if he had a chance to think about it.
Some of my posts are in moderation, too. Or do I mean immoderate?
Nancy, what a great idea. New Orleans needs all the help it can get. The people I met there two years ago are both tragic and heroic. As they told me: “Things aren’t good, but they are getting better.”
My wife received a sizable honorarium there (we were there at a convention), and she contributed it all to disaster relief, publically. You should have seen the other award winners gulp!
My wife is my hero.
Hopefully, Gustav won’t hit New Orleans again!
Eric Blair (642d37) — 8/31/2008 @ 6:27 pmOh, and DRJ? No big deal about any of my posts being in limbo. I have no illusions about my own golden prose!
Eric Blair (642d37) — 8/31/2008 @ 6:29 pmEric, your wife is my hero, too. That is really cool.
I was going to take the fall for Alex, but since I’m new in these parts, and not around often anyway, I’ll hold back on the quirkiness.
Nancy (e74ffa) — 8/31/2008 @ 6:32 pmYup, Nancy. I’m the luckiest man you have ever met, with all due respect to your husband.
We actually met John Derbyshire at the New Orleans shindig. He is much less of a curmudgeon in person. His wife is gorgeous and very nice, and his children quite well behaved and personable.
Eric Blair (642d37) — 8/31/2008 @ 6:34 pmWell, at lest this time Bush will not have Cheney send his cronies at Haliburton down to NOL to steal all the batteries out of the school buses before they can be used for evacuating widows and orphans and minorities. So don’t look for anyone trying to trade used bus batteries for yellow cake on e-bay.
huey (c8a701) — 8/31/2008 @ 6:35 pmWell that’s a relief, DRJ. I thought maybe it was the bad hair day I’m having. 🙂
Dana (084de8) — 8/31/2008 @ 7:11 pmYou want yellow-cake, better send Franklin’s ’cause I got no use for batteries.
Mahmoud (221871) — 8/31/2008 @ 7:47 pmSeems to be the consensus here that we lost the public-perception battle regarding Katrina, and that there was little we could do about it.
Just like we seem to have lost the “bush lied about WMDs” meme because we never made any effort to contradict and correct it.
Just like we lost the “we’re in a recession” meme, because we never made any effort to contradict and correct it.
Just like we lost the “NCLB – just another unfair Republican waste” meme, because we never made any effort to contradict and correct it.
Just like we lost the “Bush said the danger was imminent” meme, because we never made any effort to contradict and correct it.
So let’s quietly shut down the convention, slink down south a ways, and then later we can take the ugly public hit as the entire (Democrat) metro area of St.Paul/Mpls screams bloody murder at the party because of the loss of the promised economic benefit of a convention in exchange for completely screwing St. Paul for several weeks.
(There are thousands of us who are scrambling to set up conference facilities, phones, net and network access – in short, who are trying to figure out how we’re going to work this week without going in to work – and now we’re all wondering if the time, expense, and aggravation was worth it at all. No, RNC, this wasn’t a great response.)
bobby b (4baf73) — 8/31/2008 @ 10:49 pmIsn’t t ironic that some conservative Republicans (posing as Christians) were praying for rain in Denver. Maybe God is trying to tell the Republicans something. You should not use God’s name in vain.
Mut Gava (121220) — 9/1/2008 @ 1:10 amIf you think the RNC/Gustav situation is just a coincidence than you are not a card carrying Republican evangelical. I am a card carrying Democratic evangelical. This is a well thought out supernatural plan. He (God) is saying you don’t deserve a convention. Three years ago your president allowed many to die. Where do you get off thinking you rate a convention after that? Let’s see what he (Bush) does this time around! Many may say that Cuba got hit bad, too. Their boss is in the toilet, also. Nuff said!
Johanna (4a66dd) — 9/1/2008 @ 4:08 amAnother troll infestation. Have any of you learned how to tie your own shoelaces yet? Is your type of stoopid painful?
JD (5f0e11) — 9/1/2008 @ 4:46 ambobby b…
Another Drew (72d59a) — 9/1/2008 @ 11:38 amAll of those points you present were shown to be falsehoods, and rebutted, over and over with facts, not feelings.
Unfortunately (as someone once said), it is very difficult to conduct a reasoned argument with someone who buys ink by the barrel.
As long as the MSM is the unpaid PR staff for Democrats/Liberals, Conservatives and the GOP will be on the losing end of a public-image war.
But, since fewer and fewer people are actually getting their news from the MSM (have you seen the lates circulation/viewer ratings?), this will eventually change until all of the vermin has been swept from the hall.
#30 JD:
My wife made me stop asking people that in public.
🙁
EW1(SG) (625c58) — 9/1/2008 @ 2:29 pm