Nagin bails...
but not the way everyone else in New Orleans is...
In this post we predicted that Nagin would soon face criminal charges as his culpability in the deaths of tens of thousands of New Orleans' citizens came to light. If the rumors we're hearing are correct, (and these are still just rumors) he may already be crumbling under the pressure of his likely fate. But if Nagin really abandons 'his' city in its time of need, is there a place on Earth that will have him?
The fact that Nagin was way over his head was masked by various memes that worked in his favor (Captain's Quarters and Michele Malkin cover these). Also in his favor was the 'Sheehan factor' - no matter how serious his flaws, there were forces in the media ready to promote his sainthood in order to leverage N'orleans' tragedy and finally 'get' the President. But while the media flurry has failed to change public opinion or shake Bush, it did have the effect of making an investigation inevitable. While these pressures were intended to be a headache for the administration, it's Nagin who can't afford to let the sun shine in.
Now - tell us you haven't been thanking God for Guiliani.
{UPDATE: We worked well into the night to find additional sources for the resignation rumor, but were unable to find any. Nevertheless, Nagin's actions are worth watching for odd behavior and statements. For example, we note his recent move to reward New Orleans' cops and emergency workers with trips to Las Vegas - as if saving their city was not motivation enough. (Nagin asked the feds to foot the bill, they refused, and now the city will pick up the check.) What's really happening here is political: Nagin desperately needs to buy himself a base of support. (Remember, sadly, that we already know New Orleans cops can be bought.)
The pressure on Nagin behind the scenes is increasing, even as NO struggles to get to its feet. We believe that Nagin absolutely does not want an investigation of the reasons behind the delays and snafus in evacuating New Orleans. Bush's opponents and critics are insisting on such an investigation, in the belief they can find evidence to use against the President. While few have asked specifically for an investigation of the mayor, any investigation of Katrina would wind up being exactly that.
Note that Nagin has made no public statements demanding an investigation, despite his initial insistence that the Feds had failed the city. By contrast, the official most frequently and stridently accused of failure (Bush) has taken these calls in stride - even embraced them. Why? Keep in mind that Nagin is a wealthy man, not impoverished as many of his constituents were. While his money would be less than a drop in the bucket of all this suffering, we believe that with this worldwide spotlight, he will be as 'at risk' for lawsuits as the government. We believe his political career is certainly over, and it's merely a question of whether he goes out on his feet, or feet first. Bush, most critics' intended target, will emerge relatively unscathed. This is partly due to the shrill and overreaching nature of many of the charges against Bush, whereas the evidence condemning Nagin (the now-famous bus photos, the evac plan not carried out) consists of relatively hard evidence. The Governor has already instituted a blame-shifting defense, and while her initial strategy was to finger-point upward, Nagin is now the path of least resistance. Nagin made a huge tactical mistake in attacking the Governor, who now sees Nagin as a threat and will act accordingly to protect herself. While the governor initially stood united with Nagin to pass blame upward, she has changed course. Thus: powerful people are highly motivated and aligned to see to it that Nagin takes the fall, and hard. Watch what happens as the thrust of blame shifts from the feds to the mayor, and watch as those with an agenda scramble in a losing battle to shift that focus back.}
Reactions elsewhere to this post. And a poster in the Jamaica Star forum called this post a 'perspective we are too PC to consider'. Ayuh.
FIND MORE CURRENT POSTS ON RAY NAGIN by entering 'Nagin' in the search box at top left, then hitting your 'Return' key.
The Mudville Gazette demands an investigation - and has some definitie ideas about where to start it.
Indirectly related: A well-written piece, 'An Unnatural Disaster: A Hurricane Exposes the Man-Made Disaster of the Welfare State' on the Intellectual Activist site, brings a lot of this into perspective, using one of the rarest and most-hyped commodities: Truth.
Categories: New+Orleans, Flood+aid, Hurricane+Katrina, Corruption
posted by Mister Snitch! at 12:34 AM
8 Comments:
Snitch:
You'll love the column in the NY Daily News from Mike Goodwin today. I posted on it earlier. It's a scathing indictment of the Local Government.
P.S. Doesn't it stink that we need word verification now.
Thanks very much for the tip. The public opinion needle didn't move much throughout this, but it looks like the media coverage is about to take a swing the other way.
Yes it is unfortunate that we now need woord verification. But what's worse is that, apparently, it doesn't always keep the comment spam out!!
We believe his political career is certainly over...
I'm afraid you don't understand Southern politics well enough. Unless he is actually put in prison (in which case he would become ineligible to hold office), it ain't over until his money runs out. As long as his friends are richer and more powerful than his enemies, he stays in office.
Hey there Carter. Well, I'm from Jersey - I have had enough experience with crooked politics to grasp the basic premise. We've got some fairly intractible situations here as well (you've seen the Sopranos, right?). I never would have believed anyone who told me they were going to clean up New Orleans situation, unless they were truly walk-on-water extraordinary. But in this case, I believe the extremity of the situation will produce an unusual result. For one thing, the nation is going to demand some sort of determination of guilt, a sacrificial lamb as it were. From that cynical point-of-view alone, Nagin is the most likely candidate. (Heads will roll at FEMA as well, not that a fresh batch of inert bureaucrats won't replace them.
And, of course, one wonders if Nagin even has a city left to mismanage. The folks who voted for him are scattered to the four winds. Many have nothing to come back to. Many won't come back, and will make new lives elsewhere. That might make it politically feasable to NOT hand Louisiana $100 billion (not that it would end there) to rebuild the city. Or the feds or state might dissolve the city and take over its government, at that price tag.
Anyway, my POV. Thanks for writing.
Is it possible that Mayor Nagin is functionally illiterate? That would explain a lot: his unfamiliarity with the law, his ignorance of the emergency plan, him getting sidelined by the Prez and Gov after only five minutes, the fact that he only cites verbal and visual reports, and that he seems unaware of the damage his own statements are causing his image when published in major newspapers.
We actually had a Hoboken City Councilman (Andrew Amato) who was functionally illiterate, and like Nagin, a successful businessman. So, it CAN happen. You do make an interesting case, oh Wise One.
Proof?
The guy is giving a speech this morning announcing the evacuation of New Orleans and he used the words or should i say sounds um and uh at least three times every sentence. He read the official part of the order as "in accordance with L-A rev stat" instead of pronouncing it louisiana revised statute. I'm not sure if that is the correct wording to use for those abbreviations but i am sure that pronouncing abbreviations as they are written is incorrect.
Ray Nagin is an illiterate idiot
We have to point out: It's difficult to prove that someone is an idiot. Illiteracy is a different matter. But neither carries any criminal penalties. What may be legally actionable here, and likely to cause Nagin considerable problems, are his actions in regard to failure to follow his city's written procedures for emergency evacuation. A state of emergency WAS declared by Nagin, yet he merely sent people to a local stadium where he knew there was no adequate food, water, security, backup power, etc. Nagin also failed to make the evacuation MANDATORY (as it is now). While people died, he then blamed others for not bailing him out.
There are other bureaucratic inneficiencies to be examined here. But Nagin was the first line of defense, the key player whose actions resulted directly in the death of thousands. Some are deliberately ignoring this because their agenda is to destroy others, not to get at the facts. We believe the legal system and/or investigations will lead to the facts in spite of the cynical hype.
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