Senator Joseph Lieberman, chair of the Senate Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs Committee, recently did a 180 and said that
he will not hold investigations into the disastrous Bush administration(non-)response to Hurricane Katrina. He said,
"We don't want to play ‘gotcha' anymore" and that "looking back… would
be a waste of Congress' time."
In an attempt to explain the inexplicable Lieberman's spokeswoman
Leslie Philips offered this somewhat bizarre statement: "The senator
believes a more productive use of his time and that of his staff is to…
ensure that a response to a future catastrophe is better."
Huh? Isn't that the whole point of examining the mistakes that were
made and why they occurred? To make sure that we get it right the next
time?
In fact, Phillips' statement was reminiscent of something Lieberman
wrote in May, 2006 in support of the very investigations he is now
dismissing: "Only through a thorough and comprehensive investigation of
what went wrong [can] we be assured that the government will know what
steps are necessary to get it right the next time." Lieberman also
decried "a conscious strategy of slow-walking our investigation in
the hope that we would run out of time to follow the investigation's
natural progression to where it leads." He accused the White House of
ordering witnesses not to respond to questions, and the Departments of
Justice, Health and Human Services, and Homeland Security of failing to
cooperate as well.
But Lieberman Version 2006 was on the verge of losing his party's
nomination for Senate and was desperately treading water to save his
political life. Lieberman Version 2007, in contrast, owes his new
political life in part to George Bush who steered Republican support
his way in the general election. It's pay-back time.
Gotcha, Joe.
One hopes that others will pick up the ball dropped by the feckless
Lieberman. Presidential candidate Barack Obama is a member of
Lieberman's committee. This is a clear opportunity for him to speak
out in support of common sense and against the "smallness of
politics"--a centerpiece of his campaign.
In the House, Representative Henry Waxman chairs the Committee on
Oversight and Government Reform. (Waxman is also a member of the
Congressional Progressive Caucus, whose members chair the majority of
committees and subcommittees and have generally
committed to making New Orleans a priority.) He told me today, "I
have a strong interest in the response to Hurricane Katrina, and it is
under consideration by the Committee." But, according to Newsweek
, Speaker Nancy Pelosi is "keep[ing] committees on a tight leash."
Former FEMA Director Michael Brown says there was a video conference in
the White House Situation Room, in which he warned "senior officials"
about the disastrous situation and was met with "deafening silence."
There are also believed to be records of conversations between Bush,
Cheney, and aides as "the disaster was unfolding."
Joe Lieberman Version 2006 had it right. Joe Version 2007 is smoking
something. Who will step up to ensure that our government learns the
lessons it needs to learn to strengthen the security of all Americans?
Copyright © 2007 The Nation
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