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Originally posted by Storymark:
Meanwhile, Mittens is getting asked over and over about his previous statement that he would disband FEMA. His response? He hasn't made one - he keeps bailing when asked.

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"Gov are you going to eliminate FEMA?" a print pooler shouted, receiving no response.
Wires reporters asked more questions about FEMA that were ignored.

Romney kept coming over near pool to pick up more water. He ignored these questions:

"Gov are you going to see some storm damage?"

"Gov has [New Jersey Gov.] Chris Christie invited you to come survey storm damage?"

"Gov you've been asked 14 times, why are you refusing to answer the question?"

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Originally posted by ESTEAD:

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Originally posted by Storymark:
Meanwhile, Mittens is getting asked over and over about his previous statement that he would disband FEMA. His response? He hasn't made one - he keeps bailing when asked.

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Cites?

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Originally posted by Storymark:
Whos sock puppet is this Estead? Only pops in a few months, mainly to cheerlead for hero/rappy/geez.

Actually, given recent conversations, Im betting on BDN.

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Originally posted by m52nickerson:

"Appearing on Fox News—yes, Fox—Christie scoffed at the idea of Romney making a visit to New Jersey in order to inspect the damage. “I have no idea, nor am I the least bit concerned or interested,” he said. “I’ve got a job to do here in New Jersey that’s much bigger than Presidential politics, and I could care less about any of that stuff.”"

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Originally posted by Kwicko:
But in a real show of "Fuck You" to those lousy 47%, he went out of his way to phone the Republican governors of states in Sandy's path, but avoided any contact with Democratic governors, showing once again how little he cares for those he thinks won't vote for him!

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Originally posted by Storymark:
Whos sock puppet is this Estead? Only pops in a few months, mainly to cheerlead for hero/rappy/geez.

Actually, given recent conversations, Im betting on BDN.

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Originally posted by ESTEAD:
Thank you. Storymark's post is not quite accurate though. According to a background story linked to the article you cite, Governor Romney made this statement yesterday:

"Romney spokeswoman Amanda Henneberg said that the former governor simply wants states to have more say in how FEMA money is spent.

“Gov. Romney believes that states should be in charge of emergency management in responding to storms and other natural disasters in their jurisdictions. As the first responders, states are in the best position to aid affected individuals and communities, and to direct resources and assistance to where they are needed most. This includes help from the federal government and FEMA,” she said."

http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/appropriations/264639-hurricane-
sandy-puts-fema-budget-in-campaign-spotlight

I apologize if the formatting is off. I've not tried to post a link here before.

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Originally posted by Hero:

Quote:

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Originally posted by Kwicko:
But in a real show of "Fuck You" to those lousy 47%, he went out of his way to phone the Republican governors of states in Sandy's path, but avoided any contact with Democratic governors, showing once again how little he cares for those he thinks won't vote for him!

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I can't find anything about this. I think your confusing Hurricane Sandy with Hurrican Isaac where he called Gulf Coast Republican Governors but not Democrats...because there were no Gulf State Democrat Governors.

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Yeah, I can't find anything about it on Fox, either.

Here ya go:

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FERNANDINA BEACH, Fla. — Republican nominee Mitt Romney reached out to GOP allies on Monday in advance of Hurricane Sandy, but he has not spoken Democratic governors in the path of the storm.
"Gov. Romney has also been in touch with Governors Bob McDonnell and Chris Christie about storm preparations, and we will continuously monitor the situation," press secretary Andrea Saul told reporters in an email Monday morning.
Romney's running mate, Paul Ryan, said Monday that the campaign has "staying in touch with regional leaders — we're offering assistance."
But it's not clear whether Romney's outreach is bipartisan: Key Democratic leaders said they had no word from the Republican campaign.
An aide Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley said he was "not aware of any call" from Romney. A spokesman for Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy and said Romney "has not reached out" to Malloy.
President Barack Obama said Monday that he has spoken with all the governors of the states impacted by the storm.

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http://www.buzzfeed.com/zekejmiller/romney-reaches-out-to-republican-g
overnors

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There is really no good political response for a crisis like this. If the President gets out in front it's because he's up for reelection and people say 'then where was his leadership the rest of the time'. If he stays off the podium then he's 'out of touch during a crisis'. Same for the challenger.

I think both sides have handled this as well as possible. The President was visible without seeming like he's trying too hard for political gain. Romney is raising money for the Red Cross and turing his campaign to collecting goods for donation. At his even in Ohio today he urged people donate to relief rather then elections, required people to donate canned goods for admission, then got off the stage and boxed donations while a country music guy from Alabama who did Katrina relief concerts played music.

Now I'm sure if this disaster had happened any other time Obama would have been off to Vegas or Hollywood for a fundraiser or hitting the golf course someplace warm while his people claim this is all because nature saw the movie 'The Perfect Storm' and is pissed at the insulting way nature is presented in the film. He'd then have the writer and director (but not George Clooney) arrested.

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Having lost both the philosophical and practical argument [conservatives] dismiss or diminish their opposition.

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Originally posted by Kwicko:
So what part of it does he consider "immoral", if not spending the money on disaster relief?

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Originally posted by ESTEAD:

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Originally posted by Kwicko:
So what part of it does he consider "immoral", if not spending the money on disaster relief?

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If you've found Governor Romney's use of the word immoral in his quote, can I assume you've read his full response?

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In 2011, during the heat of the Republican primary, the GOP candidate said during a debate that he would support cuts to federal disaster relief as part of an overall plan to reduce the deficit.
"Every time you have an occasion to take something from the federal government and send it back to the states, that's the right direction," Romney told debate moderator John King. "And if you can go even further, and send it back to the private sector, that’s even better. Instead of thinking, in the federal budget, what we should cut, we should ask the opposite question, what should we keep?”
When John King interrupted to clarify, "Including disaster relief?" Romney continued, "We cannot afford to do those things without jeopardizing the future for our kids. It is simply immoral, in my view, for us to continue to rack up larger and larger debts and pass them on to our kids, knowing full well that we’ll all be dead and gone before it’s paid off. It makes no sense at all." (h/t Slate)

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Originally posted by BIGDAMNNOBODY:

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Originally posted by Storymark:
Whos sock puppet is this Estead? Only pops in a few months, mainly to cheerlead for hero/rappy/geez.

Actually, given recent conversations, Im betting on BDN.

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Do you ever get tired of being wrong?

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Originally posted by ESTEAD:

Quote:

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Originally posted by Storymark:
Whos sock puppet is this Estead? Only pops in a few months, mainly to cheerlead for hero/rappy/geez.

Actually, given recent conversations, Im betting on BDN.

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Check the registration history. Check the posting history. I post when I'm interested. Please tell me why my simple request for a cite is so out of line?

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Originally posted by Hero:
I note for the record that Obams is touring the disaster zone today...then heading off to Vegas which must be part of Obama's general crisis management response plan.

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Originally posted by Storymark:
Its amusing looking at the thread overall - not a one of the right-wingers will even acknowledge what Christie said - that means they might have to admit Obama did something right!

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Originally posted by Storymark:
Never said it was, so you might want to work on those reading skills.

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Originally posted by ESTEAD:

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Originally posted by Storymark:
Never said it was, so you might want to work on those reading skills.

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Do you really think this a good way to advance your points in a discussion. I would suggest that being a dick gets nothing accomplished. In fact, it destroys any common ground which may have been reached prior to it.

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Originally posted by ESTEAD:

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Originally posted by Storymark:
Its amusing looking at the thread overall - not a one of the right-wingers will even acknowledge what Christie said - that means they might have to admit Obama did something right!

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You mean the thread you hijacked in the 2nd post?

But to your point. If I had to guess why the "right-wingers" aren't commenting on this, I'd suggest its because they're not surprised. Gov. Christie is the real deal. A stand up guy. He'll tell you when you're right and call you out when you're full of shit. Conservatives know this. Nice to see the "left-wingers" noticing something "right-wingers" knew all along. Say it with me now, Christie 2020! Feels good, right.

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Originally posted by Kwicko:
Yes, I've read it. And watched the video.

Did you have a question?

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Originally posted by ESTEAD:

Quote:

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Originally posted by Storymark:
Its amusing looking at the thread overall - not a one of the right-wingers will even acknowledge what Christie said - that means they might have to admit Obama did something right!

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You mean the thread you hijacked in the 2nd post?

But to your point. If I had to guess why the "right-wingers" aren't commenting on this, I'd suggest its because they're not surprised. Gov. Christie is the real deal. A stand up guy. He'll tell you when you're right and call you out when you're full of shit. Conservatives know this. Nice to see the "left-wingers" noticing something "right-wingers" knew all along. Say it with me now, Christie 2020! Feels good, right.

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Originally posted by ESTEAD:

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Originally posted by Kwicko:
Yes, I've read it. And watched the video.

Did you have a question?

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No question. Just wanted to make sure you understood that Mr. Romney strongly believes that handing our children ever increasing debt is immoral.

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Originally posted by Storymark:
When someone deliberately puts words in my mouth I didn't say - what makes you think I care to continue discussing with them?.

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Originally posted by Storymark:
Funny how you never seem too concerned with politeness from rappy or your other right wing boys.

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Originally posted by Kwicko:
Do you think he'll be alive in 2020?

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Originally posted by Niki2:

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His campaign ramps back up Wednesday after canceling events and dialing back rhetoric because of the superstorm. Romney is resuming his regular campaign schedule and will hold three events in Florida.

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So what's the difference?

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As to who Estead is, who gives a shit?

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Originally posted by ESTEAD:

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Originally posted by Kwicko:
Do you think he'll be alive in 2020?

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Did you just threaten the life of Governor Christie?

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Originally posted by Niki2:
And lastly before I move on to more interesting threads:

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"Romney spokeswoman Amanda Henneberg said that the former governor simply wants states to have more say in how FEMA money is spent.

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That may be what his spokeswoman said, but it's called "spin". It is NOT what Romney said; check the video. He said disaster response should be TURNED OVER to the states, or better, to private enterprise.

The fact that

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Throughout the day following Hurricane Sandy’s landfall, reporters traveling with Romney have asked him what he’d do with FEMA—they asked him 14 different times, according to this report—and he has refused to answer.

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is a pretty good indicator, to me, that he's found himself in an "oh, oh" moment and is dodging the question. But he made himself pretty clear in the video, and he never said he wanted the states "to have more say" in FEMA.

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During a CNN debate at the height of the GOP primary, Mitt Romney was asked, in the context of the Joplin disaster and FEMA's cash crunch, whether the agency should be shuttered so that states can individually take over responsibility for disaster response.

"Absolutely," he said.

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He said more, but "absolutely" is pretty clear.

Republicans have focused on cutting FEMA pretty much since its inception; Romney is merely a reflection of that attitude:

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FEMA, created by President Jimmy Carter, was elevated to cabinet rank in the Bill Clinton administration, but was then demoted by President George W. Bush, who neglected it, subsumed it into the Department of Homeland Security, and placed it in the control of political hacks. The disaster of Hurricane Katrina was just waiting to happen.

The agency was put back in working order by President Obama, but ideology still blinds Republicans to its value. Many don’t like the idea of free aid for poor people, or they think people should pay for their bad decisions, which this week includes living on the East Coast.

Over the last two years, Congressional Republicans have forced a 43 percent reduction in the primary FEMA grants that pay for disaster preparedness. Representatives Paul Ryan, Eric Cantor and other House Republicans have repeatedly tried to refuse FEMA’s budget requests when disasters are more expensive than predicted, or have demanded that other valuable programs be cut to pay for them. The Ryan budget, which Mr. Romney praised as “an excellent piece of work,” would result in severe cutbacks to the agency, as would the Republican-instigated sequester, which would cut disaster relief by 8.2 percent on top of earlier reductions.

Does Mr. Romney really believe that financially strapped states would do a better job than a properly functioning federal agency? Who would make decisions about where to send federal aid? Or perhaps there would be no federal aid, and every state would bear the burden of billions of dollars in damages. After Mr. Romney’s 2011 remarks recirculated on Monday, his nervous campaign announced that he does not want to abolish FEMA, though he still believes states should be in charge of emergency management.

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That's called "spin",little one. If it were JUST that he thinks states should be in charge of emergency management, why is he so energetically ducking the question? Why not just answer it with that?

Tit for tat got us where we are today. If we want to be grownups, we need to resist the ugliness. If we each did, this would be a better reflection on Firefly and a more welcome place. I will try.

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Originally posted by ESTEAD:

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Originally posted by Kwicko:
Do you think he'll be alive in 2020?

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Did you just threaten the life of Governor Christie?

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Originally posted by FREMDFIRMA:

Screw repeated trips, go there, establish a command center, and use both the power of the office and the administrative staff to help fix the goddamn problem - way I see it that's his JOB, more or less.

While proportionally in a sheer numbers sense not so much, the morale impact of having the Prez on site and backing the play cannot be denied, people will bring their "A game", political drones will get with the program instead of playing games, and many minor fiascos and jurisdictional BS can be solved pretty quick with the big guns handy to smooth the way.

And while most people don't think about it too much, yes administrative staff, particularly competent ones, can make a DAMNED lot of difference in a crisis, ensuring supplies get where they're needed quickly and keeping personnel deployed in the most efficent manner instead of folks winding up twiddling their thumbs forty miles away from where they would be helpful.

FEMAs problems aren't just politics and intention, primarily it's a matter of piss-poor administration, since those posts are often filled by incompetents given the job as a political sop rather than by virtue of ability, and yeah verily I hate red tape as much as any, but done RIGHT not only can the hassle be minimized, good administration can be one hell of a force multiplier - yet one more reason I am not overfond of the military fashion of doing things cause they like to be maximum inefficient to keep from having bored troops with too much time on their hands, and that has infected their thinking and operational style, although the Navy is a smidge better about that.

Anyhows, eff the politics, get the CinC on site, bunkered up, and take charge, fix the PROBLEM, worry about petty political crap after.

-Frem

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Originally posted by Niki2:
As to who Estead is, who gives a shit?

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Originally posted by ESTEAD:

Quote:

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Originally posted by FREMDFIRMA:

Screw repeated trips, go there, establish a command center, and use both the power of the office and the administrative staff to help fix the goddamn problem - way I see it that's his JOB, more or less.

While proportionally in a sheer numbers sense not so much, the morale impact of having the Prez on site and backing the play cannot be denied, people will bring their "A game", political drones will get with the program instead of playing games, and many minor fiascos and jurisdictional BS can be solved pretty quick with the big guns handy to smooth the way.

And while most people don't think about it too much, yes administrative staff, particularly competent ones, can make a DAMNED lot of difference in a crisis, ensuring supplies get where they're needed quickly and keeping personnel deployed in the most efficent manner instead of folks winding up twiddling their thumbs forty miles away from where they would be helpful.

FEMAs problems aren't just politics and intention, primarily it's a matter of piss-poor administration, since those posts are often filled by incompetents given the job as a political sop rather than by virtue of ability, and yeah verily I hate red tape as much as any, but done RIGHT not only can the hassle be minimized, good administration can be one hell of a force multiplier - yet one more reason I am not overfond of the military fashion of doing things cause they like to be maximum inefficient to keep from having bored troops with too much time on their hands, and that has infected their thinking and operational style, although the Navy is a smidge better about that.

Anyhows, eff the politics, get the CinC on site, bunkered up, and take charge, fix the PROBLEM, worry about petty political crap after.

-Frem

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This right here is exactly why we all should be voting for Romney. All of this status quo government nonsense and incompetence Fremdfirma just described will never be acceptable in the Romney administration.

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Originally posted by ESTEAD:

Quote:

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Originally posted by FREMDFIRMA:

Screw repeated trips, go there, establish a command center, and use both the power of the office and the administrative staff to help fix the goddamn problem - way I see it that's his JOB, more or less.

While proportionally in a sheer numbers sense not so much, the morale impact of having the Prez on site and backing the play cannot be denied, people will bring their "A game", political drones will get with the program instead of playing games, and many minor fiascos and jurisdictional BS can be solved pretty quick with the big guns handy to smooth the way.

And while most people don't think about it too much, yes administrative staff, particularly competent ones, can make a DAMNED lot of difference in a crisis, ensuring supplies get where they're needed quickly and keeping personnel deployed in the most efficent manner instead of folks winding up twiddling their thumbs forty miles away from where they would be helpful.

FEMAs problems aren't just politics and intention, primarily it's a matter of piss-poor administration, since those posts are often filled by incompetents given the job as a political sop rather than by virtue of ability, and yeah verily I hate red tape as much as any, but done RIGHT not only can the hassle be minimized, good administration can be one hell of a force multiplier - yet one more reason I am not overfond of the military fashion of doing things cause they like to be maximum inefficient to keep from having bored troops with too much time on their hands, and that has infected their thinking and operational style, although the Navy is a smidge better about that.

Anyhows, eff the politics, get the CinC on site, bunkered up, and take charge, fix the PROBLEM, worry about petty political crap after.

-Frem

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This right here is exactly why we all should be voting for Romney. All of this status quo government nonsense and incompetence Fremdfirma just described will never be acceptable in the Romney administration.

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Originally posted by Storymark:
Have you, like.... tuned on a TV lately? The releif operations have been running along pretty well.

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Originally posted by ESTEAD:

Quote:

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Originally posted by Storymark:
Have you, like.... tuned on a TV lately? The releif operations have been running along pretty well.

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I guess you don't know anyone in the 5 boroughs or Long Island. Turn off your TV, they're lying to you.
We should all be pleased that New Jersey is happy with the response, but if you want to help instead of calling me names and arguing with what I know or don't know, you should get on your phone right now and tell Mayor Bloomberg to cancel the marathon, and divert resources immediately to Staten Island. Fucking morons, I swear to god.

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