We’ll Send You Home Again, Kathleen
Alas, the recall process has begun for Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco. As you read this, thousands are downloading, adding their signatures to, and passing along the recall petition, found at http://recallgovernorblanco.com/BLANCO_PETITION.pdf. Will this attempt at improving Louisiana leadership be successful? Probably not, but it is definitely worth a try.
Louisiana’s citizens seem constantly content with the mediocre. Being corrupt seems to be a precursor for qualifying to run in state and local elections. Finally, with Blanco, many had hopes that the old clannish and crooked political cycle would vanish. It didn’t take long for us to discover that undertones of cronyism were still very much apparent. The only real difference was in the intellectual composition of the state’s new leader. As one of the least effective governors in recent history, she tried to veil her unproductive style by holding community meetings on important issues. These summits were a complete waste of taxpayers' money, as Blanco had no real interest in the outcomes, nor did she have any intentions of following recommendations made to her on any of the topics. Most everything she did was a public relations campaign—one making it appear as though she was actually working on something.
It takes some semblance of intelligence to be a cunning crook. For a while, we were content in knowing that Blanco did not have what it takes to be so. I guess to some, having a dim-witted figurehead was better than having a brilliant, but potential shyster run the state. With the landfall of Hurricane Katrina, we soon found that the possession of gray matter should have carried more weight during the election. People on her side of the ring say that she has always been an overly cautious leader, one who deliberates over every decision. In actuality, stalling is just her way of letting someone else make tough choices for her. This time, it didn’t work and she was miserably caught in her own folly.
Now, some are saying that the recall attempt is doing nothing but expanding a chasm within the community. On the contrary, the community should be coming together to do what is best for our state. This is not a partisan issue, nor is it gender-based. The people suffering the most from her lack of leadership, understanding, and compassion are registered in her own political party. As for the gender issue, the leader of this recall drive is a woman. At this point, the consensus is that anyone is better than Ms. Blanco. Ineffective leadership does nothing for any of us, especially now, when we need the best money can buy, so to speak. This recall effort is an attempt to repair a massive problem, one that has impeded, and will continue to impede, our recovery. The federal government should not be asked to entrust billions of dollars to our current doltish state administration. By cleaning up our own mess from the top, we, as citizens, could send no better message to Capitol Hill.
Louisiana’s citizens seem constantly content with the mediocre. Being corrupt seems to be a precursor for qualifying to run in state and local elections. Finally, with Blanco, many had hopes that the old clannish and crooked political cycle would vanish. It didn’t take long for us to discover that undertones of cronyism were still very much apparent. The only real difference was in the intellectual composition of the state’s new leader. As one of the least effective governors in recent history, she tried to veil her unproductive style by holding community meetings on important issues. These summits were a complete waste of taxpayers' money, as Blanco had no real interest in the outcomes, nor did she have any intentions of following recommendations made to her on any of the topics. Most everything she did was a public relations campaign—one making it appear as though she was actually working on something.
It takes some semblance of intelligence to be a cunning crook. For a while, we were content in knowing that Blanco did not have what it takes to be so. I guess to some, having a dim-witted figurehead was better than having a brilliant, but potential shyster run the state. With the landfall of Hurricane Katrina, we soon found that the possession of gray matter should have carried more weight during the election. People on her side of the ring say that she has always been an overly cautious leader, one who deliberates over every decision. In actuality, stalling is just her way of letting someone else make tough choices for her. This time, it didn’t work and she was miserably caught in her own folly.
Now, some are saying that the recall attempt is doing nothing but expanding a chasm within the community. On the contrary, the community should be coming together to do what is best for our state. This is not a partisan issue, nor is it gender-based. The people suffering the most from her lack of leadership, understanding, and compassion are registered in her own political party. As for the gender issue, the leader of this recall drive is a woman. At this point, the consensus is that anyone is better than Ms. Blanco. Ineffective leadership does nothing for any of us, especially now, when we need the best money can buy, so to speak. This recall effort is an attempt to repair a massive problem, one that has impeded, and will continue to impede, our recovery. The federal government should not be asked to entrust billions of dollars to our current doltish state administration. By cleaning up our own mess from the top, we, as citizens, could send no better message to Capitol Hill.
posted by Carson W. Maxwell at 10:31 AM
2 Comments:
I'm no supporter of Blanco, but of the three leaders who handled Katrina badly, I thought she was the least bad. She looked worst because she has a bad TV presence,but she did attend to the technical details that some tried to say she didn't. Not that I like Blanco, I'm just more disgusted with Bush and Nagin. I can't believe that nobody else has made the payroll criticisms (of Nagin) that I have in three recent posts. If local leaders don't, congressional leaders will. I agree with a lot of what you say, but I don't think the state should be asking for money. It should argue that it's owed the money.
BTW just noticed your comment because of computer problems, would have dropped by earlier.
Ditto bayoustjohndavid's remarks to a word.
I share your interpretation of Nagin's leadership in City Hall. He merely replaced Morial's cronies with his own -- oh, but they were "reformers." The problem is, they had no experience whatsoever with how to navigate the politics of City Hall, and Nagin ended up showing he had less courage than he campaigned on.
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