Gov. Blanco gets no Katrina questions

Washington Times reported Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, blamed by the former leader of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin for many of the city's post-hurricane problems, was given no questions about her response to Hurricane Katrina when she appeared before a Senate committee to plead for more federal money. She asked not to be questioned about it and the senators agreed.

They were cowards. They should have told her that if she would not answer questions about what she did, when she did id, what she did not do, and why she did not do it, then she should take her request for more federal money and stick it where the sun does not shine.

Mrs. Blanco, a Democrat, was invited by the Senate Finance Committee to respond to charges by former FEMA Director Michael D. Brown, who the day before called Louisiana officials "dysfunctional" in handling the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

If she did not want to talk about what she was called to talk about, she should have left. Brown at least said what he did wrong. Many dont like that he said his main failing was failing to realise that the government in Louisiana was dysfunctional, and that he should have tried harder to get the Mayor and the Governor to work together with each other, putting their differences (Nagin supported Blanco's opponent in 2003), and working together with him. But he at least admitted he had done some things wrong.

"Today, I came really to talk about job creation," she said. Later, she told reporters, "The facts will speak for themselves. I will tell our story when the time is appropriate."

You had that chance, and refused to talk about it.

Mark Noonan blogged What the heck is this all about? When was the last time a person called to testify got to determine what questions would be asked? For crying out loud, there are certainly at least as many questions about Blanco's actions as there are about Brown's...but she gets a pat on the head and a bucket of cash while Brown is fitted for the rack?

The abject cowardice on display here is flabbergasting - the Senators, boys and girls, are simply afraid...the MSM mantra is that it was all Brown's (and, by extension, President Bush's) fault, and the Senators are apparantly so afraid of this that they will simply ignore reality and go along with the MSM fantasy...Blanco, who's political support has collapsed, gets a chance to rebuild it by bringing home the bacon, Brown is hung out to dry in disgrace. It is just a sad and pathetic spectacle.