Robert A. George wonders how much more he can take:
First came House Speaker Dennis Hastert openly considering “bulldozing” parts of New Orleans — at a point when the city was still 80 percent under water, bodies were still being fished out and people were still stranded in the convention center…
Then, former First Lady Barbara Bush uttered words in a radio interview which will unfortunately haunt her remaining years: “What I’m hearing, which is sort of scary, is they all want to stay in Texas. Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this is working very well for them.” Those that heard the contents state that she notably “chuckled” during the last phrase.
Now, for some, Katrina may present new opportunity. But if poor children lost their parents and were adopted by a wealthy couple, would one chuckle that things were “working well for them”?
And then, to complete the hat trick, an actual Louisiana congressman pops up telling lobbyists, “We finally cleaned up public housing in New Orleans. We couldn’t do it, but God did.” Baker claimed that he was misquoted or misheard or something…
Honestly, I might be inclined to give Baker the benefit of the doubt, if it didn’t seem like this disaster has given Republicans the opportunity to “share” how they really feel. Similarly, under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t include Barbara Bush’s comments. But, not this time. It just happens too often to ignore them anymore.
Ironically, the concern uttered here is not that the statements are necessarily racist or suggest some animus toward minorities. That’s not the point. It is that the speakers seem unable to see those suffering as as actual people.
Robert has struggled mightily in the GOP for years and years. I wonder if he has the steadiness of nerve to continue. And if you think his cognitive and moral dissonance is rough, try being a gay Republican …
The Dish 