That’s Right Nate

The news is naturally wall to wall Kennedy coverage today.   The conservative blogosphere has a very different take on things.  Sarah Palin’s Facebook page has comments like “good riddens”, “Ted Kennedy dying has made my day….”, and “this country is now much better off, one less socialist, anti freedom senator.” When Robert Nowack died recently, I read some fairly harsh comments from the left as well.

I always find it interesting when a political party claims to be true to the intents of the founding fathers.   This is to assume that our founding fathers spoke in unanimity.  One of the ugliest political feuds ever was between Thomas Jefferson and John Adams.  The personal attacks that these men and their followers attacked with would have made Karl Rove blush.   Eventually, a very odd thing happened.  They didn’t begin to think the same way, but they began to get through the acrimony and became friends.  Their letters are a national treasure that show us very different perspectives on our government.   They both died on the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.  On his death bed, John Adams spoke the ironic words, “Jefferson still lives.”

In recent years, Lyndon Johnson would not have been able to pass the Civil Rights bill without the help of Republicans like Everett Dirksen.  Ronald Reagan was good friends with Tip O’Neill who was a leading opponent of his administration.   This brings us back to Kennedy who managed to have friendships with some of the most conservative members of congress like Orin Hatch.  If we are serious about accomplishing anything as a country we need to bring civility back to politics.  There is a way to criticize a person’s policies and to not abandon your own principles without making personal or hateful attacks against the people who oppose you.  I think Kennedy got this.

Senator Kennedy will be buried on this coming Saturday.   I am a bit worried that this will take all the air out of the room so to speak in regards to other news stories.   This is a shame because August 29th is also the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina breaking through the levee and putting 80% of New Orleans under water.   Now, I am sure that the cut in funding to the levees and the policy of turning over wetlands to developers had nothing to do with the hurricane and Michael Brown did a heckuva job in coordinating the recovery efforts in New Orleans, but somehow George W. Bush still gets blamed.  The city is coming back, but there’s still a lot of work to do in New Orleans and we need to do it to protect President Bush’s legacy.

On my time on Twitter, I’ve met some amazing people, but one that stands out is Karen Dalton Beninato.  She’s married to bass player Jeff Beninato from the  band the Dbs and she’s a great writer in her own regard.   After getting displaced from New Orleans Jeff and Karen founded the New Orleans Musicians Relief Fund.   The fund exists to help those still struggling to repair their lives after Katrina and there are many many people.   I’m a bit worried that their Jackson Squared efforts to raise awareness and support for those still in need will be drowned out by the Kennedy funeral and Michael Jackson’s birthday.   If you’re a music fan they’ve got some great downloads and they have a variety of posters, apparel, and other merchandise to bring you joy while helping those in need.

Now, I know what you’re thinking–”Nate this doesn’t sound like you at all. What do you care about New Orleans?”  You got me.   Yesterday, Neal Boortz mocked Obama for his pledge to rebuild New Orleans.   Boortz said, “Obama wants to rebuild New Orleans?  Build it and they will come.  They? The debris that Katrina washed out.”  He then went on to suggest that those who left New Orleans should work in prostitution.

Now all of this sounded good to me and then it occurred to me.   If they are washed out of New Orleans, where will these people go?  They’ll go to Main Street, USA.   This is where Boortz is wrong.   We need to get those people moved back to Louisiana as quick as we can before New Orleans spreads.  Imagine what it’ll be like to be stuck in traffic because a band starts processing down the street playing jazz music.   I’m just terrified at the thought of having my doughnuts replaced by beignets or seeing KFC replaced by something approaching Willie Mae’s Scotch House.   Let’s repatriate these people before the Survivor cover band that plays at our local bar on Tuesday is replaced by Jon Cleary or Dr. John or worse yet that TGI Fridays you drink at becomes a Snake and Jake’s.   The quicker we get this debris back to New Orleans the easier it is for us to stay protected from a creeping creole epidemic.

After years of sending jobs to India, America has got a new Indian import and that import is called hope.  First, came the blockbuster movie Slumdog Millionare in which a boy rises out of the slums without any government assistance.  Now comes the next Ronald Reagan Indian-American Bobby Jindal hitting a home run (or the  cricket equivalent–a 6) as he responds to Obama’s lackluster speech last night.

Now, I have to give credit where it is due.  I’m not the one who came up with the next Reagan comparison.  That came from no greater judge of talent than Rush Limbaugh who had this to say about Jindal’s oratorical skills “When I interviewed Bobby Jindal for the Limbaugh Letter a year and a half ago or so I immediately thought I was talking to the elected version of the next Ronald Reagan, the closest thing we’ve got to an elected version of the next Ronald Reagan in the United States today.”

What I admired most about Jindal’s speech was his pleasant demeanor which reminded me of days as a child watching Mr. Rogers change his clothes in front of me.  I also loved his stories and the way he defended Bush’s handling of Hurricane Katrina by explaining that the people of New Orleans didn’t want the federal government there.  They only got in the way of the sherrif who was going to rescue everybody.  If the government sticks its nose into the economic crisis, we’re only going to get in the way of all those mom and pop stores that could really rescue us.  As Jindal says, “there’s a lesson in this experience” and that lesson is that the only way out of this economic crisis is by following the same blue print we have over the past 8 years.   Why would we ever trust our government to get us out of this crisis when they have shown how incompetent they are over the past 8 years?  Only the Republicans seem to understand this.  Thank God there are people like Bobby Jindal to lead us into the future.  With performances like the one last night, you know he will take us far.

The artist’s drawing to the left shows John McCain’s concept for New Orleans’ 9th ward.  Upon touring New Orleans today McCain called for a conference to see if the ward was worth rebuilding or if it should just be torn down. 

Its about time we had a reasonable discussion about this sort of thing.  We’ve given them nearly 3 years already.  I say they either rebuild the damn thing or move.  It takes a courageous politician like McCain to call for destroying a large chunk of a major American city and I for one applaud him for it.

To paraphrase the great Ronald Reagan:

“President Bush, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the United States and North America, if you seek conservatism: Come here to this city! Mr. Bush, start up the cranes! Mr. Bush, tear down this ward!”