“Barney Frank accuses Bush of ‘ethnic cleansing’”
In a private session videotaped yesterday on Capitol Hill, Rep. Barney Frank, D, Mass., accused the Bush administration of “ethnic cleansing by inaction” against poor blacks in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Frank, the new chairman of the House Committee on Financial Services, said that after the administration’s initial “incompetence,” it has done “virtually nothing to alleviate” the loss of housing by the poor in New Orleans, who mostly are black.
“What I believe is, at this point, you’re not talking about incompetence, you’re talking about values ... when in a calculated way you refuse to do anything for well over a year after the disaster,” Frank said.
“The policy, I think, is ethnic cleansing by inaction. ...”
While a spokesman later tried to cover the obvious intent of the remarks, it can’t be denied that Frank called it a “calculated” “policy.” There’s even a clip of the speech on YouTube where he says, ““What they recognize is they’re in this happy position for them, where if the federal government does nothing, Louisiana will become whiter and richer.” This is shameful hatemongering and racebaiting. It’s also typical of liberals. They love to tar their opponents with the worst crimes possible. This isn’t civil debate and political discourse. It’s demagoguery and demonization. And the “nutroots” lefty blogs eat it up. What’s funny is how often they accuse conservatives of doing just this when they’re the ones who do it.
What about Texas and Mississippi and Alabama?
Technorati Tags:Democrats, ethnic cleansing, Frank, hypocrisy, Katrina, liberalism, New Orleans, politics, Rita
Considering the influx of Mexican labor, NO is probably turning browner, not whiter. But I don’t think a Democrat can voice anything that hints of anti-immigrant sentiment.
You can even hear some people say, sotto voce, how good it is for hard-working Mexicans to displace our dysfunctional black underclass.
Let’s not kid ourselves about the cynicism of powerful(and not-so-powerful) illiberal people. During the Mississippi flood of 1927, the levees in poor black areas were legally dynamited to relieve the threat to richer white areas. This affected thousands, and increased black migration to points Northward.
Congressman Frank comes across as a sad man. Too bad he is in congress.
I would like to point out that even though we were flooded, Texas Gaurd went to NO. Texans are NOT complaining. We picked up and started building.
My question after Katrina and now is: Where is their State government? The State and local government should have been primarily responsible for rescue and should be responsible for much of the rebuilding, but all they seem capable of is passing the blame.
In all charity, do what you can with what you have.