New Orleans is represented by its Mayor, the Governor of
Louisiana, and six members of Congress. If these voices could get
behind a rational plan and sell it effectively we might see a new New
Orleans emerging from the muck.
However the congressional delegation seems to be
engaged in yet
another chapter of the same old story. Senators Landrieu (Dem-La) and
Vitter
(Rep-La) have their own visions and agenda to pursue. Within the first
few weeks they "collaborated" to submit Landrieu's Plan a $250 billion recovery bill that
all but assured resistance from Congress. Local Congressmen at the time of the storm
include Jefferson (Orleans), Jindal (Metairie, Kenner,
Northshore), Melancon(St. Bernard, Plaquimines, Thibodeaux, Houma), and
Baker (Baton Rouge). The press has reported
unity and feuding in almost the same breath.
Overall this Congressional delegation seems as
powerless to lead reconstruction as they were to obtain the funds that might
have avoided the flooding in the first place. The federal government seems
content to watch placidly as city government shuts down from lack of funds.
Why is the national media so anti-pork while the local media continues to extol the ability to bring home the bacon?