Someone start a petition
Heather Higgins ·
May 28, 2010 at 10:00am
Gov. Jindal needs to borrow a little of Gov. Christie's moxie. The oil is lapping at the bayou and the Corps of Engineers -- one more example of bureaucratic delay and non-responsiveness in the Gulf -- is dragging it's feet on the necessary approvals to let them put in prophylactic sandbags. The Governor needs to take ownership, put on his waders, lead the sandbag brigade, challenge them to throw him in jail, and be willing to go if necessary. Now that would earn him some love!
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May '10
Re: Someone start a petition
I totally agree, Heather. I believe the states need to begin confronting the Federal government, particularly when it abdicates its responsibilities (e.g., immigration enforcement) or as in the present case reveals itself to be dithering, ineffective, and incompetent. Whatever the merits of the Arizona law, it has put a national spotlight on both Federal fecklessness and municipal preening (i.e., local disapprobation and boycotts), and helped significantly upgrade the policy conversation.
Seeing Bobby Jindal on the sandbag line, protecting his state's wetlands in the face of Federal inaction; or hauled into court to answer Federal charges for attempting to defend his state, would make him a hero to his citizens and again show the rest of the country what it means to turn over to a distant, bloated, and unresponsive Federal government key functions best left to local officials.
I get the sense that Gov. Jindal is a decent and mild-mannered fellow, who probably recoils from direct confrontation. The times require something more, I think: he -- and Louisiana -- might benefit from an infusion of one part Christie, two parts Alinksy.
Re: Someone start a petition
You're absolutely right, Heather. (And I'm surprised that more governors aren't looking at YouTube sensation Chris Christie and deciding to, as we say in the screenwriting business, raise the stakes.)
This really is a chance for Jindal to declare his state's independence from federal bureaucracy, especially the Army Corps of Engineers.
My old friend Harry Shearer is a couple of months away from releasing a documentary about Hurricane Katrina -- he's a part-time New Orleans resident and a full-time New Orleans booster -- and I've seen a rough cut, and it's awfully good. He focuses on the levees, and how and why they didn't hold. Really tough on the decades-long willful incompetence by the Corps of Engineers.
Harry's a lefty, of course -- but one of the most thoughtful and heretical ones around. Still, it was amazing to watch a film that actually connected the dots between a giant congressional pork barrel boondoggle -- the Corps is basically each congressman's personal construction company, ready to build whatever it takes to keep congress happy and re-elected -- and real devastation. Big Government does worse than waste money, and Harry's movie illustrates that beautifully.
So should Jindal, just as you say, with waders and sandbags.
May '10
Re: Someone start a petition
The poor condition of the levees is only half the story. Their very existence is a concern. Before the levees, sediment of the Mississippi Delta was constantly eroded by Gulf currents, but it was replenished with new sediment deposited by the Mississippi River. The levees have broken that natural balance by blocking sediment from reaching the Delta, so the Louisiana shoreline is slowly but surely shrinking. There is gradually less soil and plantlife to guard New Orleans and others from hurricanes.
To some extent, it's a reasonable tradeoff. As the Egyptians did with the Nile, we've traded the threat of frequent small floods for infrequent big ones. But many people who live along the Gulf Coast believe the Corps often builds without true need.
Anyway, I certainly agree that Jindal should not wait for federal approval to use sandbags. I recently wrote to my own governor, Gov. Perry, to ask him not to wait any longer for federal help in dealing with our border troubles. States cannot always afford to wait for federal approval.