Ladies. Gentleman. Fred Thompson 2008

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Can't be a single issue voter

We have to look at all the issues. We need to choose carefully, and judge them on all the issues, not just one. Remember our past voter failures.
 
Well I am in a strange position. I thought I was Republican, but I think Bush is the worse...the very very worse president in our history. That was not easy to say. I think his down fall is he is just not very intelligent, or stupid, or brainless if you prefer. I don't want any president in office that's knows less about world affairs than me. He should be smarter than me. Bush stands on the deck of an aircraft carrier and says "mission accomplished". Did this guy ever read a history book? Did he really not understand that he was in a religious war? Then later he says "the war was tougher than he expected". Give me a break. Please let me have a guy that makes out with a woman in the halls of the White House, at least he is too preoccupied to start a war that we are sure to lose American lives over.

But, yes I would still vote for the right Republican, maybe Thompson. I figure Bush is really not Republican anyway. He is just a bad dream that will go away some day.
 
Personel should have been in place, materials should have been in place, and battle plans should have been in place the day the storm hit.
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Like I said before, the job of taking care of Louisiana is the responsibility of the people of Louisiana.

Levees? The neighboring county to New Orleans was just fine after Katrina. The mayor of that county decided to evacuate the guys working at the pumping station, even though the reinforcement of that place was the most secure place for miles. So when the lake flowed into the city, there was nobody around to reverse the flow and so the neighboring counties of New Orleans got flooded. Not because a levee broke. Because there was nobody to man the pumping stations.

How come nobody complained about the levees before katrina? because nagin didn't care.
 
Fred

I like Fred, He is a conservative per the Goldwater Model.

On The issues
1. While hainous, abortion is legal until Roe is overturned. If you want it overturned, better elect a conservative Pres who will have an opportunity to appoint 1-2 justices.

2. 2nd Ammendment. Great progress made in last 6 yeras on right to carry, striking down junk law suits against gun makers, allowing Brady Bill to expire and DC gun ban overturn. Either Republicans or Blue dog Democrats better be elected if you want the progress to continue, Ms. Clinton, Mr. Obama or Mr. Edwards will not be friendly to those on this thread.

3. Immigration.. the fight for this demographic insures that no meaningful reform will take place. Best one can hope for is guest worker program and Pieric gestures at the border. Yes Tancredo is tough because he is a border state politician, but he can't and will not win.

4. As for several posters stating they will not vote out of conscience. You then have no right to complain about any political occurances. With rights there are responsibilities. Americans have died to secure and preserve the right to participate in our governmement. As I read this thread I take away a sense of Government as some detached organization that is against us.

We have an elected republican form of government that can and will respond to the governed if the governed participate, communicate and motivate our elected to action. Case in point last month here our local county comissioner election ended in a tie. The race was determined by a flip of a quarter. I am not kidding, the two candidates agreed to a coin toss to determine the direction of public policy. Disgraceful, so the 1 pro gun, anti- abortion, strong defence, strong immigration voter that is my next door neighbor did not vote. had he voted he could have affected the outcome. The outcome you might ask, the anti gun, pro-choice candidate won the coin toss. So now my county it is harder to get concel permits, more money will be given to the abortion clinic, the authorities will not be as tough on the agricultural operations around here that use many illiegal migrant workers.

Tell me one vote does not matter.
 
Like I said before, the job of taking care of Louisiana is the responsibility of the people of Louisiana.
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I agree with that. If Katrina was Bush's only problem to answer for he would have a reasonable rating..with me anyway.
 
Like I said before, the job of taking care of Louisiana is the responsibility of the people of Louisiana.
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Ummm...what do you think FEMA stands for, dude? (just added the dude so as to not end my sentence with a preposition...it does make me seem younger and cooler though)

It is an agency of the US government tasked with Disaster Mitigation, Preparedness, Response & Recovery planning. That kind of makes things like Katrina it's responsibility.
Were you there or did you get your information from the media? I was there and my opinion is quite different than yours.
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You were where? Sitting in on cabinet meetings and briefings? That is where you would have needed to be to have the information relevant to my statement.

I gathered my information by reading the briefings and studies provided to the president by FEMA, the local Govt of Louisiana, the corps of engneers, and other sources. They were pretty clear that this is what would happen in a catagory IV storm hit Louisiana and FEMA and the President were notified the day before that the storm was going to be a catagory IV or higher.
 
Unfortunate about his wishy washy stance on immigration. If he was a conservative of the 'round 'em up and send 'em home' variety, like Tancredo or Gilchrist, I'd be on my way to those very Knoxville offices tomorrow to get as many bumper stickers as I could carry. But, as it stands, until it becomes overwhelmingly clear to me that Ron Paul will not be a force to be reckoned with in the 2008 election, I'm still planning on voting for Ron Paul.

Thompson seems like a good back up plan, though. But someone send him Jim Gilchrist's book and Pat Buchanan's State of Emergency asap!! Immigration is the elephant in the room in this race so far. How long can these candidates ignore such a huge issue?
 
auburnboattail

"allowing Brady Bill to expire"
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Huh? The Brady Bill Expired? When did that happen? Actually, you might want to check your sources. The Brady Bill, aka The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, is still alive and well.
 
You were where? Sitting in on cabinet meetings and briefings? That is where you would have needed to be to have the information relevant to my statement.

I gathered my information by reading the briefings and studies provided to the president by FEMA, the local Govt of Louisiana, the corps of engneers, and other sources. They were pretty clear that this is what would happen in a catagory IV storm hit Louisiana and FEMA and the President were notified the day before that the storm was going to be a catagory IV or higher.
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No I was in New Orleans after the storm providing aid, and I promise you the boots on the ground view immediately after the storm is a much more accurate view than a publicized view promulgated by people who have been condemned by the media. You are remarkably ill informed regarding what happened after the storm. I know I was there.

There were pre-positioned personnel and supplies, the majority of which were mismanaged and wasted at a local level, as were the relief and rescue personal who made the effort to be there, but that is a perspective you would not know about having not been there. It is easy to make judgments based on information provided by other people.

I was in NO, again the problem was not with the federal government it was with the local organization and leadership, and to some extent with the fact that there were individuals in New Orleans who had no desire to leave before or after the storm. The levies are controlled at a local level. I grew up with Louisiana politics, there is nothing Bush could have done to correct the waste and corruption in the Louisiana government system, further it is not his job.

Do a search, you will find a thread, complete with pics, where I discuss the problems I encountered after I returned from NO.

Like I said before, the job of taking care of Louisiana is the responsibility of the people of Louisiana.
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That bears stating again.

As does: Further, we are responsible for our own well being and defense, the government is not.
 
You are remarkably ill informed regarding what happened after the storm. I know I was there
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I was in Iuka, MS the day of the storm and in Gulfport, MS helping with relief aid and helping relatives shovel out from under the mess the next day. I am not sure what materials and wasted resources you are discussing. The corp of engineer/volunteer groups I dealt with were constantly on the radios asking where the supplies and manpower they were supposed to have were and the answer was usually "they left today" or "they will be leaving shortly". That doesn't sound like preparation, it sounds like reacting after the fact.

I have also read many other first hand accounts that support my experience. Surely there is tons of publicized evidence that FEMA acted quickly and was prepared. they would not let the news be as negative as it was without firing back if the facts were on their side. Please point me to those reports.

The only good thing to come from the whole thing was I got a decent break on my taxes from helping with the relief. Note to all involved, don't forget to write off your time and expenses.
 
I am not sure what materials and wasted resources you are discussing. The corp of engineer/volunteer groups I dealt with were constantly on the radios asking where the supplies and manpower they were supposed to have were and the answer was usually "they left today" or "they will be leaving shortly". That doesn't sound like preparation, it sounds like reacting after the fact.
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Obviously I cannot speak to Mississippi as I was not there, but when I left New Orleans there were still stacks upon stacks of water, MREs, and other food that had not been distributed, there were pallets of untouched supplies in the French Quarter on corners.

Manpower was very poorly utilized!

I have also read many other first hand accounts that support my experience. Surely there is tons of publicized evidence that FEMA acted quickly and was prepared. they would not let the news be as negative as it was without firing back if the facts were on their side. Please point me to those reports.
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I have yet to see a report stating FEMA did well, and in all reality I am sure they did not do that well, but I can state for a fact, that local authority failed to utilized what was there, more supplies in place would not have made any difference whatsoever because the local authority could not or did not utilize what was there in an efficient or even reasonable manner. I fail to see how that is Bush's fault.

I see that we have a fundamentally different view of government, I do not believe it is the federal government's job to take care of me. I am quite capable thank you. I am educated, prepared, have resources and supplies for emergencies, and have insurance for catastrophes. It is not the federal government's job to bail me out and further I resent being responsible for other's who fail to prepare. To fail to prepare is to prepare to fail.

We are off topic...Feel free to PM me about my experiences. I realize that I will not convince you but I will be happy to discuss any issues or experiences I had.

I am a conservative, Mr. Fred Thompson has consistently voted in a conservative manner. I am unsure on his stance on government growth but I will research it. Currently, for me, he is the most attractive candidate. I hope he chooses to enter the race.
 
Obviously I cannot speak to Mississippi as I was not there, but when I left New Orleans there were still stacks upon stacks of water, MREs, and other food that had not been distributed, there were pallets of untouched supplies in the French Quarter on corners.

Manpower was very poorly utilized
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Same story in MS but the point you are missing is those resources came in from private sources and not from FEMA or the feds. Within a few hours private donors and businesses had materials enroute while FEMA was still twidling it thumbs.

The main reasons resources and manpower where not utilized for maximum effect was FEMA was supposed to step in and take charge and organize efforts but failed to do so.
I have yet to see a report stating FEMA did well, and in all reality I am sure they did not do that well
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Not only did they not do well...they failed miserably. Brown was a disgrace and the feds chose to take a "wait and see" approach even though they were being told lives were going to be lost.

No matter who's fault it was that the levies were in poor condition, the reposibility for dealing with the aftermath falls upon FEMA. It all comes down to regarless of who caused the mess FEMA knew lives were going to be lost and chose to not act.
 
that local authority failed to utilized what was there, more supplies in place would not have made any difference whatsoever because the local authority could not or did not utilize what was there in an efficient or even reasonable manner. I fail to see how that is Bush's fault.
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I know we're getting a bit anecdotal here, but I believe you. A friend of mine, who's a raging liberal and bush hater, lives in a county west of NO. He told me that his county flooded for no other reason than that the mayor decided to close the pumping stations down.

This guy really, really hates Bush. And he told me, "I blame Bush for a lot of things, and I think he's just about the worst president ever, but you can't pin Katrina on him. That was ALL local."

PlayboyPenguin, I wrote a lengthy post #27 about how I feel about FEMA, and its unconstitutionality. You're a libertarian, yes? The Cato Institute hates, and I mean, HATES FEMA. Check the post.
 
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