WIPE THAT SMILE OFF YOUR FACE!
Tibby Weston
We stood in a group talking about KATRINA when someone mentioned Louisiana corruption and cronyism. Suddenly everybody smiled. One said:
“In Louisiana politics an honest politician is one who stays bought.” Somebody then quoted what Governor Huey Long once said: "People say I steal. Well, all politicians steal. I steal.”
I smiled along realizing that my impression about New Orleans could best be described as the City of Three Cs: Colorful-Corrupt-Cronyism until I got on the Internet and found some very disturbing facts that changed my mind. Now I believe that Katrina revealed the mean underside of Louisiana politics and my impression now is: Cynical- Corrupt-Cronyism.
Decade after decade elected officials were convicted of widespread public corruption. The list is so long that I just list the categories of elected officials who went to prison for public corruption and related charges. Governors, attorneys general, numerous commissioners, congressmen, federal judges, State senators and legislators, sheriffs, and recent federal corruption investigations only reinforce that image. The FBI said more people -- sixty-six -- were indicted on public-corruption charges in Louisiana in 1999 than in any other state. Public corruption was the Louisiana FBI's top priority, and will remain so for the foreseeable future.
It is ironic that the notorious Democratic calumniator, James Carville, who is from Louisiana stated: "We ought to bring in the legislature from another state -- maybe Wisconsin or Minnesota -- to handle our money. In return, we'll handle the cooking and entertainment for them. They'll handle our fiscal oversight, and we'll handle their cultural matters." Carville knows dirty politics, graft, and corruption, which ultimately led to the Katrina disaster.
Just before the hurricane FBI agents in New Orleans and Washington executed search warrants on Louisiana Congressman Jefferson’s vehicle, residences and offices. He is subject to a massive feral investigation. The raids are connected to the recent federal corruption conviction of the congressman's brother-in-law, Judge Alan Green of Jefferson Parish.
So many federal investigations are in progress that the FBI had to bring in extra agents last October to establish two public corruption squads. Louisiana last year ranked third in the nation in public corruption cases. This is the image of a Third World country where government works by bribes and kickbacks to benefit cronies. According to a 2004 report by the Corporate Crime Reporter for the National Press Club Louisiana historically ranks among the most corrupt states in the nation.
The embezzlement of funds for flood control led to the recent indictment of three top officers in the Governors’ office. Major part of the corruption was the handling of massive federal funds intended to help prevent Katrina type disasters and misdirecting them into boondoggle projects favored by Louisiana politicians. Earlier this year even the New York Times objected to sending flood control funds to Louisiana calling them a boondoggle not supported by scientific evidence. The President did send the funds and now the paper complains they were insufficient.
Corruption leads to cynicism. Several previous hurricanes that missed the city and last year’s disaster test clearly proved that the city was not prepared to evacuate their poor neighborhoods. A calculated decision was made to make the poor fend for themselves. This bordered on criminal negligence by a cynical political structure, which was fully aware that they would not provide the means for the poorer sections. They expected that the poor would be inconvenienced but safe in the Superdome, if they chose to walk there.
The Governor knew it, but she had a conflict with the Mayor of New Orleans who opposed her election. According to some insiders, it was cynical politics at its worst exercised by the Governor to get even with the Mayor. She knew the Mayor would be responsible and be blamed for the fiasco of trying to get people to walk to the Superdome during a storm. Her officials even prevented the Red Cross from supplying water, food and medicine to the people trapped in the Superdome thus escalating the scandal intended to engulf the inept Mayor. She refused the request of the President to evacuate and to declare a state of emergency in the hope that the Mayor’s political future would be destroyed.
None of this would have come to the surface except for the break in the levee. Suddenly the cynical plan turned into a disaster. It was too late to evacuate and the rest is history.
The Mayor blamed the Governor; the Governor blamed FEMA, the black racists and Washington Democrats blame the President. If the Mayor had been a white person we would be hearing about attempted genocide or trying to get rid of the poor in the projects to save money.
Money has been the root of all evil in Louisiana. Cynical Corrupt Cronyism and gotcha politics at the highest level resulted in unnecessary losses in lives and will have a major impact on the economy.
We already hear the familiar Washington theme. Lets throw money at the problem and it will go away. Prepare for an orgy of funds spent wildly and quite obviously, corruptly, since it is in Louisiana. You will not hear one politician admit that there is no possible plan that could prevent this tragedy from happening again. As long as billions can be taken from your pockets while you feel softhearted, you can trust the government, they will spend, spend and spend us into unintended consequences too fearful to contemplate. So my advice: Wipe that smile off your face when you hear about Louisiana corruption. Get angry.
