Just not seeing it:
Amid the chaos and confusion that engulfed New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina struck, a congressman used National Guard troops to check on his property and rescue his personal belongings — even while New Orleans residents were trying to get rescued from rooftops, ABC News has learned.
On Sept. 2 — five days after Katrina hit the Gulf Coast — Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., who represents New Orleans and is a senior member of the powerful Ways and Means Committee, was allowed through the military blockades set up around the city to reach the Superdome, where thousands of evacuees had been taken.
Military sources tells ABC News that Jefferson, an eight-term Democratic congressman, asked the National Guard that night to take him on a tour of the flooded portions of his congressional district. A 5-ton military truck and a half dozen military police were dispatched.
Lt. Col. Pete Schneider of the Louisiana National Guard tells ABC News that during the tour, Jefferson asked that the truck take him to his home on Marengo Street, in the affluent uptown neighborhood in his congressional district. According to Schneider, this was not part of Jefferson’s initial request.
If the only reason he used the trucks was to go to his house, then yes, I can understand people being pissed. But it seems to me he has a pretty legitimate reason to be out and about in the neighborhoods, and I don’t see why swinging by his house was that big of a deal.
*** Update ***
Don’t get me wrong- I know how the other side would react if this was a Republican.
Ben
John,
There is a big problem with what he did… there were still people waiting to be rescued when he used military resources to gather his personal belongings. It is just another example of our elitist politicians and how the laws/rules for minions, like me, don’t apply to them.
Mr Furious
I can see the outrage. And I am ready to share in it if warranted. If this guy was merely touring his district (legitimate–but he should have diverted the bare minimum of resources to do so) and he lives in his district, it’s fair for him to swing by and check his home. If he basically set himself up with a personal moving crew to do a quick bogus survey of his district then spend the whole time having Guardsmen pack up his silver, then fucking hang him. I will wait for more on this before I pass final judgement.
John Cole
I agree with you, and stated as much. As the story reads now, he did the former.
space
not seeing it.
There are none more blind than those who will not see.
At best, this is diverting critical resources that WE KNOW were in limited supply in order to save PERSONAL PROPERTY. At best, this congressman put his personal property ahead of people’s lives. Whether someone actually died is irrellevant. It ended up using the resources of two trucks and a helicopter.
Having said that, it doesn’t strike me as the most egregious example of wasted resources and I would temper my disgust accordingly.
But you selectively omit the fact that Jefferson’s homes had been previously searched in a criminal investigation. This is what ABCNews generously calls “an unrelated matter”. How would they know? Indeed, Jefferson’s desire to take a detour does raise questions as to whether he was grabbing evidence relevant to that investigation.
Mr Furious
Re: Update-
Yeah, as I read the story, I’ll confess, I was hoping it would be a Republican. BUT I stand ready to burn this guy just as quick if he abused his position and diverted scarce resources for personal gain.
And hard as it may be to believe, I would let it go, if a Republican did the same thing and it proves to be legit.
Tim F
Some days I think about the Swedish parliamentarian who was forced to resign in a massive scandal when she inadvertently used her government-issued credit card. For a tube of mascara. And I want to cry.
space
Don’t get me wrong- I know how the other side would react if this was a Republican.
Would you shut up with that? I have no problem criticizing Democrats. Nor do most Democrats. They do it all the time. We happen to not like corruption.
It seems that the GOP is the party that refuses to call bullshit on their side (see DeLay, $8 billion cash “lost” in Iraq, Bush’s phony photo-ops, etc.) Then they project their partisan ethical philosophy onto Democrats. Sorry, I’m not buying it.
Steve
Eh, I agree with John, except for the BS about how liberals would get outraged if it was a Republican. In fact, the first time I read the story, I somehow got the mistaken impression he was a Republican, and I didn’t think it was any big deal. So John, I know every blog post must end with a cheap shot by law, but please spare me the tripe about how “my side” is congenitally incapable of making objective judgments.
Trent
It shows that the federal government could have gotten supplies in there if they wanted to. He didn’t have to defy the state authorities to do it. He just said, “Let’s go.”
Is Rep. William Jefferson more powerful than PResident Bush?
As for the ethics of it, the Congressman has a right to view his district and seeing his house is no big deal. Who could blame him? But with people still crying out for help, he could have sent the truck in with supplies, but didn’t. Bullshit, I don’t care if he’s a Democrat. There are shit Democrats as well. (i.e. Zell Miller)
It’s all crap, all the can’t-do crying about how this or that couldn’t be done. I’ve never known the US to make so many fucking excuses about its own impotence. It’s shameful…
Mr Furious
Alright, I read the full ABC story, and it really depends on how you want to read it. I can see how this might be legitimate, and we may never know exactly what happened, but it seems as if he went too far.
Is the hour they were at his house include the time the truck was stuck or the soldiers were assisting others? If they sat in a truck for an hour while this guy packed bags, that’s bullshit (and that’s what it sounds like to me). If the soldiers went about some legitimate work for an hour, while Jefferson was in his house, and the truck got stuck while this went on, I’ll let it go. Even in the best case scenario, he still took advantage of a resource available only to him that was better off used elsewhere.
If it’s true he didn’t request the truck or the specific escort, or the helicopter and it seems he didn’t, then he might be a pompous dick (what congessman isn’t), but it’s not criminal. Let his constituents decide if his mission was an aid to them or not.
Another Jeff
“It seems that the GOP is the party that refuses to call bullshit on their side.”
Yeah, John. He’s right. Fox example, Tom Coburn is a self-serving jackass. Why haven’t you talked about that? Oh, that’s right, you have. Twice in two days, as a matter of fact.
Well then, why not talk about Sen Session’s performance yesterday? Oh, you did that too.
Well then how about pointing out how sleazy Tom DeLay is? DAMN, you did that as well.
Nevermind.
John Cole
My goodness some of you guys are whiny.
If this guy was a Republican, Josh Marshall would have done a five part series on it by now, including a historical biography and a check to see who his family members work for. Kevin Drum would have this as one of the reasons FEMA failed. The Daily Kos would be on their third poll on whether this guy should be thrown out of office, and would be soliciting one of their diarists to run against him.
My point was that if you look around the blogosphere, all the righty blogs are outraged. All the lefty blogs are silent. If this guy was a Republican, the opposite would be true.
Trent
John is the GOP? Cool…
Trent
The righty blogs are OUTRAGED because they want something to be outraged about. It doesn’t deserve OUTRAGE. It’s lame and dumb and should be used against the guy in the next election. But OUTRAGE???
By not expressing outrage over the lack of response in general (regardless of who’s to blame), the right has forfeited the right to have any credible outrage over something like this, because it presupposes an outrage to begin with.
You can’t insist, “The government did all it can! Look at the Coast Guard, look at the Bataan, it was too dangerous to send in emergency personnel! IT WAS TOO DANGEROUS!!!” and then blast this rep because “he took away from the effort.”
He deserves criticism, but outrage is a bit foolish.
Krista
It wasn’t the smartest thing to do…he should have waited until everybody who was stranded had been rescued. I can see why he’d want to tour the district, and I can see why he’d be curious about his own house. But if people were still on rooftops, then it was foolish and selfish of him to divert ANY resources away from the rescue operations. Not evil, and I don’t think it’s worth outrage, but he does need a quick smack upside the head, and a “What the hell were you thinking?”
Mr Furious
John, does this count as “the situation reversed?”
[via the Carpetbagger Report]
doinkman
John,
Josh Marshall already posted about it. I’m a democrat/liberal/whatever am I am PISSED OFF about it. It’s bullshit. You didn’t quote the good part.
“This was the Friday after Katrina struck, while troops were still actively involved in rescue operations. And, according to the article, the Guard truck Jefferson was transported in became stuck in the mud outside his house, leading the soldiers accompanying him to radio a call for help, which was answered by a Coast Guard helicopter in the midst of on-going rescue operations. The helicopter already had four evacuees on board and stayed for some 45 minutes before proceeding along to other rescues.”
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2005_09_11.php#006531
Charlie (Colorado)
It shows that the federal government could have gotten supplies in there if they wanted to. He didn’t have to defy the state authorities to do it. He just said, “Let’s go.”
Look at the date, you silly ass. This was after the Feds were getting supplies in already.
Not even considering the half a dozen mistakes of fact you have to assume to get there.
Edmund Dantes
Actually Josh Marshall does have a post up on it. It actually deals more with the fact that guy is involved in a FBI investigation.
Maybe you should check the blogs more closely before saying they are silent on something.
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2005_09_11.php#006532
Iffy and mysterious. According to ABCNews, while on a visit to flooded parts of New Orleans on September 2nd, Rep. Bill Jefferson (D-LA) had
National Guard troops take him to his home on Marengo Street.
This was the Friday after Katrina struck, while troops were still actively involved in rescue operations. And, according to the article, the Guard truck Jefferson was transported in became stuck in the mud outside his house, leading the soldiers accompanying him to radio a call for help, which was answered by a Coast Guard helicopter in the midst of on-going rescue operations. The helicopter already had four evacuees on board and stayed for some 45 minutes before proceeding along to other rescues.
After entering the house, “Jefferson emerged with a laptop computer, three suitcases, and a box about the size of a small refrigerator, which the enlisted men loaded up into the truck.”
Last month, you may remember, Jefferson’s homes in the District and New Orleans were raided as part of a federal criminal investigation, the precise nature of which has yet to become clear.
Trent
Wow…
Not that i don’t think that the pipeline wasn’t important. But surely they can do two things at once.
Pipelines AND people.
I guess that’s beyond the Republican Party’s capabilities.
John Cole
Doinkman- That aspect of the story is a whole other issue.
The question of whether or not he should have even been in the area is one in which I would say he shouldn;t have. But then again, I also thought there was no reason for the President to be in the region, either.
However, other people feel these guys should be there ‘surveying the damage,’ and Jefferson was within his legitimate rights to be there surveying the damage. That the truck got stuck is just a risk.
Again, for me, it boils down to whether the only reason he was in that truck was to go to his house. If it was, then fuck him. But as I read the story, he was doing what everyone demands of politicians- that they be in the middle of things ‘leading.’
John Cole
Let’s just say it is my opinion Marshall’s coverage of this is would be somewhat different in tone if this was about William Jefforson (R-LA).
KCinDC
Um, Josh Marshall did blog about it, and he blogged about it last month when Jefferson’s houses were raided by the FBI. So much for the “silent left”.
A Swede
Time F said:
Actually she was Deputy Prime Minister at the time and was probably going become the next Prime Minister. Instead the Minister of Finance became the next Prime Minister. Obviously he had all the info about the use of credit cards… Obviously a conspiracy….
She’s did get back in the end though and is now Minister for Sustainable Development….
A bit more OT but just after the Tsunami when more then 500 Swedes died (Fred Phelps was really happy) the Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs, who also had to leave her place in the government for a while some years earlier due to double standards, went to the theatre. Just like Condi Rice. :)
Krista
I haven’t read a lot of right-wing blogs, but you mention that they’re outraged about this? Is this representative of most of the right-wing blogs, or just the really hardcore ones who seem to think that all Democrats are pot-smoking, abortion-forcing, God-hating communists? I’m just asking because we all know that some hardcore left-wingers hate everything that right-wingers do or say, regardless of actual merit. And vice versa, of course. So I’m just curious as to whether the outrage is widespread, or limited mostly to those who are in a perpetual state of outrage anyway?
Mr Furious
Is this the key sentence in the story?…
That might be good enough to indicate that he asked for a somewhat foolish expedition, that unintended chaos ensued (trucks stuck, ‘copters signaled, etc) but ultimately he went into his district and checked on his house while checking his contituents. they left him and his bags at the Superdome, they didn’t airlift him and his laptop to a nearby Hilton.
John’s right, if this guy was sitting up in Baton Rouge bitching about the situation, righties would accuse him of not being on the ground and to STFU.
Jorge
“Let’s just say it is my opinion Marshall’s coverage of this is would be somewhat different in tone if this was about William Jefforson (R-LA).”
You’re having to qualify yourself and your attacks now because new evidence makes your fist arguments factually incorrect. That’s never good for credibility.
By the way, the fact that this Congressman took the opportunity to clean out his house and stuff is all I need to know. I hope that every campaign ad against him in the primaries and in a general election bring this up. This wasn’t leadership. This was opportunism.
John Cole
Jorge- I never said they would be silent or not mention it. I said, and I will quote, for the dim-witted:
I know how they would react. Exactly like Michelle Malkin did right here. Or Captain Ed.
So you can stop with the snooty ‘now you are having to qualify your statements’ BS. I am having to re-state my statements because they don’t sink in the first damned time, and you get dizzy and confused by the strawmen thrown up by other people.
Trent
A city laid to waste and we’re squabbling over some Congressman who got a truck stuck in the mud…
doinkman
I agree with Jorge. How many other people would of loved to have ‘just 45 min’ to grab a few last things from their house? What makes him so special that he actually got the opportunity? Oh yeah he is a slimy ass politician, just like all of them. Looking out for himself above others. Fuck him.
Isn’t it interesting that as a ‘liberal’ I’m on a ‘conservative’ blog rallying up outrage against a fellow ‘liberal’. We should have more of this.
Jorge
Earlier John wrote “All the lefty blogs are silent.”
Then he wrote
“Jorge- I never said they would be silent or not mention it.”
John,
You are in full win the argument for the sake of winning the argument mode. And you’re getting sloppy, man. Still love the blog but I don’t like your Katrina attitude. Not the end of the world. Well, for those of us not in LA or Miss anyways.
Mr Furious
As i have said, even in the best possible light, this guy took advantage. His next opponent should run on it and let the constituents decide whether his trip was a help to them or not.
Krista
It does seem like your “typical politician” move — I think that’s why I’m more disgusted than outraged. I’ve given up on expecting any of them to be looking out for anyone but themselves.
Plus ça change….
Defense Guy
Wait a second! Are you trying to say this is not true?!?
G-d hating communist apologizer!!!
John Cole
Jorge- I know what I wrote- it is right there in front of me. You are intentionally misinterpreting what I have written. They are not expressing outrage, which is what they would be doing were the parties switch. My goodness.
You guys are the ones who are big on context. Tell me, what was my point?
TallDave
I think we all know what the problem is here: Rep. William Jefferson (D-La) does not care about black people.
Krista
DefenseGuy – sorry to burst your bubble, hon. :)
And you forgot to ask me why I hate freedom.
Defense Guy
This is really kinda funny, in a know nothing power is everything sort of way. First, the man is a STATE representitive to the federal government. In other words, it’s kind of his job to be involved with the state of LA. Second, power has not one thing to do with it. Power without the law is tyranny.
I know these words are wasted on you, because your head is so clearly filled with little Bush hating stanzas that no amount of truth or reason can now get in.
space
John, your asserion that Marshall would be doing a 5-part series on this if he were a Republican is patently stupid. While Marshall does tend to follow the high profile DeLay/Abramoff corruption trails, he doesn’t make it a habit to spend considerable amounts of time investigating lowly congresspersons.
The sole exception might be Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham, but Marshall stayed on him because of the overwhelming stench of corruption. Where is that in this case.
In this case we have two data points. First, Jefferson’s homes were raided as part of a criminal investigation. Marshall blogged about it.
Second, Jefferson authorized a diversion of resources to take property from his home during an emergency. Marshall blogged about it. Not only that, but Marshall tied the two together, which is more than you did.
Defense Guy
Krista
My bad, apologies.
John Cole
Heh.
Defense Guy
To the point of this post, I am OUTRAGED. But only because the man has a D next to his name.
Stupid Donkeys.
TallDave
Bah, no one really cares about this. He’ll be re-elected in a landslide of gerrymandered voter indifference — unless of course those reports of cannibalism turn out to have been him. Then he’ll be re-elected in a slightly smaller landslide.
John Cole
I give up. You guys willfully misinterpret what I say, intentionally disregard snark, and then throw up strawmen all in order to take umbrage with some preceived slight to Democrats.
I stand by my statement:
Krista
DefenseGuy – thank you. I was starting to feel left out.
Why do you hate Canadians?
:)
Defense Guy
That’s an easy one. Because of the cold weather you are always sending down here. Several of my upstate NY summers were ruined when I was growing up because of your countries callous disregard for our weather. I have never forgiven you.
Not that I let this keep me away from Toronto. Great city, but full of Canadians.
Krista
That’s the danger of the written word, though. Sometimes it’s hard to detect snark when unable to see facial expression, or hear tone of voice. There’ve been a couple of times that I’ve asked myself if you’re being snarky or sincere. Some people ARE deliberately obtuse, though.
Krista
Pardon me while I fetch my violin.
If you’re mad at Canada, don’t be mad about our weather. Be mad because we’ve foisted Celine Dion onto your country on what looks to be a permanent basis.
jobiuspublius
Who will have the better porch, Lott or Jefferson? If Biloxi were under water, wouldn’t Lott have needed escort to? Hasn’t Lott already visited his home? This thread is rather petty while history is being made.
jobiuspublius
And who is that stunning woman sitting behinds Roberts right arm?
Trent
No, these words are wasted on me because they make no sense and have no context.
He’s a federal employee, a federal representative. He’s part of the third branch of the federal government. He’s paid by the federal government, not the state government.
He is not a part of the state government.
What does “Power without the law is tyranny” have to do with anything? When i refer to Bush’s power, it implicitly means his legal authority. I think that’s obvious.
I don’t mean power in the He-Man “I have the power” sort of way. I understand your delimma if that’s where you’re coming from.
space
Be mad because we’ve foisted Celine Dion onto your country on what looks to be a permanent basis.
Fortunately, she’s been largely exiled to Las Vegas.
Boronx
Pretty despicable in my view. Our elected officials should be like the captain who, if he doesn’t want to go down with the ship, is at least the last of the ship. Even if the troops went *right by his house*, he should refrain from going in until everyone else who might possibly want to visit their homes has had a reasonable opportunity to do so.
Since the guy feels he needs a military escort to tour the place, that’s probably not yet the case.
Boronx
Otoh, a friend in the military knew how to get a phonecall through to my sister right after the Loma Prieda quake. I’ve never felt too badly about taking advantage of that.
Defense Guy
Yes and the sheer power of the alcohol flowing through that city shields the folks from her true evil.
Defense Guy
Trent
Who votes for him? Who are his constituents? Even more interesting, why would I bother continuing a conversation with someone who insists on emphasizing the Resident part of the word?
What legal authority are you refering to oh keeper of the context? Be specific, and keep it pithy please.
slide
Maybe when its in Michael Moore’s movie we will be better able to judge?
Just to raise the temperature a bit.
Krista
Slide – yeah, that’s just what this whole circus show needs.
Trent
Dude, what’s your point? You haven’t addressed any of the substance of my post, you’re just being argumentative and picking on some non-detail and trying to be right.
If you want to discuss something, fine. Otherwise, stop harping on some non-issue like “Is a Congressman a state official or a federal official?”
It was a minor detail of what i wrote. And on top of that, you’re wrong. He’s a federal official.
Defense Guy
Trent
When you have a substantive point, I will be sure to address it. You didn’t keep it pithy, and it wasn’t really even worth reading.
You are the weakest link. Goodbye.
ArchPundit
===I think we all know what the problem is here: Rep. William Jefferson (D-La) does not care about black people
Sigh, how wrong you are—he cares about black people very much. Him and his brother being those black people he cares about.
docG
Just what is this ongoing Republican tactic (elected officials, talk radio, blogs, etc.) of being shocked, SHOCKED, I tell you, that the opposition attacks their mistakes and not their own so much?
What kind of dunce would expect anything different? Who are you scoring points with by pointing out the expected, the routine and the obvious?
Wow! Democrats criticize Republicans and Republicans criticize Democrats. Stop telling me the sun rises in the East and expecting a cookie. It ain’t news.
Jorge
John Wrote – “You guys are the ones who are big on context. Tell me, what was my point?”
Hey John,
I understand even if I don’t entirely agree with your point about the response from left wing blogs. I might suggest that you consider that in your use of absolutes and in your lumping together of numerous blogs with differing modus operandi you engaged in somewhat sloppy rhetoric. Though I probably don’t have any room to question your writing since you prove that you are a better writer than I am on a daily basis.
ET
This all the more “funny” when you consider that the FBI was at his house days before Katrina with a subpoena hauling away documents.
summr
First heard about Jefferson after his house in DC was raided by FBI agents a couple of weeks ago over a corruption scandal (he’s accused of bribing the vice presidents of Nigeria and Ghana on behalf of a US telecomms company and of having large amounts of cash in his freezer). My first thought on reading about the misuse of National Guardsmen was that he must be trying to hide something related to the FBI investigation.
Mac Buckets
And then he has the Guardsmen go to his house and haul away a box the size of a refrigerator. Hmmmmmmmm.
DKos: “Nothing to see here. Go back to your homes. NOTHING to see here!”
JoeTx
Whatever “side” the guy was on, it was wrong and a misuse of resources that could have been better served elsewhere with the rescue efforts. The guy probably used the “I’m surveying the damage so that I can better serve my constituents” excuse so he could retrieve his stuff. The same could have been said about the Bush/Blanco/Negin joy ride from the other day and Bush’s visits to the region that down air traffic while he is there…
capelza
I have the same amount of outrage for this (whether it were Dem or Repub) as I do for the Homeland Security Department coming to a local toy store and telling the owner to remove the Magic Cubes off her shelves because of a copyright infringement. (Of course after they left, she called the manufacturer who told her to put them back on the shelves and that the copyright had expired. I never have figured out why the HSD agents didn’t confiscate the toys…terroristic toys!)
When the dust settles and it turns out that possibly Jefferson was abusing his power or trying to get rid of evidence then he should be hung out to dry. And if I get my way, HSD will stay out of the toy business, too…
capelza
Forgot to add, the amount of outrage I feel is minimal in either case…
The Comish (sic)
John Cole:
Couldn’t agree more. But then again, I’m one of those heartless bastards that puts more value in actual recovery and relief efforts than in making sure politicians appear “engaged” and “compassionate” through symbolic exercises, like returning to Washington from Texas or maintaining a furrowed brow.
docG:
I don’t imagine that John Cole needs me to speak for him (nor could I speak as well as him), but I think the point was that those of us that aren’t politicians should spend less time deciding how to react based on party affiliation, and more time reassessing our party affiliation based on the facts. Hopefully, we’re citizens first and our party affiliation (if any) is based on how well they represent us. And hopefully, our party affiliation is an after-thought decided at election time, and not a filter through which we selectively analyze the world.
goonie bird
How many died while the NATIONA GUARD was out saving some dumb jackasses personal belongings? i thought they only saved people not meterial objects what with this idiot?
Steve S
Umm… This is a somewhat surprising response.
The left-wing blog sites are all pointing this out in relation to the scandal the guy is involved in and the fact that his house and office had been raided by the FBI just a month ago.
Apparently John cares about wasting the resources of a truck… Liberals care about truth, justice and the American way.
Veeshir
Apparently John cares about wasting the resources of a truck… Liberals care about truth, justice and the American way.
Now that’s funny. Thanks.
DougJ
It’s important that Jefferson lead a balanced life. And part of that is using National Guard trucks to take incriminating evidence out of his home. His constituents want him to get on with his life, so that he can make crisp decisions.
I think I need a bathroom break.