Katrina
Today, Maura has a blockbuster diary over at MyLeftNutmeg about Lieberman’s role in rubberstamping the appointment of Michael Brown to direct FEMA:
Perhaps the knowledge of Lieberman’s culpability in this matter is what sent Dan Gerstein into his usual apoplectic defensive hyperbole:
“Maybe in Ned Lamont’s naïve, reality-challenged world, he thinks simply by yelling loud enough he would have gotten the White House to give him what he wanted,” Dan Gerstein, Mr. Lieberman’s spokesman, said in a statement. “But that’s not how things work in Washington.”
Yeah. How do things work in Lieberman’s Washington? Well, in 2002, Lieberman was the Chair of the Committee on Government Affairs (remember, Democrats were briefly in control of the Senate back then, so Boltin’ Joe actually had real oversight power leading confirmation hearings for Bush appointees). How did he use that oversight power, which could have prevented the famously, cartoonishly unqualified Michael Brown from appointment to leadership at FEMA?
Lieberman presided over a 42-minute confirmation hearing for Michael Brown. Can you imagine any other executive job interview lasting less than an hour? Ridiculous.
Ridiculous indeed. Go read the whole diary. Maura spent twice as much time writing it than Lieberman spent holding a confirmation hearing for Brown.
ConnecticutBLOG has unabridged video of John Edwards and Ned Lamont from last week’s rally that ties in with discussion of Katrina.
Night Bird’s Fountain has some bullet points that highlight some solutions that Ned has proposed to prevent future government failures to respond.