MSNBC Blasts Paul on FEMA remarks

[pcosmar]

I guess i just don't understand this whole FEMA thing. I never really looked into it. As long states are allowed to take care of people, I have no problem getting rid of FEMA. However, I don't like the idea of having no form of support in case of an emergency.

When Dr. Paul answers, all i hear is you guys are on your own. Good luck.

All you have to do is look at history. Ron Paul mentions Galveston because it is nearby and in his district.
It was destroyed and rebuilt.
The San Francisco earthquake as well. SF rebuilt, also without FEMA.

I lived in the Florida Keys for many years, and saw several hurricanes. And survived them with no help from FEMA. In fact whenever they showed up they got in the way. And most of the money handed out was to scammers or folks that didn't need it.

When Homestead was hit and destroyed, there were convoys from the lower Keys before FEMA ever showed up.
FEMA is an unnecessary waste, and a hindrance to people.

 

[Working Poor]

Hey, Im from new orleans and I think we would have been better off without FEMA. But most people will beleive that even with all the abuse, corruption and poor management, a good amount of people got helped. Sure it was a huge transfer of wealth and malinvestment, but stuff like that takes a greater understanding of economics...something very much lacking in the American public.

Just more ammo for those that say "Ron Paul wants to leave people dying on the streets!"

Well gee can't you go post about your personal experience on this piece?

 

[matt0611]

Hey, I agree on everything you said. Unfortunately one thing the govt has done a great job at is getting the people to believe it IS some sort of "magical" entity that can "fix" things when times get tough..ie. fix the economy, fix the infrastructure, fix my city when it natural disasters hit, etc.

Oh I know you do. It was more directed at the people out there that the government has convinced of these things. I was just ranting

 

[Created4]

It would definitely be helpful to hear the full context of what he said in this interview. He needs to give positive examples of how local people and resources, as opposed to FEMA, have worked more efficiently in times of disaster. If the campaign team is on their toes about this, they will seek out private sector organizations that will work on the Irene aftermath, and show how ineffective the government was. Anyway, it got him in the news, so they need to be prepared for the follow up questions and interviews that they will ask about this.

 

[ronpaulitician]

"Someone else will do it" is a dangerous mentality. Especially when we believe that "someone" is the same "someone" who provides such a wonderful return on our money. I mean, look at our great medical system, educational system, and pillage and plunder system.

 

[TheBlackPeterSchiff]

Well gee can't you go post about your personal experience on this piece?

Nothing bad to really say. My folks got a couple thousand dollars in FEMA money to help them maintain while they had to live in Atlanta for a few months, until the water was drained from the city and was safe to return. Me personally, I luckily moved to Baton Rouge a month before Katrina.

 

[Created4]

CNN actually covered this better, and better comments: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/08/27/ron-paul-we-dont-need-fema/

but this is spreading like wildfire. The campaign better do damage control fast and put this in proper perspective. Here is how ABC covered it:

ABC News' Jason Volack reports:

With Hurricane Irene bearing down on the East Coast and taking direct aim at America’s biggest city, who needs the Federal Emergency Management Agency anyway?

At least that’s the question that presidential candidate Ron Paul raised today at a campaign stop in New Hampshire, just hours before the storm was expected to begin inflicting heavy damage up and down the Eastern Seaboard.

"We should be like 1900. We should be like 1940, 1950, 1960," Paul told a reporter for NBC News after a lunch-time speech in Gilford, N.H. "I live on the Gulf Coast; we deal with hurricanes all the time. Galveston is in my district.”

"There's no magic about FEMA. They're a great contribution to deficit financing and quite frankly they don't have a penny in the bank. We should be coordinated but coordinated voluntarily with the states," Paul said. "A state can decide. We don't need somebody in Washington."

This isn’t the first time the libertarian-leaning Texas Congressman had made controversial remarks regarding FEMA. In a May 13 interview with CNN, Paul called for the elimination of the agency.

“Why should somebody from the central part of the United States rebuild my house? Why shouldn't I have to buy my own insurance and protect about the potential dangers,” Paul said. “Well, the reason we don't have market insurance is it's too expensive. Well, why is it expensive? Because it's dangerous. Well, so why should - why should we take money from somebody else who don't get the chance to live on the Gulf and make them pay to rebuild my house?”

FEMA’s primary job is to coordinate the response to a major disaster. The agency also provides state and local governments with experts in specialized fields and assists individuals and businesses with low interest loans for rebuilding.

To receive FEMA’s help – a state my declare a state of emergency and request help from the president. The agency directed relief for both Hurricane’s Andrew in 1992 and Katrina in 2005.

The campaign did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

 

[Created4]

FEMA camps



I don't know if Ron will address this when he is asked about his FEMA comments most assuredly tomorrow, but people need to realize that when they let the government control emergency responses, this is one potential result. Alternatives to the national government that get the job done better in real emergencies like natural disasters, need to be articulated.

 

[Kords21]

I think too that a lot of the tragic things that happened in post-Katrina New Orleans would have been avoided if the people there had a mindset of "We're in this together, the gov't isn't coming". I think a lot of chaos happend with people sitting around and waiting for "Superman" if you will. Even when FEMA did show up, it was so mismanaged it made things worse in my opinion. Then again, the idea of people banding together like in the 1900 Hurricane or the San Francisco Fire has been beat down for the last 30 years, so in a lot of ways Katrina was more a perfect storm in a lot of ways. People have been trained to trust gov't in all things. Heck, Homeland security has you so distrustful of that your neighbor might be a "terrorist", so whey would you help out a terrorist in that siutation, no better to wait for the gov't to deal with it.

Kind of hard to band together when the gov't has you so distrustuful of everyone these days.

 

[AgentOrange]

And don't forget FEMA demanding payment from victims that were accidently overpaid (FEMA admits it was their fault of the overpayment, but still demands the money back from people who already spent the money rebuilding their lives.) Did FEMA really help anyone? We're all told FEMA will help, but I don't know of any concrete examples.

 

[juleswin]

Just going to add this. Please try and watch the documentary "The big uneasy" to see how the so called natural disaster was let to happen by the overlords charged to protect us.



In 2005, a disaster struck New Orleans. You know the rest. Or do you?

The first documentary by long-time "mockumentarian" Harry Shearer, The Big Uneasy follows three remarkable people--the leaders of two scientific investigation teams, and one whistleblower--as they reveal the true story of why New Orleans flooded, and why it could happen again.

Shearer gets the inside story of a disaster that could have been prevented from the people who were there. His dogged pursuit of facts reveals that some of the same flawed methods responsible for levee failure during Hurricane Katrina are being used to rebuild the system expected to protect the new New Orleans from future peril.

The Big Uneasy marks the beginning of the end of ignorance about what happened to one of our nations most treasured citiesand serves as a stark reminder that the same agency that failed to protect New Orleans still employs the same flawed science in many other cities across America. Without improvements to engineering and accountability in oversight, the film cautions, we will be very sorry to see history repeat

 

[ronpaulhawaii]

This is why we need to get something like that Ron Paul Myths site up and running.

Maybe partner with this guy

http://paulitifact.com/

looks like he could use some help, hasn't been updated since July...


FEMA was horrible on Kaua'i after Iniki. It was like they were encouraging waste, fraud, and abuse. Then, they went in later and charged people with fraud/etc... Seemed like a big data gathering boondoggle...

I'd like to see some sleuths start investigating crony connections between FEMA officials and contractors. Connections like Chertoff and the scanners/etc...

 

[Rothbardian Girl]

This is precisely the problem that I mentioned in the other thread. These comments will only add more fuel to the "Ron Paul wants to take us all back to the Stone Age" mentality. I think if RP would have framed his comments better instead of getting caught in the "1900, 1940, 1960" trap, there would be a lot less ammunition. Hopefully he is able to extricate himself out of this one so his poll numbers don't take a hit. God knows he needs all the support he can get.

 

[Xenophage]

FEMA causes more harm in many cases than the disasters they come in to 'help' with. Remember all those people in the stadium after New Orleans? They just sat around waiting for the government to come help them out. WalMart got there before FEMA did.

People need to open their eyes.

 

[pcosmar]

NO, NO, NO.
Ron Paul does not need to "frame" it differently. It is simple and plain truth.

The MSM and the hand wringers and Socialists will oppose it, as they oppose all wisdom and truth.

Get used to that. They use emotionalism to overrule logic. They want more and more government, not less.

They hate it that Ron tells the simple truth.

 

[Xenophage]

Ron Paul is exactly right. FEMA is bullshit.

 

[Xenophage]

NO, NO, NO.
Ron Paul does not need to "frame" it differently. It is simple and plain truth.

The MSM and the hand wringers and Socialists will oppose it, as they oppose all wisdom and truth.

Get used to that. They use emotionalism to overrule logic. They want more and more government, not less.

They hate it that Ron tells the simple truth.

+1

 

[redbluepill]

While I agree with Paul that FEMA needs to be ended I honestly think he is giving the public too much to chew on at once. He needs to pick his arguments more wisely.

 

[Brett85]

The campaign better do damage control fast and put this in proper perspective.

Lol. Why? It continues to amaze me that people think that Ron is somehow running in a general election already. He's running in a GOP primary, and Ron's position on this issue won't cost him a single GOP voter. GOP voters are much more concerned about his position on Iran, for instance. Ron's stance on this issue will probably make him gain about 5% points among GOP primary voters.

 

[Brett85]

Hopefully he is able to extricate himself out of this one so his poll numbers don't take a hit. God knows he needs all the support he can get.

Yes, those MSNBC liberals may not vote for him in the GOP primary now.