Hastert Steps In It

Boy, you have to admire Dennis Hastert (in a way), even if you wonder about the timing. He brings up the always-timely question of whether flood-prone cities should be rebuilt after a deluge:

WASHINGTON - House Speaker Dennis Hastert dropped a bombshell on flood-ravaged New Orleans on Thursday by suggesting that it isn’t sensible to rebuild the city."It doesn't make sense to me," Hastert told the Daily Herald in suburban Chicago in editions published today. "And it's a question that certainly we should ask."

Nevertheless, Hastert brought up his point in a totally-heartless (somehow typically Republican) way. What about half a million people, and their property? They have to go somewhere - right now! Gotta cover all the bases in advance, Denny!

But let's be honest, this isn't about cost-conscious engineering, it's all about the Negroes, isn't it? (The Sacramento Bee had a statistical graphic this morning showing the New Orleans population is 67% African-American). The Wall Street Journal's Opinion Journal just chimed in:

The New Orleans crime rate during normal times is 10 times the national average, Gelinas writes, and "the city's economy is utterly dependent on tourism. . . . New Orleans has experienced a steady brain drain and fiscal drain for decades, as affluent corporations and individuals have fled, leaving behind a large population of people dependent on the government. Socially, New Orleans is one of America's last helpless cities--just at the moment when it must do all it can to help itself survive."

There's another, even simpler reason for pessimism. Many residential areas in New Orleans are below sea level, so that it was only a matter of time before they ended up in the soup. Having experienced this horror firsthand, will residents of New Orleans (and its suburbs, which are also devastated) be eager to return and face future hurricane seasons? Would you be?

Doesn't the thuggish Republican complacency just gall?

The abyss yawns.......