Via Reuters: Ex-FEMA chief blames locals for bad Katrina response
“My biggest mistake was not recognizing, by Saturday (before the storm made landfall), that Louisiana was dysfunctional,” Michael Brown told a House of Representatives panel looking into the aftermath of the catastrophic storm.“I very strongly personally regret that I was unable to persuade (Louisiana) Governor (Kathleen) Blanco and (New Orleans) Mayor (Ray) Nagin to sit down, get over their differences and work together,” he said. “I just couldn’t pull that off.”
Hmm. Even if this is all wholly accurate, I don’t think that approach it going to be effective or productive.
Indeed, I have little doubt that a substantial amount of the blame belongs at the local level, but to start out by shifting all blame is not the way to go–nor do I think it is an accurate presentation.
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So was the Federal government supposed to go down to Louisiana hold the governor and mayor’s hands and show them what to do? I think not, the state of Louisiana makes Alabama look good compared to Louisiana dysfunction and corrupt government. If the Feds did go and take the state/city over you would be hearing even liberals screaming over Federalism. Could the Feds have done better sure, could have NOLA and the state of Louisiana done something, damn right.
Comment by c.v. — Tuesday, September 27, 2026 @ 4:10 pm
I think here we have one last act of a loyal subordinate. I think Brown is the only person who could make those statements because, lets face it, he has nothing left to lose.
My guess is he was given the green light to lay everything at the local level just to get it on the record.
Comment by Rob M — Tuesday, September 27, 2026 @ 5:40 pm
Brown looks like he’s fingerpointing… but when it comes down to it, he’s right. Everything they accused FEMA of mishandling are things that are beyond the scope of FEMA’s abilities. I still have not seen a list of specific things that FEMA failed to do that FEMA should have and could have done. There seems to be this assumption that the Feds should have known that the local/state govs were incapacitated. The problem is that this assumption is demonstrably false. In fact, the biggest problem seems to be that Gov Blanco was not incapacitated and instead was resisting relinquishing her powers.
Comment by JohnG — Tuesday, September 27, 2026 @ 11:57 pm
Brown is not innocent but he has become the fall guy for a situation that was clearly doomed to fail. And after seeing the police chief “retire”, which was a smart move so he can get his retirement benefits, there is a good possibility that the FBI will asking some questions.
Comment by c.v. — Wednesday, September 28, 2026 @ 9:19 am