Inexcusable Callousness from a Hometown Favorite (updated)

Will Bunch, a Daily News writer and blogger at Attytood is a favorite of mine from Philadelphia. I have always held Mr. Bunch at high regard because when I was younger, he was way ahead of the curve on new media and the use of the internet for national and local progressive reform and he is a big influence on what I'm doing here at WCBF.

But I'm about to rip him.

Because this post is absolutely disgraceful.

I hope for the sake of the beleaguered Gulf Coast that this doesn't come to pass -- but from a realpolitik point of view, there is a potential nightmare for the Republican Party swirling around the warm Caribbean waters right now.

His name is Gustav.

That's real cold.

I agree that Republicans should be forced to defend themselves on the Bush administration's response to Hurricane Katrina, their refusal to properly investigate levee failures, and their reluctance to facilitate a faster and more equitable recovery - but in Bunch's mind, New Orleans needs to be on the brink of extinction for that to happen.

You know, the Republican convention will be right around the Katrina anniversary too. Isn't that enough pretext for bringing up GOP policies that exacerbate poverty and GOP ideology that inherently leads to ineffective governance?

As a matter of fact, why do we even need to have the anniversary of the greatest natural disaster in American history as a pretext to discuss the domestic implications of another neoconservative administration?

Mr. Bunch, do you think the Dems need the threat of Hurricane Gustav to be able to hit the GOP on the Katrina response right at the three-year anniversary mark, or is it merely 'fortuitous' timing?

Yo Will!

What the hell dude?

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This is something I wrote at First Draft after encountering this Daily Kos thread.

The callousness is incredible. These bloggers want to talk about the FABULOUS political implications of Gustav's landing in the Gulf South but largely have nothing to say about the disgustingly reactionary recovery policies being imposed by the Bush administration and our own horrid Mayor. Where is their support for local progressive reform efforts? Where is the advocacy for an 8/29 investigation? It's sickening.

If these fools were really being wise to the political implications - instead of their reason d'etre being sickeningly beholden to posting SOMETHING relevant to a name in the news, they'd realize that if they wanted the GOP to have to answer for poverty, reactionary recovery policies in New Orleans, and the inherently ineffective neoconservative government in general - they would have been elevating progressive voices from New Orleans all along.

Now they find themselves epitomizing the most sickening comparison: they're no different from conservatives that wish for another terrorist attack in order to play on the Dems-can't-protect-America meme.

I meant it.

Especially because people really are worried about this storm. It's a constant topic of conversation. Already, everyone is asking everyone whether or not they have evac plans.

First thing tomorrow morning, I gas up the car and buy drinking water.