Blanco is failing recovery effort

I've come to expect incompetence from Louisiana's elected officials. After all, how can anyone expect anything different with all that's happened in the last two years?

The initial handling of Hurricane Katrina. Waste and fraud in government programs. U.S. Rep. Bill Jefferson's ongoing corruption investigation. The conflicting, confusing and often confounding budget situation. The constant bickering and finger pointing between politicians and interest groups.

The whole situation seems like an infinitely deep hole that somehow keeps getting deeper and deeper.

You would think the politicians would have some shame - that they might accept a politically conciliatory tone and actually try working together on the many problems that continue to plague the state. You would think that this bickering and incompetence would bottom out some time. Unfortunately, common sense and Louisiana politicians often are on opposite sides of the spectrum.

This week, Gov. Kathleen Blanco deserves special mention for setting spectacular new standards in the field of underachievement and grandstanding previously set by Louisiana "public servants." And that's saying something, considering that she's competing against the likes of New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin who can't stem the flow of idiotic words and inevitable apologies.

Blanco's "The Road Home" program has been an albatross around her neck since its inception. Problems include the glacial pace of closings and the inability to clear red tape surrounding funding allocation.

Add financial solvency to the list.

When gubernatorial candidate U.S. Rep. Bobby Jindal brought to light the predicted financial shortfall in the governor's "The Road Home" program, Blanco responded with a kind of acerbic and politically charged language that would strike any reader as sophomoric and incredibly disingenuous. If you haven't read it yet, you should (available on the governor's Web site).

As if "The Road Home" program wasn't a large enough embarrassment, Blanco saw fit to accuse representatives from this state of knee-capping legislation that would have directed more federal aid towards Louisiana, citing the voting record on HR 1591.

Governor Blanco must think we're stupid.

First of all, the supplementary budget package had not a chance in hell of getting passed, considering President Bush said for some time that he was going to veto the bill - the whole Iraq war deadline he's been so vocal about. If Blanco was really concerned about the delay in financial appropriations, she would have asked that Jindal work toward getting disaster relief considerations separated from the politically contentious Iraq War funding supplementation. Or maybe since there's new leadership in Congress, Blanco should directly appeal to Democrats to get the ball rolling. Those would be moves that a responsible governor would take, but naturally, I don't expect Blanco to do any of those things.

The thinly veiled partisan attack against the "unfairness" of the previous federal aid to the state is irrelevant to solving the financial soundness of "The Road Home" program. Although it would be surely anathema to the Louisiana politicians, Blanco should explore the possibility of spending some of the $2 billion budget surplus from the past two years, if federal appropriations come up short.

The only "consolation" is that the slow pace of issuing checks will unlikely leave "The Road Home" program out of money until more funds have been secured. It's a silver lining on a rather tumultuous storm cloud, if you ask me.

We know Blanco is unhappy that Jindal will probably be taking her place as head of state. But I wish she wouldn't throw tantrums that endanger the future of the state and its citizens.

----- Contact Jon Lo at jlo@lsureveille.com