Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue declared a state of emergency today in Georgia and asked his old pal George W. Bush to allow Georgia to keep more of the water from Lake Lanier from being released into the Chattahoochee River, which flows into Florida.
Republicans, of course, are taking this opportunity to blame endangered species laws for the river outflow guidelines, part of which were designed to keep sturgeon and mussels in the river alive.
A typical rant goes something like this:
"What we've learned from this is what a blunt weapon the Endangered Species Act has become, where some obscure bureaucrat in Fish and Wildlife and some obscure judge can decide that mussels are more important than our children and grandchildren," said U.S. Rep. John Linder, R-Georgia, who spoke after Perdue at Saturday's news conference.
Yes, let's throw in that good old family values crap to make it sound like a crusade for all that is republican. Gag me.
Let's talk about facts: The disaster in Georgia has been brewing for months, and the governor waits until metropolitan Altanta has less than 90 days of water supply left before it acts? That is just pure political irresponsibility. How will those people get water if there is no rain? No one seems to have a back up plan.
The federal government, as the Bush administration has proven over and over again, is asleep at the wheel. Most federal agencies have temporary appointees in place, who don't need to be approved by Congress. With most of our national treasure being sucked up by the war in Iraq and our national guard stretched thinner than ever before, those folks are in real trouble.
The headline of the top story of the Bush presidency, besides the war, might well read, "Feds and the States Don't See Eye to Eye." This administration has traditionally been a nightmare for state and local officials seeking relief for their strained resources. Bush's lack of focus on domestic policy is biting him in the butt. If I was a praying person, I'd be praying for rain. Atlanta has no backup plan.
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