Video: California Democrat apparently wants Bush to help fight the wildfires himself

posted at 8:41 pm on October 23, 2007 by Allahpundit

“The action’s taking place by the hard-working firefighters, the men and women and the police that are out there on the line,” he reminds us. As such, the imminent presidential visit is so much “public relations.” Touche. Remember how Bill Clinton used to pitch in when he’d show up at these things? Carrying hoses for firefighters, helping to evacuate people, occasionally riding shotgun in a water bomber? All that and the soulful five-minute ain’t-it-a-shame lip-bite press conference, too. Well, we’ll have back soon enough. And then, watch out wildfire!

There’s an Iraq tie-in too, of course. If only the National Guard were back home, they’d be using their wicked firefighter fu to knock this inferno right out the box. Newsbusters has the video and the obvious recent-historical counterpoint to this mindless idiocy. Click the image to watch.

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ugh. these democrats are shameless.

wryteacher on October 23, 2007 at 8:44 PM

You cannot fight wildfires if winds are gusting 30, 50, or 60 mph while pushing fires uphill and spreading embers 1 or 2 miles away spotting more fires. All you can do is stay out of the way until the winds die down. Fight where you can and help people evacuate.

Kokonut on October 23, 2007 at 8:46 PM

He cares more about bashing Bush then he does about the fire raging around him. What else you can you possibly conclude from that absurd clip?

Resolute on October 23, 2007 at 8:46 PM

I’m pretty sure Ahhnold asked president Bush to come. Just imagine the whining from democrats if President Bush didn’t show up.

Complete7 on October 23, 2007 at 8:48 PM

And watch, should Bush actually do it, they’ll turn right around and accuse him of using the situation as a shameless photo-op.

Damned if he does, damned if he doesn’t.

ZK on October 23, 2007 at 8:52 PM

Chicken~~hawk~~firefighter!

Bad Candy on October 23, 2007 at 8:54 PM

But if Bush did go there and caught himself on fire? Then he’d be a burning Bush and we all know what happens after that. He’d be telling Harry Reid what to do. And no Democrat wants that.

jihadwatcher on October 23, 2007 at 8:57 PM

Has anyone seen Rove lately … and his trusty BIC lighter?

fogw on October 23, 2007 at 8:57 PM

It’s comments like Garemendi’s that really tend to make the rest of America quietly hope for California to break off and sink into the ocean. He’s a first class tool.

commonsensehoosier on October 23, 2007 at 9:02 PM

Hey, if Bush can bring down the World Trade Center, putting out 200,000 plus acres should be a snap.

Especially since he started them.

/Truther

Hawkins1701 on October 23, 2007 at 9:08 PM

“Mindless idiocy” indeed. Is there anything these scum-of-the-earth liberals won’t turn into a political football?

infidel4life on October 23, 2007 at 9:21 PM

I thought bush did pitch in by being a PRESIDENT and declaring an emergency and opening up aid to California

William Amos on October 23, 2007 at 9:21 PM

This guy is a mindless moron . . . but he fits in well with the rest of those California leftists.

rplat on October 23, 2007 at 9:24 PM

Democrats, do you get why we have no respect for you? Is this not example #34,208,983?

You evil SOBs want to attack Bush for coming out 4 or 5 days in, because he’ll be a distraction… yet in the chaos that was New Orleans, 4 days was too long, and apparently he was supposed to be down there in scuba gear? And go back a year earlier and he was helping in the cleanup from a hurricane in Florida, and he was criticized for playing politics and being there for a photo op.

I think I speak for many of us when I say: f*** you Democrats, this s*** is getting pretty tired. We know you want our troops to get killed because it helps you win elections, we know you want to raise taxes (so you can promise entitlements in exchange for votes, again to win elections), we know you want to accuse the President of being both retarded and maniacal, a money grubbing war monger and an idiot who can’t run a war, a liar who sends “kids” to Iraq to get their heads blown off for his amusement. I know you think the troops are Nazis, terrorists, and stupid. We know you think General Petraeus is a traitor. We know you want Tony Snow to die of cancer. We know Joe Lieberman and Michael Steel deserve black faces. We know lying about global warming in order to bring about UN rule is the most important issue of the day…

But WTF!? You f***ing morons have the nerve to criticize Bush for coming to California, when even today you attack him for not being in the way (which he would have been) in New Orleans. Am I the only one who has no respect left for Democrats? And I’m not just talking about elected ones anymore, it’s really disgusting that anyone would vote for these people. Sure, they’re stupid because they’re fed MSM bull**** so they don’t know any better.. but isn’t it their duty to know better, if they’re going to vote?

RightWinged on October 23, 2007 at 9:26 PM

It’s comments like Garemendi’s that really tend to make the rest of America quietly hope for California to break off and sink into the ocean. He’s a first class tool.

commonsensehoosier on October 23, 2007 at 9:02 PM

I feel the same way. And I live here.

infidel4life on October 23, 2007 at 9:34 PM

In times of crisis, politicians either rise to the occasion or go Blanco…

elgeneralisimo on October 23, 2007 at 9:42 PM

California is going down the toilet everytime one of thier dems opens up his or her pie hole. It is predictable but why aren’t the peeples raising hell about all thier money going down the toilet to pay for these worthless tools? It is a real shame that they want more and more freebies to keep thier power and thier jobs and look at what the state gets. Bozo’s in pants and pantsuits. They throw away billions in that state and most want to give it all away and then want the feds to pick up the tab because it is the way it should be. SCREAMMmmmmmmmmmmmms Boot them all out.

bones47 on October 23, 2007 at 9:49 PM

Why isn’t Garamendi out there with a shovel & hose?

Frantic Freddie on October 23, 2007 at 9:49 PM

there are 1500 national guardsmen in california supporting the firefighters. none of them had to come from iraq.

maybe they could use another 1500. they wouldn’t have to come from irq either, but maybe they could be “brought home” from bosnia.

jummy on October 23, 2007 at 9:58 PM

I live 10 miles from the SE corner of the burn area shown here:
http://www.ocregister.com/article/map-santiago-fire-1902193-orange-county

Some local info:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/breakingnews/

Making a stand at Live Oak Canyon Road

Cooks Corner:

Firefighters are going to light a backfire in hopes of keeping the blaze from crossing Live Oak Canyon road. The fear is that if it’s not stopped here, the fire could run unchecked all the way to Rancho Santa Margarita.

OC Fire Chief Mike Rohde, who is in charge of the firefighting effort in the Lake Forest area, said, “We’re going to be in real trouble if it gets past us here.”

A fire strike team was sent in along the road to make sure that the backfire itself doesn’t jump the road.

– Mike Anton

04:48 PM, Oct 23 2007

I know this area like the back of my hand. Cook’s Corner is a popular biker hangout. Stables in my neighborhood are taking on hundreds of evacuated horses from the Live Oak Canyon and Santiago Canyon stables.

Bush accused of shortchanging wildfire preparation

Washington, D.C.:

Trying to avoid a repeat of the failures of Hurricane Katrina, the White House is taking pains to respond quickly to the escalating emergency posed by the Southern California wildfires. But a leading Democrat says the Bush administration has shortchanged funding for removing dead trees and dry shrubbery that provided the fuel for the fast-moving blazes. And a leading Republican member of the state’s delegation called on Congress to quickly provide $1 billion in emergency funds to help pay the costs of firefighting and disaster relief.

President Bush plans to visit the Southland on Thursday. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and David Paulison, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, arrived in the state today. But as the White House scrambled to stay on top of the crisis, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said the administration had not put a high enough priority on preventing catastrophic fires in the West. “We have fought for years during this Bush administration to have money for wildfire suppression,” Reid said. “It takes effort to prepare the landscape so that these fires don’t burn the way they have been.”

After the fires of 2003, Congress authorized $760 million a year for “fuel reduction” — clearing away dead trees. But less than half of that has been provided.

– Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar and James Gerstenzang

04:25 PM, Oct 23 2007 in 2007 Southern California fires | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

If I ever meet Harry Reid, I swear I will kick him in the F-ing balls and take whatever punishment they want to give me. God damned carpet bagging piece of sh-t.

peski on October 23, 2007 at 10:03 PM

Earlier today a fire Chief was screaming angry because after a blue ribbon committee recommended appropriations of more super tankers and all kinds of equipment for just such a fire disaster as we have right now and the Cal. libs legislation refused to spend the money.

The 300 miles south of the grapevine to the Mexico border is semi arid and each year the very dry Santa Anna winds come down from the deserts in America’s midsection and create a serious fire condition.
What’s different this year is the number of fires all at one time, so who’s setting these fires?
The enviro whack job global warming activists fit the profile.
Those same enviro whack jobs are who beat back efferts to use controlled burns and brush clearing that would have saved billions of personal property.

the Cal. libs legislation refused to spend the money.

Care to guess where that money went instead of fire equipment?
The same place any tax money that’s not bolted down goes, it went to assure that Cal. remains the number one magnet state for illegal aliens, paying for their health care, housing and education.

When next Californians head to the polls, they need to ask themselves whether they want more illegals or fire protection and if the answer is more fire protection then they should vote Conservative.

Speakup on October 23, 2007 at 10:13 PM

Speakup on October 23, 2007 at 10:13 PM

that was every bit as desperate and tendentios as the attempt to blame the wildfires on bush.

jummy on October 23, 2007 at 10:21 PM

The wind here in Camarillo (Ventura County) has died down. We don’t even have a breeze coming in the windows to cool down the house. Those posters here who are from San Diego, has the wind calmed down any where you are? These Santa Ana winds usually last three days. This would be the third day. Maybe the worst is behind us.

Rose on October 23, 2007 at 10:24 PM

The President is going to quietly do the right thing, little poisonous swarming yellow-jackets that you lefties are.

RushBaby on October 23, 2007 at 10:32 PM

that was every bit as desperate and tendentios as the attempt to blame the wildfires on bush.

jummy on October 23, 2007 at 10:21 PM

Truth stings huh boopy?

Speakup on October 23, 2007 at 10:35 PM

Rose,

Here’s hoping that this is the case in San Diego, too. I have friends in La Jolla, and our uncle and aunt are in town visiting grandkids — bad timing.

As for the DemonRats, let them embarrass themselves. This guy’s brainless attack on Bush only reveals what a coward he is.

Jaibones on October 23, 2007 at 10:36 PM

jummy on October 23, 2007 at 10:21 PM

Baloney. The liberal legislature is notorious for financial shenanigans like that.

infidel4life on October 23, 2007 at 11:04 PM

Maybe Bush shouldn’t declare it a Natural Disaster area
and refuse it federal funds since he’s not welcome by
the good Lt Gov.

Texyank on October 23, 2007 at 11:18 PM

Didn’t Bush request years ago that the state do some
thinning of it’s forest and brush areas to help stop these
fires from spreading .

Maybe the good Lt Gov can get his chainsaw out and do some
clearing if there’s anything left to clear. .

Texyank on October 23, 2007 at 11:25 PM

I think only about a 3rd of California’s NG is deployed, leaving about 12 thousand in the state, plus NG from neighboring states. But even if every single one of them were called up, what are they going to do besides be in the way? The only ones that would be of any use would be engineers who have heavy equipment that could be used to make firebreaks. Maybe the MP’s to help with traffic, but the rest don’t have any skills that would be useful in fighting fires.

I think it’s great that California is nice enough to let a retarded guy climb so high on the political ladder, but he probobly shouldn’t be doing TV interviews.

BadgerHawk on October 23, 2007 at 11:31 PM

I think it’s great that California is nice enough to let a retarded guy climb so high on the political ladder, but he probobly shouldn’t be doing TV interviews.

BadgerHawk on October 23, 2007 at 11:31 PM

That applies to our two Senators as well.

infidel4life on October 23, 2007 at 11:54 PM

The dems can’t help it. It is going to turn around and bite them in the b***

KBird on October 24, 2007 at 12:52 AM

jackass…

Tragically, the next Governor of California.

juanito on October 24, 2007 at 12:59 AM

So it’s now Bush’s fault because he sent the National Guard to Iraq?

You live in a freaking terraformed desert! Your trees are like kindling and you are going to hate on Bush?

Jackass.

Black Adam on October 24, 2007 at 1:09 AM

If Bush doesn’t visit California, they’d blame him for being insensitive and someoone would joke he likes watching people’s houses burn for his amusement.

hadsil on October 24, 2007 at 2:59 AM

jackass…

Tragically, the next Governor of California.

juanito on October 24, 2007 at 12:59 AM

Nah – it’s going to be Villaraigosa, our very own Ovid.

Entelechy on October 24, 2007 at 3:15 AM

They think Bush is going to distract from the fire fighting effort.

Well lets see what Hillary was doing

But some of the political elite here in town were oblivious to the situation. They were down the hill in Brentwood hanging out with Hillary Clinton and funneling cash towards her campaign like she was a busboy from Chinatown. According to a report from ABC News, director Rob Reiner (yes that is ‘Meathead’ from All in the Family’ sang to Senator Clinton “Happy Birthday Mrs. President.” I’m guessing that Marilyn Monroe is spinning in her grave right now.

Jamie Lee Curtis and Magic Johnson arrived in time for cocktails and hour dourves, Eloise Harper reports. She writes, “Despite the massive fires miles away in Malibu, celebrities like Ted Danson, Bridget Moynahan and Chelsea Handler made the trip to the famous director’s house to catch the Senator from New York. Guests were greeted by men dressed in head to toe white, with lavender bow ties saying with “Welcome to the Reiner’s,” as they shuffled up and down the street parking Bentley’s, Porsche’s, and BMW’s.

***

Hillary is no Bill Clinton. He would have made an appearance in Malibu and cried on cue at the disaster.

CommentGuy on October 24, 2007 at 3:48 AM

Rules for Radicals by Saul Alinsky.

Rule 8: Keep the pressure on.

“Once you identify a potent adversary, seize every word, every event — no matter how trivial — and turn it around to your advantage. Make a big deal of it. Keep doing it. Over and over again. Eventually, you will wear down your opponent and win. And the bloodless revolution succeeds.” [see: page 128]

They’ve been doing it to Bush since 1999, and the Republican Party in general since before 1994.

For more, see the article by Kyle-Anne Shiver of BrookesNews.Com, titled Hillary, Soros, Alinsky, and Rush Limaugh

They would never get away with it if the media wasn’t so corrupt!

georgej on October 24, 2007 at 7:05 AM

Speakup on October 23, 2007 at 10:13 PM

Do you have links to info about the angry fire chief or state legislature not funding fire prevention?

Buy Danish on October 24, 2007 at 12:12 PM

Buy Danish on October 24, 2007 at 12:12 PM

Ask and ye shall receive.

abc7.com Web Superpages.com
Harsh Criticism from Assemblyman: ‘Day of Reckoning’
Orange County Fire Authority Chief Says State Failed to Provide Flying Tankers, Air Support
KABC LOCAL NEWS

FOOTHILL RANCH, Oct. 23, 2007 – Even as firefighters continue to battle massive wildfires, officials are criticizing the state’s response to the emergency.
Related Links

The wildfires, whipped by high Santa Ana winds and intense temperatures, has claimed at least two lives, caused hundreds of thousands of people to flee and forced the evacuation of some 346,000 homes in San Diego County.

Criticism came Tuesday from Orange County Fire Authority Chief Chip Prather. He says there aren’t enough resources to go around, and that the state failed to provide flying tankers and other air support, along with the equipment necessary to battle the blazes in his area.

A local assemblyman called this a day of reckoning.

“When the California legislature Monday morning quarterbacks this scenario, I know my colleagues are all going to be calling for additional resources,” Assemblyman Todd Spitzer, R-Orange, said. “And what Chief Prather has made clear, and every other fire chief in the state of California, is the blue ribbon commission was sanctioned to determine what we needed and to make recommendations. They made those recommendations and yet the legislature did not choose to follow those recommendations.

“To me that’s unconscionable. We always knew this day would come. This is the day of reckoning,” said Assemblyman Spitzer. “And what’s frustrating to me is that we are not able to deal with it and we’re putting not only property and citizen life at risk, but we’re putting firefighter lives at risk.

“We don’t have an off fire season in Southern California. That’s what everybody thinks. Oh, it’s October, November, no problem. We never can let our guard down in Southern California,” Spitzer said.

When asked about Prather’s criticism, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said he people are working “well together under such difficult circumstances.”

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=local&id=5722660

Speakup on October 24, 2007 at 3:33 PM

Geeze, the first thing I learned in the Army was firefighting ( NOT ). So bring the troops home and have them do what??? Fight forest fires?? what a dumbass!!

gary on October 24, 2007 at 7:27 PM