Republicans: Worse than You Can Imagine
via tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com
Posted via web from http://braddelong.posterous.com/tpmmuckraker-talking-points-me-2 at Brad DeLong's Scrapbook
From Zachary Roth:
TPMMuckraker | Talking Points Memo | Jindal Admits Katrina Story Was False: Remember that story Bobby Jindal told in his big speech Tuesday night -- about how during Katrina, he stood shoulder-to-shoulder with a local sheriff who was battling government red tape to try to rescue stranded victims? Turns out it wasn't actually, you know, true.... Jindal had described being in the office of Sheriff Harry Lee "during Katrina," and hearing him yelling into the phone at a government bureaucrat who was refusing to let him send volunteer boats out to rescue stranded storm victims, because they didn't have the necessary permits. Jindal said he told Lee, "that's ridiculous," prompting Lee to tell the bureaucrat that the rescue effort would go ahead and he or she could arrest both Lee and Jindal.... There's a larger point here, though. The central anecdote of the GOP's prime-time response to President Obama's speech, intended to illustrate the threat of excessive government regulation, turns out to have been made up. Maybe it's time to rethink the premise.
Late Update: Politico's Ben Smith has updated his post....
"Bobby and I walked into harry lee's office - he's yelling on the phone about a decision he's already made," Jindal chief of staff Timmy Teepell recalled. "He's saying this is a decision I made, and if you don't like it you can come and arrest me." Teepell said the exchange took place in the week following Katrina, when Jindal visited Jefferson Parish multiple times....
The key elements of Jindal's story were that he was in Lee's office during the crisis itself, and that his support for the sheriff helped ensure the rescue went ahead. Neither of those things was true, it now seems.
