"Hurricane relief not government's responsibility" (Rokita)

[bloom]

Rokita says burden should fall on neighbors, churches
By Audrie Garrison | Indiana Daily Student | Friday, October 07, 2005


American reaction to Hurricane Katrina might have cost the country the dream of ever achieving a contained federal government, Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita said Wednesday night.

"It absolutely amazed me how quick we were to say that the government was responsible for that hurricane," Rokita told attendees of a program presented by the IU Republican Women. "If we continue to think that way, pretty soon we will be living in a country that looks not unlike the former USSR."

Rokita, a republican, who holds one of the highest elected offices in the state and is treasurer of the National Association of Secretaries of State, gave his speech Wednesday night in the Indiana Memorial Union as part of the IU Republican Women lecture series titled, "Something to Talk About." During the lecture, he spoke about election reform, economic development and Hurricane Katrina.

The responsibility of reconstruction after the hurricane, he said in a post-lecture interview, should have been placed upon the shoulders of citizens, churches and neighbors. Rokita criticized American reliance on the federal government after the disaster, saying this increased the scope and role of federal government, hindering America's chances of ever containing it....

http://www.idsnews.com/subsite/story.php?id=31626

[thinkingwoman]

1. ugh

I'd really appreciate it if, in my lifetime, we could get elected officials who aren't such losers.

:eyes:

[IndianaGreen]

2. This should be shared with the DUers upstairs...

Let other folks know that in addition to the homophobic Patricia Miller, we also have an Ann Rayn survival-of-the-fittest as Indiana Secretary of State.

[Chiyo-chichi]

3. WE SAY: Secretary of state's comments were uninformed

The IDS editorial board actually ran a good response to this today:
This is not the USSR: Secretary of state's comments about disaster relief, size of government uninformed


Not only was his comparison historically inaccurate, implausible and absurd, but Rokita's words are embarrassing to his constituents. We in Indiana expect the federal government to be willing and able to help in the event of a disaster in our state -- whatever or whenever that might be necessary. That's not to say states shouldn't vigilantly watch the amount of federal tax dollars other states receive. But state officials shouldn't advance inane political agendas in the wake of a tragedy.


Rokita's position is one of the highest elected positions in Indiana. At the Oct. 6 event, IU Republican Women President Lindsay Kerrigan said "he was able to achieve so much at a young age." Maybe he skipped a lesson or two in federalism and the U.S. Constitution to get there.