Brown Resigns, He Should Have Been Fired
Brown Resigns, He Should Have Been Fired
Federal Emergency Management Agency director Mike Brown said Monday he has resigned ”in the best interest of the agency and best interest of the president,” three days after losing his onsite command of the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.
”The focus has got to be on FEMA, what the people are trying to do down there,” Brown told The Associated Press.
His decision was not a surprise. Brown was abruptly recalled to Washington on Friday, a clear vote of no confidence from his superiors at the White House and the Department of Homeland Security. Brown had been roundly criticized for FEMA’s bearish response to the hurricane, which has caused political problem for Bush and fellow Republicans.
”I’m turning in my resignation today,” Brown said. ”I think it’s in the best interest of the agency and the best interest of the president to do that and get the media focused on the good things that are going on, instead of me.”
The American people shouldn’t have had to wait until Brown resigned. President Bush should have fired him long ago. His failure to do so was presidential malpractice.
UPDATE: “Brown, who said he last talked to Bush five or six days ago, said the resignation was his idea. He spoke on Saturday to White House chief of staff Andy Card, who did not request his departure, according to Brown.”
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He should be hung, not fired.
September 12th, 2005 at 3:10 pmshot!
September 12th, 2005 at 3:12 pmShot and fired from a cannon into a brick wall!
September 12th, 2005 at 3:12 pmActually, where I've worked in the past, they give you an option: resign or be fired. Resigning looks better on a resume and doesn't force the appointee to admit that they hired an unqualified (grossly unqualified) person. Maybe this happened here?
September 12th, 2005 at 3:16 pmWell, of COURSE he resigned, so Bush could reward his performance with an ambassadorship or Court nomination.
September 12th, 2005 at 3:17 pmthat's how he left his last job!
September 12th, 2005 at 3:17 pmHe just couldn't resist any longer that much better job offer from the Basotho Pony Association.
September 12th, 2005 at 3:19 pmJunior's entire life has been an exercise 'human malpractice'.
September 12th, 2005 at 3:21 pmYAY! Mr. Hanky Resigns.
He should have been fired... from a cannon... into a brick wall, then shot.
September 12th, 2005 at 3:22 pmThen Flushed!
September 12th, 2005 at 3:23 pmThe Bush Administration specifically, and the Republican Party, in general, is the Peter Principle in action. You can take that any way you want to.
September 12th, 2005 at 3:23 pmJohn Roberts' wife is a beard.
September 12th, 2005 at 3:24 pmOf curse Brown should've been canned, but that would've required Bush to have a backbone. He's a pussy -- not a leader.
September 12th, 2005 at 3:26 pmKillcon, I like your ideas! After Brown, then Bush, then Cheney, then Rumsfeld, then Rove, then Rice, and then, and then and then until they are all gone!
September 12th, 2005 at 3:26 pmHe should be fired from a cannon into a brick wall and then dumped into the toxic water of New Orleans.
September 12th, 2005 at 3:27 pm"1" down,,,,many to go....watch the rats vacate stepping on eachother...and to Dr Marble (..Go f...yourself mr.cheney...go f...yourself}) you spoke for MANY. add drownie to that list and all the rest.
September 12th, 2005 at 3:34 pmActually we could dump him into the water north of the city. I hear tell the snakes and 'gators are starting to be a problem up there.
But in deference to the fact that he at least had the guts to "resign" I guess we should shoot him first.
It's amazing that this administration can tell you chapter, verse and soundbite what their source is when it supports their cause. But neither Bush, nor anyone around him, know where he heard "on the airwaves" that there wasn't a disaster. It must not have made that big of an impression at the time.
September 12th, 2005 at 3:42 pmThe hard work of keeping America safe(r). Brown & possibly Chertof will be sacrificed. It is all PR at this point.
I believe there will be a three pronged campaign; 1) the presidential commission (with a simultaneous quashing of any Democratic/Congressional investigations) 2) continued “leaking†of Louisiana State Democratic short comings 3) and ultimately a bloodletting of “officials once removed from the administrationâ€.
There, we should all feel safe(r).
Now that all three have transpired, it is not “I told you soâ€, but what’s next?
1) Confuse: You liberals are never satisfied, your “blame game†worked, Bush has taken responsibility.
2) Stall: Now that the president has shown “strong leadershipâ€, “there is a Congressional investigation, let them finish their workâ€
3) Ram: Going into high shrill mode about Louisiana State Democratic short comings, and how Democrats never take responsibility (insert clinton blow job here…).
All the above is POLITICS, NOT GOVERNENCE. Their real issue here is the IDEOLOGY OF FAILED REPUBLICAN RULE.
They believe in an ineffectual federal government and they have it. They believe in private sector take over and they have it. So, it is time we hit them over and over with what they believe, THERE IS NO “WE†IN THE REPUBLICAN PARTY, ONLY “ME†IF YOU CAN PURCHASE THE PRICE OF ADMISSION!
Comment by Citizen80203 — September 9, 2005
September 12th, 2005 at 3:46 pmperhaps we should be scrutinizing all of Goobers appointee's resume's.
September 12th, 2005 at 3:46 pmHow about Shitoff (sp. on purpose) can we expect him to be next and on up the line, Bush and all his company. Look's like Frist is running for pres on CNN. Gees..Well atleast it's a start. Guess if Robert's get's appointed he will again save Bush, from impeachment. Do ya think.?
September 12th, 2005 at 3:47 pmFEMA, those in the charge resign, gross incompetence across the board... it's all part of the plan. The supposedly can't do the job.
Obviously, those in the military like the Coast Guard's Admiral Allen now in charge are the competent 'officials.' Only military officers can handle the job.
hardy har har har
more chaos ahead. Less actual civilian government officials doing the job. More military involvement in the day to day governing of murka.
that's what's happenin'
piece by piece, bit by bit, martial law is in the house.
yee haw
September 12th, 2005 at 4:02 pmYou would think that somebody in America would check references on these people!?
Is there not some citizen watch dog panel who can verify all of what is listed on resumes and spoken at confirmation hearings???
It should not have taken a catastrophe for some reporter to dig this up.
Fact Checker anyone???!!!
September 12th, 2005 at 4:04 pmBrownie's taking the fall for Bush for New Orleans.
Now to get to the bottom of why Brown got credit for winning Florida for Bush in 2004.
September 12th, 2005 at 4:05 pmEase up on Mike Brown, will ya? At least he had the decency to resign. But Bush will forever be remembered as the man who DID NOT FIRE Mike Brown.
September 12th, 2005 at 4:05 pmHe didn't resign, he is just "going corporate". I'll bet he will announce in a week or two that he will head up some lobby group, "to help Americans get the help they need in re-building".
September 12th, 2005 at 4:15 pmDarth,
Not only didn't bush fire him, but browns resignation still didn't contain any accountability. It was typical right wing slug language of 'I'm resigning so we can focus on the problem', and in otherwords, he's saying he didn't do anything wrong, and that he's being a martyr for the cause. This kind of christian martyrdom sainthood sanctimoniousness is common with these guys who have messianic tendencies and an inability to admit failure. They are too weak to admin failure psychologically, and this psychosis is the very doctrine the reichwing lives under. Their leadership is littered with psychotic aholes, and the american public pays for their illness. To me, they demostrate why healthcare that covers mental illness issues is critical for the country.
September 12th, 2005 at 4:17 pmRove will give him a bus ticket to some obscure country to help them rebuild...Just heard on CNN. L.A.California lost power. Saw a terrorest thing yesterday some nut case said he was after L.A.....Blessings
September 12th, 2005 at 4:20 pmBush is getting Brown's medal of freedom burnished at this moment.
September 12th, 2005 at 4:22 pmCurious, while in Mississippi, Bush was asked about Brown's resignation and he claimed no knowledge -- he was even somewhat believable in his ignorance. So, either Brown resigned and didn't give advance notice to Bush, or Bush really didn't know, proving that this is a White House run by committee, and he is merely a figure who stands in front.
over-grown, mutated gaters seen in the waters of Pontchartrain, with Friar Tuck bald spots and heard to mutter, "F#ck You, Senator...F#ck You, Senator..."
September 12th, 2005 at 4:22 pmThe discussion of "he should have been fired" instead of resigning is pointless. Anyone who has ever spent more than a week in the business world knows that there is no difference between the two in a situation like this. In fact, often if someone is "fired" there is an obligation (via corporate policy) to pay him/her severance, sometimes amounting to months of pay with benefits and other goodies. If the individual chooses to step down "voluntarily" then that package is not triggered, at least not "automatically".
The times when "firing" is more often done is when the person is being removed "for cause" (such as stealing, violating workplace rules like sexual harrassment, etc) because in such cases the standard severance arrangements do not come in to play by virtue of, again, corporate policy.
Can we talk about something that makes a difference? Like how the $62 Billion is going to be spent? Option (1): Dole it out to victims and contractors and task forces without an overarching plan for what the outcome in the region should be, with benchmarks, milestones, and measures of effectiveness of the investments. Option (2): Construct a vision of what the region could/should look like economically, housing-wise, disaster preparedness, job-wise, health care facilities and staffing, educational initiatives, etc .... and then spend the money in ways that move the whole region in that direction, in measurable and observable ways.
There is a saying that it is futile to hope for (2) while doing (1). What are the chances that this will be done right vs. wrong, resulting in the taxpayers scratching their heads and butts 5 years from now while pondering "what happened to that $100+ billion again?"
This is an opportunity. Will it be treated that way? Probably not, but one can hope and dream.
September 12th, 2005 at 4:35 pmI thought Chief of Staff was the ass-kicker?
I guess Rove has corrupted the entire organizational structure and accountability mechanisms of the WH staff.
September 12th, 2005 at 4:48 pmT.O. We should be talking about more substantive matters, but it is stress-relieving to bash Bush and his incompetence. He doesn't know the importance of being able to meet the standards of a job, since he never had to meet them himself.
September 12th, 2005 at 4:53 pmRegarding the clean up and rebuilding -- we already know that Halliburton, KBR, the Shaw Group, all heaving connected companies to the Bushies have all gotten no-bid contracts - no one else need apply - they don't have to pay minimum wage either, so their profits will be enormous, the opportunity for greed and for self-supervision can only lead to more waste of tax dollars.
BTW - No one is talking about the cover up being charged by some EPA experts that the area is far more toxic than we're being told and the area will not really be safe for occupancy for a long time.
No EPA experts have been contacted for this clean up to date.
"they don’t have to pay minimum wage either". You meant 'prevailing wage' right?
September 12th, 2005 at 6:57 pmMikey,
They are refusing to pay the Louisiana minimum wage, and instead are only going to pay federal minimum wage.
September 12th, 2005 at 7:15 pm#34, Ryan, thanks for that info, I didn't know that.
What was the thought process behind that decision? (Well, other than allowing Haliburton to make a larger profit on the backs of the poor.)
September 12th, 2005 at 7:29 pmMikey,
The process was greed, it'll almost cost half as much in labor costs for the manual labor... It's 5.15 per hour for the national wage, and I read 9.00 for louisiana - but I haven't confirmed that figure. The reich wing always uses disasters as an opportunity to undermine consumer and worker protections - it's standard operating procedure for them... This is just one of the MANY overrides they've done including environment controls, etc.
September 12th, 2005 at 7:40 pmRyan, I looked and couldn't find anything supporting 9/hr. The Feds say LA has no minimum wage law. I couldn't find info on LA website to back this up.
http://www.dol.gov/esa/minwage/america.htm#Louisiana
September 12th, 2005 at 8:09 pmRyan, it looks like Mikey is right on the minimum wage in LA. There have been a few attempts to add a dollar to the fed minimum at the state level. A few cities tried to set local criteria, but were struck down by the courts. The next question, of course, is, what is the prevailing wage? Here in FL, where it is $6.15, there are convenience stores that are posting signs that say - "Now Hiring - $12.00 to Start".
September 12th, 2005 at 8:41 pmWalt, prevailing wage depends on the craft or labor classification and differs by state. But Dubya has suspended Davis-Bacon under the "emergency" guise, so even prevailing wage no longer applies in LA. What a crime. So in effect, prevailing wage is federal minimum wage.
September 12th, 2005 at 8:50 pmMikey, I may have misled you a bit, the MW is $6.15, the PW is $12.00 here where I lve. But who is going to shovel excretement out of the Big Easy gutters when he or she can make twice as much selling beer, smokes, rubbers, Twinkies and rubber hot dogs across the street?
September 12th, 2005 at 9:03 pmThanks for all the clarification on the wages to be paid to workers in cleaning up New Orleans. Everyone comes to a similar conclusion, though, which is that workers will be paid substandard wages for really nasty work and the corps. will reap more windfall profits.
September 12th, 2005 at 10:16 pmIn addition, the EPA is not involved (at least not where I can determine) and the contamination is expected to last for a long time. Will workers be told that they will be exposed to any health hazards? And will returning residents be told prematurely that their air and water are safe?
(Recall that the gov't didn't tell the New Yorkers of health hazards after 9/11.) In their hurry to restore New Orleans as quickly as it can be cleaned up will the environmental concerns be addressed?
Does a rooster have tits? - Of course not!
September 12th, 2005 at 10:33 pmWalt/Marie,
Thanks for the info on the wages. I only saw the blurb once, and it listed the $9 wage - not sure where that number came from. It must have been a specific classification that the person who reported it was aware of in particular. I'm very busy for the next couple of days, but if I dig something more up on this I'll let you guys know.
September 13th, 2005 at 1:38 amHas anyone checked the new guy's resume?
September 13th, 2005 at 2:09 amMichael Brown Swept Under the Rug with Resignation?
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said it clearly. “Michael Brown's departure from FEMA is long overdue, and his resignation is the right thing for the country and for the people of the Gulf Coast states.â€
It is indeed. It is also the best thing for George W. Bush and his cronies going into the 2006 elections. With Brown gone, will there be anything left outside the south to remind us about the gross incompetence loosed on our citizens in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
The mismanagement of the war in Iraq and the deaths caused by that mismanagement, not to mention the outright lies from the Bush White House, were successfully carted off in one swift boat campaign. America forgot the ongoing incompetence in the wake of 9/11 and succumbed to the glitz of the Rove media machine, re-electing the worst president in our nation’s history.
How many lives did the Bush political “good ol’ boys†cost this time? How many could have been saved by the appointment of a capable and experienced emergency manager instead of the college roommate of an old Bush campaign manager? Could we have saved 100, 500, or maybe even 1000 more when the storm came in?
The fringe of the Bush team sure looked after their people. Kellogg, Brown and Root was right there at the front of the line, rewarded with yet more no-bid contracts by the government. The investigations of their mismanagement in Iraq is still under scrutiny (I hope); but still Bush and the Gang were willing to make them their first choice on the Gulf.
What about the lives and money that could have been saved by putting real experts in charge of strengthening those all important levees? What could have been saved by spending what was needed, instead of doing it on the cheap; so yet more money could be poured into the Bush political war and the coffers of Cheney’s beloved Halliburton Corp?
Michael Brown worries me even when he is resigning. In resigning Brown told the press it was best for FEMA and best for the president that he step aside. “The focus has got to be on FEMA, what the people are trying to do down there.†Why do I get the feeling this is a tailored Karl Rove written line? This worries me because just the other day someone pulled the string on Scott McClellan’s back and sent him out in front of the press. All he could say was the focus must be on what the people are trying to do down there. He did add that it was not time for the blame game.
It is not time for the blame game until we get everything straightened out and the recovery is complete, right? How long will that be Scotty? Will it be 5 years, 10 years, maybe never? Wouldn’t that suit Rove and the conservative spin doctors? Heck, they could get all the oil wells going again, get gas to $5.00 per gallon, get all the Democratic poor gone in the Gulf States and get Bill Frist elected president before anyone even has to say excuse me.
We cannot forget Michael Brown and what happened with Katrina, just as we cannot forget what happened on 9/11. No, I don’t want Brown’s head on a platter. He is just a stooge for the real power brokers in the Bush Administration. We need to get to the heart of who put him there in the first place.
When the twin towers fell, Bush was reading “My Pet Goat.†He seemed to make no move to execute the office of president.
When Katrina hit he was on vacation, then went to raise funds for a political buddy instead of doing his job. How many more times are we going to allow this to go on without a real public accounting?
Bush, Chernoff, Brown and all the others involved in the Bush shortchanging of America need to be brought before the people and judged. We the people have a right to know. It is not unpatriotic to demand truthful and complete answers to questions it is our civic duty to ask.
We cannot let this resignation swept all the lives that lay in ruin because of conservative politics under the rug again. Osama Bin Laden kills 3,000 and the country unites in a cry for justice. Conservative presidential politics kills twice that many, can we ask for anything less?
Phil Mockel
September 13th, 2005 at 3:08 amthekickingdonkey.com
OMFG
I just got a CNN Breaking News e-mail with this body:
"President Bush says he takes responsibility for the federal government's failures in responding to Hurricane Katrina."
September 13th, 2005 at 12:24 pm[...] September 12: Michael Brown Resigns From FEMA. [Link] [...]
November 3rd, 2005 at 12:36 pm