Is the Media Treating Governor Blanco Unfairly?
Earlier this week, in what is being described as “a bad joke gone awry,” the Monroe Chamber of Commerce auctioned a dinner with Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco for one dollar. “The meal sold to the first bidder,” reports the Baton Rouge Advocate, which fails to mention that others had attempted to bid on the dinner.
I suppose the auctioneer thought it was plain hilarious that someone had the gall to bid a dollar, even though the opening bid was set at $1000 (then quickly dropped to $500), and so she decided to end bidding immediately.
It’s worth noting that the Monroe Chamber of Commerce has since apologized for the incident and the man who won the dinner decided to donate $1000 for the meal after all (the most ever donated for a dinner with the governor).
No matter, though, because the botched joke made for a funny headline, and it’s been reported everywhere. The AP wires picked up the story. The Washington Post covered it. And even our very own KALB thought it newsworthy enough to write about. Perhaps they all believed it to be a sign of the times here in Louisiana. Perhaps they believed it was an indication that Louisianans have little respect for our governor.
The truth, however, is that it was a poor attempt at humor and that ultimately, the dinner did, in fact, fetch the asking price of $1000.
Of course, Governor Blanco isn’t exactly having a fun time right now.
Our State Legislature is split among party lines. Don Hines, a Democrat from Bunkie and President of the State Senate, was so incensed at Blanco axing funding for a syrup plant (which would have directly financially benefited his family) that he, along with members of the Republican Party, effectively blocked Blanco’s special session agenda, in which nearly a billion dollars worth of funding was to be allocated for infrastructural repairs (at a time in which Louisiana needs them desperately) and teacher pay raises, among other things.
We can dance around these issues all we want to. The Republicans would like to claim that they were exercising fiscal responsibility; however, the surplus represents monies that need to be directly invested back into the state, and the attempts to thwart this dispersement should be seen for what it is: party politics.
I don’t necessarily support everything Governor Blanco has done; there are many relevant questions we must ask about her handling of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina (though it didn’t help that our Commander in Chief was somewhere in California, unreachable to our Governor, playing the guitar while New Orleans went underwater).
But I believe Governor Blanco has attempted to steer the state in the right direction. By the way, she had a big role in helping Alexandria land Union Tank Car, the largest new employer in the state of Louisiana in twenty years, and she is actively petitioning other large employers, including Toyota, to open shop in our state.
Perhaps we should ask this question: Is the media treating Governor Blanco unfairly?
No state has ever suffered something like the twin tragedies of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The two storms killed thousands of people (directly and indirectly), left hundreds of thousands without homes, and devastated one of America’s finest cities. These disasters were not the fault of any one politician or public servant, though the destruction brought upon New Orleans was exacerbated by substandard levees and a poor evacuation plan.
We want our politicians to be human, yet when they demonstrate human emotion, like weeping at the site of said devastation, they are lampooned by the media.
Chad Rogers over at The Dead Pelican seems to think it’s absolutely hilarious that Governor Blanco became emotional after Hurricane Katrina. It seems that every chance he gets he likes to publish this picture of a distraught Blanco after Katrina next to an unrelated story about policy. It’s supposed to humiliate her: Look at this woman, crying, when she’s supposed to be leading.
The Washington Post even carried the same picture next to the article about the Monroe Chamber of Commerce auction. It’s not relevant; it’s intended to be embarrassing and– get this– funny.
But when I see that picture of Governor Blanco, I am struck with a different emotion. I am reminded of the lives lost, of people punching through the roofs of their homes in order to seek refuge from the rising waters, of vast and total destruction, and I find it humbling and human that our governor was so affected by this tragedy.
To me, the photo of Governor Blanco doesn’t capture helplessness; it captures empathy, and those who use this image for their own political gain (like the website http://www.dontblamemeivotedforjindal.com) and those who use it in an ill-conceived attempt at humor (from a bully pulpit) are undermining this tragedy; they’re exploiting the image of a woman who is grieving for her state and for the City of New Orleans.
Louisiana wasn’t attacked by a sovereign nation or a group of terrorists; we were attacked by a natural disaster.
Again, I don’t agree with everything Governor Blanco has done during her tenure, but I have to wonder what our reaction would be if President Bush or Representative Jindal was photographed weeping for Louisiana.
Would the media say the same to those two men? Would they say, “It’s hilarious that you’re distraught. It must be a sign of poor leadership”?
Or, instead, would they say, “Here is a man publicly distraught over the lost lives, a man who understands that the foundation of true leadership is empathy, a man who cares and is in touch with the effects of this disaster?”
Perhaps we’ll never know. Though I hope that somewhere, such a photo exists.
CenLamar 
Bravo Lamar. You have hit the nail on the head. I wish more people understood the double standard that has been involved here.
Lamar you make good points throughout this post. I would like to offer additional background on the piece KALB ran. When Farrah Reyna sat down for a satellite interview with Gov. Blanco we assumed the Governor would know about the $1 bid and laugh it off. Instead she did not know and Farrah had the uncomfortable experience of being the media person to inform the Governor of the bid story. Her staff had chosen to hide the AP story from the Governor or simply did not know about it. If we had not mentioned it KALB would have been accused of hiding the truth.
It is true the Governor finds herself in trying times again right now and is being tested by both the state legislators she needs and some of the public she desires to represent. But better choices must be made in the people who surround the most powerful person in our state and those people must learn how to handle the media for the good of all of us.
Often during the Katrina disaster we wondered why the Governor did not consider grabbing someone and simply asking them to sit and watch CNN, Fox or the Louisiana News both on air and their websites for information. Those sources seemed a step ahead of the Governors office and it was misery to watch. There are lessons to be learned here.
Ignoring or kicking us only makes “the dog” more dangerous.
Doc Hines is a democrat not a republican. Was this a mistake or just a “bad joke”? It would be different, Jr, if these funds were recurring, but they are not. So we give all these pay raises and 2 years down the road we cant afford them, so what happens, the citizens tax burden gets heavier.
DLC, It was a mistake, and it has been corrected. Thank you for catching it. I actually had Senator Hines’s webpage open, and I knew better.
Even if the funds are not, in fact, recurring, how does one justify not allocating a portion of them for infrastructural repairs?
Michele, I didn’t realize KALB informed the Governor of the AP story. You’re right: Her staff needs to be more upfront with her.
Jr.,
One more corrections. Gov. Mike Foster once fetched $5,000 for this benefit.
I agree with Anon. 5:53- people seem to forget that no other Governor in the history of our nation has ever had to face a natural disaster of this magnitude. Sure she made mistakes –and she was the 1st one to say so (has George admitted making a heck of a mistake?)
As a state employee, I believe she’s lead our state better than any governor in a very long time- Foster did NOTHING for 8 years. Heaven help us if Jindal gets in office- he will be another Roemer- and I don’t think our state could take that.
And frankly, I did not agree with using the money for reoccurring raises- but there were many other worthwhile projects on that list that were sabotaged by the opposition– why wouldn’t you spend money to fix our roads when we were just at the top of the list for worst roads in the nation?
governor blanco isnt necessarily a mean or evil person (at least as far as we can tell) the governor does have horrible advisors. also governor blanco is not a reformer she plays good ol boy politics as evidenced by her allowing the ethanol bill to go through; hodges gardens; appointing bryant hammett instead of a qualified wild life biologist to head ldwf; allowing funding to continue for state rep francis thompsons reservoir scam; appinting icf to handle the road home funds instead of a state agency and on and on. katrina and rita blew the lid off of the corruption and incompetence in this state and people are sick to death of it.
The UTLX negotiations began under Foster. She picked up and ran with the ball. There are a lot issues behind the scenes the public will never know about this project – including how difficult it was to actually execute the final negotiated agreement.
I have sat and watched two states who were both hit by the same devastating hurricane – Katrina. Mississippi is at least 6 months ahead of the game in recovery because of the style of leadership their Governor brings to the table. He knew what needed to be done, he went to the legislature and said give me this. He was able to send in troops immediately. Blanco couldn’t even do that! She chooses to govern by committee – big committees, which causes months of delay.
Blanco’s staff is a complete joke. Aren’t they the same people who let it out that she went to take a nap when she should have been focused on a Katrina issue in the early hours after the levees broke? They respond to rumors, don’t respond to actual factual stories, and fail to prepare her properly. But part of this is her fault – she hand picked these people.
babineaux’s ( that’s the gov) days are numbered. Can’t wait till she gets tossed out next year. Perhaps all that excess revenue the state has can be returned to the over taxed citizens of this state instead of going out and spending it at the drop of the hat. Has everyone got there nice little christmas gift in the form of the surcharge and increase on homeowner’s insurance policy.
I applaud your enthusiasm but this article is full of mistakes. There was an evacuation, contra flow plan in place. However, the good govenor did not try and implement it until it was too late. I honestly think the media has been easy on her b/c she is a woman. Do you know the luaghing stock Aaron Broussard has become b/c of his breakdown on national television? You really didnt do your homework on this one, Jr. if you want to be credible you need to bone up on FACTS before writing and opinion piece.
I agree with one of the other bloggers about Mississippi being light years ahead of Louisiana in their recovery. Why? Because the governor of Mississippi didn’t sit around and whine. He went to work to help his state.
I’ll have to disagree about Miss.’s Gov.- he got special favors because of the political party he belongs to– and while LA. had their emergency food stamp program up and running within a few days- Mississippi did not even have one in place for weeks– and they were shipping there residents by the bus load to La to receive benefits. The Miss coast had a lot of destruction- but it cannot compare to what La faced. Blanco is not perfect—but be careful what you wish for……
The purpose of this piece wasn’t to debate specific policy decisions, but to pose a question about the media’s coverage of Blanco, specifically, the continual use (and exploitation) of a photo of grieving Governor Blanco.
Dlc, I disagree with your assessment of Mr. Broussard. I don’t think he’s become a laughing stock. And aside from the error about Don Hines, which was a mistake that has since been corrected. The AP initially reported that $1000 for a dinner is the most ever bid. If that is incorrect, please direct me to a source (I’ve been unable to find one).
Oh and WeSawThat, I agree; there are many deserved criticisms. The reservoir/ real estate development deal is, perhaps, the most alarming. Thanks for your comments.
I can’t believe you’re going to compare a food stamp program, to have a plan in place to completely rebuild every community on the Gulf Coast. Barber went to his legislature and told them the casinos needed to be this far in above the high median tide line – they gave it to him. He brought in planners to meet with community leaders and put together what they want their towns to look like in the post Katrina world – they are now working towards that. We can’t get NOLA to agree on one freakin’ plan. There have been problems in Mississippi, but guess what????? They’re not front page news and they certainly are the lead story on CNN. We’ve got a governor who can’t take charge of the dog pound, much less the state house.
She did a great job as Lt. Gov., but has failed miserably as Governor. In regards to all these jobs she keeps landing – well if you people only knew how many embarassing moments there are for her behind every single project.
Yeah, we need to be cautious about what we’re asking for and as far as I’m concerned – I’m not asking for 4 more years of KBB.
In regards to the media treating her fairly I will just say this – she broke under pressure during the storm, she has continued to do so as she is losing face with the legislature. She has proven herself to be a weak leader – that is what the media is responding to and will continue to show in regards to an image. Until she gains respect back with the House and the Senate and gains some backbone, they are not going to treat her any differently.
DLC, you and the masses of KBB’s post-Katrina critics cannot be more wrong. Actually, for the republican party, it’s done on purpose, so I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt.
KBB declared a state of emergency the FRIDAY before the MONDAY landfall of Katrina. We’re talking about THREE DAYS before the storm hit….
…and she apparently instituted the contraflow plan in plenty of time to evacuate the metropolitan New Orleans area within 37 hours when National Hurricane Center experts said it would take over 50 hours – MINIMUM. Nearly 1.3 million people left the New Orleans area in plenty of time to avoid being caught in the storm.
Meanwhile, a month later, as Rita approached, the state of Texas (republican governor, by the way) failed to evacuate the Galveston/Houston metropolitan area in anywhere NEAR the effectiveness shown in Louisiana for Katrina.
All you have to do is read the “cheap shots” the Blanco critics are lodging to realize the lack of depth to their point. This most recent session is also all the proof we, as Americans, need to show that the current divisive “party first” way of governing is only costing the citizens their due service from government.
Instead of improving (according to the Natl Truck Driver’s Assn.) the worst state of highways in the nation, Republicans postured to make sure KBB wouldn’t improve her standing in the eye of her state by actually DOING something about it.
Instead of bringing teacher pay up to at least REGIONAL standards, Republicans postured to make sure KBB wouldn’t improve her standing in the eye of her state by actually DOING something about it.
Instead of giving first responders, fire and police officers paygrade increases to help them avoid working 20 hour days (with all the part-time jobs they take on), Republicans postured to make sure KBB wouldn’t improve her standing in the eye of her state by actually DOING something about it.
Who lost? Teachers, first responders, firemen, police officers, the citizens of Louisiana as a whole, but more importantly for the Republicans, KBB didn’t improve her public image.
Oh, and all the “Mississippi vs. Louisiana” response conversation needs to come with this….
…Mississippi suffered a FRACTION of the dmdage Louisiana did, and the White House actually got Bush on the phone for Hayley Barbous (R) Governor of Mississippi. In fact, Bush called HIM; did ya miss the news story where KBB tried, desperately, the day of Katrina landfall to get Bush on the phone and nobody at the White House could get him on the horn?
Go to the http://www.thinkprogress.org website and see the Katrina timeline and re-educate yourselves about how Katrina went down.
As for the KALB interview…once again, Blanco’s staff let her down. They let her down discussing how she should “look” via e-mails after Katrina, and they let her down by trying to shield her from the news.
Ron Roberts
ron@q93fm.com