Example of Republican Incompetence

The Bush administration showed us just how incompetent Republicans can be when Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana and Mississippi. Now it looks like the Republican leadership in Texas is continuing that tradition with their own response to Hurricane Rita.

It has been two years since Rita hit the Texas coast, but the state of Texas has done almost nothing to help rebuild or repair the homes destroyed or damaged by the hurricane. And it's not for lack of money either. The Texas Housing and Community Affairs Department has $40 million set aside that is supposed to be spent helping victims rebuild their homes.

The department has received 4,012 applications for help in repairing hurricane damaged homes. But in the two-year period, they have only helped to repair 13 homes. This is not just incompetence -- it borders on criminal negligence. Of course, the Republicans on the state and federal levels are blaming each other (they can't blame the Democrats because Republicans created the funds and the rules for its dispersal).

During the same two-year period, four faith-based groups (such as the Methodist group "Rita Recovery") have rebuilt or repaired around 1400 homes -- and they did it without government help. This just highlights the Republican leadership's incompetence. These church groups have repaired more than 100 times the number of homes than the government has repaired, even though the government started with $40 million more than the church groups did.

There's no excuse for this government inaction. When the Republicans set aside millions to help their corporate buddies, the money gets distributed in record time. But when the money is for needy Texans, it can't be distributed in two years.

Is there any reason to keep these Republicans in power? Isn't it time to vote Democratic, so the needy can be helped instead of just the corporate bosses?