The American-- which bills itself as "The NEW Business Magazine", and "A Magazine of Ideas"-- is in fact a conservative stealth publication that uses the rubric of Business as a cover for its political mission. It features "special reports" by Newt Gingrich, and articles by Victor Davis Uriah Hanson... etc. Uggh. The New Orleans article (not online) was written by former American Spectator columnist Tom Bethell, who lived in the city during the 60's and actually worked with DA Jim Garrison on the infamous JFK conspiracy trial against Clay Shaw. (Unlike his execrable article on New Orleans' "Rebirth", assassination buffs will find Bethell's diary during the Garrison investigation to be interesting reading.)
So, Bethell begins his piece by arguing that since Bush has "committed $123 billion [trillion]" to the "Gulf region", he is not to blame for New Orleans' slow recovery. This is the "real story", you see, because it flies in the face of the MSM's reconfiguration of events, which, according to Bethell, went like this:
In the public eye, New Orleans after Katrina went from being a city hit by the sort of storm that happens maybe every 200 years to a city victimized, not so much by nature or by local hoodlums or inept officials at all levels, but by a demonic George Bush and his henchmen.
Nothing at all about why the floodwalls failed, or about the need for coastal restoration. Instead, Bethell tells us we were "hit" by a (Cat 1) storm and George Bush gave us $123 billion and we're still bitching and complaining.
That framing leads us to this lovely chestnut:
What no one says in public, but is widely conceded in private, is that, while tragic in many ways, the storm's displacement of families may, in fact, encourage greater independence and better lives for refugees.Wow, if only every urban area could enjoy the wondrous "kick in the pants" effect of a (man-made) catastrophe! The Revelation of Self-Reliance is never more powerful than when it is received by a person sitting on a cot on the floor of the nearest Asstrodome. Concerns about friends, family and neighborhood melt away when one considers the empowering possibility that "this disaster might work out well for me". That is a beautiful thought for a beautiful mind, don't you think?
Oh, but Bethell is just getting started. He goes on to interview none other than... you guessed it... Rob Couhig! Yes! The American has a full page photo of Couhig standing in front of the Superdome, gazing upward into the bright sky. The caption reads:
Couhig says the city will not be revived by returnees but rather by newcomers who sense the coming opportunity.Oh.
I'm sorry. I thought I was participating in the revival of the city by returning to New Orleans with my family, but apparently us "returnees" are sorta dead wood. Sadly, we just don't sense the "coming opportunity" like the post-storm "newcomers". We need fresh carpetblooders, and on the double!
I'm not sure why, but Bethell summarizes Couhig's plan for the city. Couhig believes what we need most is "fifty thousand people". Where these people would be housed, neither Bethell nor Couhig can say, but Couhig does think a sales tax repeal for the New Orleans metro area would spark growth. Tax cuts will bring in those vital newcomers!
Then, continuing his intrepid quest to get the "real story", Bethell writes some very interesting paragraphs about the mayoral race which I'll reprint:
In New Orleans, you hear almost as much grumbling about Mayor Nagin as you do about President Bush, particularly among the city's establishment, which was disappointed that the Landrieu dynasty failed to conquer City Hall.
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Nagin won reelection as mayor with mostly black support, but also with the backing of some conservatives and local businessmen. He has repeatedly predicted a coming boom in the city, and he may, in the end, be right.
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Critics portrayed Nagin's reelection, in which he benefitted from absentee ballots cast by New Orleans refugees in places like Houston and Memphis, as the city's refusal to accept the need for change. Yet a case can be made that Nagin was the better choice, more attuned to exploiting the unforeseen opportunities that inevitably arise in a post-disaster period. Nagin is an improviser, not a planner, and that may be what is needed.
The leading Republican candidate in the mayor's race was Rob Couhig... He came in fourth and threw his support to Nagin in the final round, declaring that the Landrieu clan had failed the city.
I've been obsessed with the conservative case for Nagin's reelection for almost a year now. And I still haven't found a single argument that holds water. Not one! And when I read highlighted sentences like the one above, I become even more certain that I'll never find a legitimate reason as to why conservatives should have voted for Nagin. And yet, many of them did, because "enablers" like Couhig told them to.
Reading between the lines, I suspect Bethell's "case for Nagin" is really an argument he got straight from Couhig. He repeats it faithfully, and sets up a cute little dynamic between (the establishment's) Landrieu versus (the Couhig conservative's) Nagin. The "planner" versus the "improvisor". The "dynasty" versus the "businessman". Truly, does it get more facile than that?
That "a case can be made" sentence is a beguiling pile of merde, isn't it? Here, why not review it again, in isolation, just for kicks?
Yet a case can be made that Nagin was the better choice, more attuned to exploiting the unforeseen opportunities that inevitably arise in a post-disaster period.
Yeah, Nagin has improvised like a political artist, hasn't he? His improvisations on crime (saying everything is fine, keeping the same ineffective Chief) have been... extraordinary. And I loved it when he illegally took people's guns during the post-flood looting. That made conservatives happy.
Better still is when Improvisor Nagin speaks "off the cuff" to the media. That's right: send Nagin up to the microphone and tell him to "improvise" for ten minutes and I promise you he'll make national headlines! In fact, just the other day he "improvised" on the stump, and said the new Democratic Congress was part of God's will. How 'bout them apples, Mr. Couhig and Mr. Bethell? Mayor Nagin's bestest friend right now is Rep. Maxine Waters. I wonder: how does The American rate Waters on matters of business?
Remember: the Couhig Conservatives are smart, educated voters. When they voted for Nagin, they weren't being dumb tools. No, no-- they had their reasons. They understood that Nagin deserved reelection because he was the better... improvisor! And that's what New Orleans needs right now. Spread the word, birds: the new conservative value is "improvisation".
Bethell looks at N.O. charter schools and the upcoming public housing project demolitions, and gets even more hopeful about the city's rebirth. Then he concludes his revelatory article, saying:
Government at every level has become more and more activist and solictous-- almost to the point of aggression. By the time of Katrina, it was providing so many goods and services to so many people that they were finding it difficult to live without its life-support system.... the poor in New Orleans have been reared in an environment that treats them not just as victims but as helpless victims.
The question is whether the aftermath of Katrina... has at last dispelled the inculcated passivity and victimhood that have been especially strong in New Orleans.
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In New Orleans, the deterioration [of the city] has been going on for decades, and, on the whole, the city's leadership, too absorbed by Mardi Gras balls and racial politics, refused to acknowledge it. Then came Katrina...
A change for the better could no longer be avoided. My impression, after a week in the city, is that it has begun.
Shorter Bethell: hopefully Bush's infinite generosity won't cloud the fact that strong storms (and improvising mayors) can make for stronger, more self-reliant cities.
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I guess what I'm saying is this: don't mistakenly buy The American magazine.
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Update: Now I understand. James K. Glassman is the editor of The American. Glassman lived in New Orleans during the 70's and started the alt-weekly newspaper Figaro. He wrote for a ton of well-known publications in the 80's before turning conservative in the 90's. He predicted stocks would fall if Clinton were re-elected in 1996. Then, he founded Tech Central Station and wrote a book in 1999 called Dow 36,000. Talking about the book, Glassman said the following in October 1999:
What is dangerous is for Americans not to be in the market. We're going to reach a point where stocks are correctly priced, and we think that's 36,000 ... It's not a bubble. Far from it. The stock market is undervalued.
At the end of 1999, Glassman thought it was "dangerous" for Americans not to be in the market. Thus, his current optimism about New Orleans' rebirth does not instill confidence.
Labels: Cons, Couhig Conservatives, Nagin
