You gotta know what the enemy is up to, so here's a heavy dose of Republican propaganda-catapulting that was written by Z. Dwight Billingsly and published in the St. Louis Post Dispatch. Mr. Billingsly's desperation appears oh so evident, but uninformed people will be influenced unless they are allowed to hear the other side.

Z. Dwight Billingsly is a principal of Branford Gateway Investment Co., a LONGTIME ACTIVIST IN LOCAL REPUBLICAN POLITICS and a regular contributor to the Commentary page.

In this editorial Mr. Billingsly states, "The U.S. Senate races will serve as a barometer for where the country wants to go." So very true. Then he ends with typical GOP fearmongering tactics. BE VERY AFRAID OF DEMOCRATS. IF THEY ARE IN CHARGE, YOU WILL DIE! Well, he didn't quite say that, but it's inferred, and I feel like I'm back in the Kerry campaign.

E-mail: zdbillingsly@post-dispatch.com

And here's the filth Mr. B spews:

www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/columnists.nsf/pointofview/story/
70B5C0C302EB47F68625708400323F4B?OpenDocument


HURRICANE KATRINA: Blame state and local Democrats, not the president
By Z. Dwight Billingsly

09/22/2005

The first response to disaster is local response, not federal response. The second response to disaster is state response, not federal response. We live in a republic where the federal goverment's role in the states' business is limited.

In New Orleans, despite advance warnings of up to five days, an incompetent black Democratic male mayor and an incompetent white Democratic female governor - not our president - were the cause of too much unnecessary suffering. Regardless how one views the disparate impact of the hurricane across racial and class lines, in Louisiana, incompetence knows no racial or gender boundaries.

I think there are two lessons we need to take away from the Katrina fiasco:

First, the people we saw rioting in New Orleans are America's flotsam, and they exist in every society. Other than the physically disabled, young children and seniors 80 years old and up, the people we saw holed up in the Superdome and elsewhere are the perfect demonstration of what happens to people who choose (yes, choose) to lead third-world lives in a captialitst society.


They were accustomed to living off a government check every month, accustomed to subsidized housing, accustomed to food paid for by food stamps. They've elected politicians like Mayor Ray Nagin and Gov. Kathleen Blanco to make them comfortable in that third-world existence, and now they have neither the resources nor the political leadership to survive in a time of crisis. Such has been the case throughout history for people who don't take charge of their lives.

Second, the real bottom line here is the catastrophic lack of leadership - contrasted with, say, Republican Mayor Rudy Giuliani's control after New York's 9/11 terrorist attack. What a scary proposition it would be if Democrats were in charge of national security, given how badly they have screwed up in Louisiana.

Make no mistake about it: State and local government in Louisiana have been in the hands of Democrats for generations. There might be a mayor somewhere else in America as inept as Ray Nagin, but I doubt it. An earlier hurricane, Georges in 1998, demonstrated that using the Superdome for emergency shelter wouldn't work. And Governor Blanco, despite a declaration of disaster by the president two days before the storm hit, failed to take advantage of the offer of federal troops and aid until two days after the storm hit.

It's worth mentioning that Alabama, Florida and Mississippi - all of which were hit hard by Katrina but fared far better - all have Republican governors.

We have important elections coming up in 2006. The U.S. Senate races will serve as a barometer for where the country wants to go. I hope we'll go for security. Picture Democrats in charge of national security or a truly national emergency. And be very afraid.