MSNBC Scarborough Country - Transcript
MSNBC Scarborough Country - Transcript
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
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SCARBOROUGH: No doubt about it.
And let me bring in Congressman Bobby Jindal, represent the area.
Congressman, I can't believe that the mayor continues to try to rush people back in. It's very primitive. I mean, out in Texas, some of these mayors are saying they are living like cavemen, it's so primitive there. And, as you know, it's hot. I mean, I was telling somebody today that doesn't understand about hurricanes, it always seems that you have your heat waves after the hurricane goes through. You have no electricity; you have no refrigeration. You don't have stop signs in a lot of parts of this. You don't have clean water.
And yet the mayor is trying to rush people in. What is going on in New Orleans?
REP. BOBBY JINDAL ®, LOUISIANA: You know, in a lot of areas, you don't have full hospital service, much less schools or normal services for the kids.
You know, I think it's important to understand that there are
different regions. I think it makes sense on the west bank, where you have
got running, drinkable water and electricity, to say, all right, in Algiers
they have already repopulated Gretna and Algiers. All right, if you want to come back, we can begin to do that.
In areas in the cities itself on the east bank, you know, to allow business people to come back into the French Quarter, I think that's fine to get some commerce going, to inspect their property. In other areas, I think it makes sense to allow people to temporarily go back and visit their property.
SCARBOROUGH: Right.
JINDAL: I don't think we should let people think-lead them to believe that they can go back to any kind of normal quality of life.
If they are expecting there to be hospitals with full services, if they are expecting schools to be open, if they are expecting police to be able to respond to 911, as you have been listening, that's just not there today.
SCARBOROUGH: It's just not going to happen.
And, Dr. Marc Siegel, there-you hear the congressman. You hear Heath. There's nuance in both of their answers. You hear them talking about not allowing children back in, also problems with hospitals, going into certain regions. But you don't hear that from the mayor. Is he actually putting some people's lives at risk again by trying to get them back into the city?
DR. MARC SIEGEL, NYU SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: Joe, I think he is, and I think he is sending an across-the-board message in the wrong direction.
This is an issue of safety. I mean, it's going to be 89 degrees there tomorrow. You have people that are very emotional that lost their homes. They don't know the condition of things. They are going to be stumbling around in the dark. There's a lot of debris down there in New Orleans. We have seen a lot of injuries in previous catastrophes from debris.
You get a wound. You don't have potable water. You're not able to wash it out. You don't have antibiotic solutions. You get an infection. You don't have medical care there. The Environmental Protection Agency is still going around removing waste from houses. The houses themselves are not safe. There's not electricity in a lot of regions, as was mentioned.
You know, also, the other thing is, Joe, as you mentioned, when you get a lot of people down there and they are close together and there's all this unsafe water, you are going to start to see the spread of dysentery. This is a very unwise idea.
SCARBOROUGH: No doubt about it. Only 17 percent have power.
Congressman, I want to ask a final question about the Hill today. You had the governor of Louisiana on the Hill. Of course, yesterday, you had the FEMA director that just got absolutely slammed. And I think he deserved it. But, today, Governor Blanco gets a free pass in the Senate. Why?
JINDAL: You know, and I have said along, there's plenty of blame to go around. Some people have tried to make it as if, well, it could only be the state's fault or only be the federal government's fault.
SCARBOROUGH: It's everybody's fault.
JINDAL: That's right. I mean, you can't say, well, FEMA didn't do its job. Therefore...
(CROSSTALK)
SCARBOROUGH: So, why did they give her a free pass today on the Hill?
JINDAL: Well, and I'm not in the Senate. I wasn't there when she testified.
I do hope the focus becomes not just, how do we spend more money, but, how do we get jobs back in the region? I think today was an opportunity for all the governors to come forward and say, look, if you cut some taxes, create a tax-free zone, that would be so much more effective than giving the same bureaucracies that didn't work after the hurricane more of our tax dollars.
(CROSSTALK)
SCARBOROUGH: All right, so, you are not going to say anything bad about the governor either.
JINDAL: No. Look, I ran against her.
SCARBOROUGH: It's a love fest.
JINDAL: No, no.
(CROSSTALK)
SCARBOROUGH: It's just a love fest.
JINDAL: It's not that.
SCARBOROUGH: I'll tell you what.
Heath Allen, I'll tell you what. We are going to have a concert in a couple of weeks. We are going to have everybody get around, hug each other down in New Orleans. I have never seen anything like it before in my life.
So, I think the congressman may be taking it easy because he ran against her and wants to be fair.
Heath, we only have 15 seconds left. I want to ask you very quickly, most residents of New Orleans, as we have talked about before, they are not interested in the blame game. We only are because of what happens next. But is their top goal just getting back home, seeing their houses, seeing their communities, getting their lives back in order?
ALLEN: Oh, believe me, that is what is on-that is what is on everybody's mind right now. They want to come home. They have been in Houston, Baton Rouge, Jackson, Orlando, Dallas. They want to come back home. They want to at least get an idea of what they don't have anymore.
And I tell you this. It will be an eye-opening experience for every single person that sets foot on the ground here in New Orleans.
SCARBOROUGH: I will tell you what, Heath. It's heartbreaking.
Anybody that's come back home to their community after a hurricane, it just
it really does. It literally breaks your heart. I know this sounds harsh on TV.
But, Congressman, I know you feel the same way. You drive around for six months later and you feel like your hometown was raped. It just-it's just heartbreaking.
Well, thanks a lot coming in, Congressman. I know you are busy and you're working tonight. Greatly appreciate it.
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