CNN's Henry uncritically reported Republicans' use of wildfire response to shift Katrina blame away from feds
SUMMARY: CNN's Ed Henry uncritically reported that "local Republicans hammered the point
that, unlike in Louisiana, California officials only
relied on the feds for the secondary help," quoting Republican Rep. Brian
Bilbray as saying, "I think that's how the system's actually designed, and it's
worked great." But the House Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the
Preparation for and Response to Hurricane Katrina found that Katrina was not a
"normal" disaster, but a "catastrophic" one; thus, federal officials should have
"clearly and forcefully instruct[ed] everyone involved with the federal response
to be proactive, anticipate future requirements, develop plans to fulfill them,
and execute those plans without waiting for formal requests from overwhelmed
state and local response officials."








