re: Dear Stormy

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Personally, I'm fundamentally offended by the existence of such a right wing pseudo-religious, "family values," moral crusading, mush-mouthed douchebag who would probably gut the Constitution of the 1st, 4th, and 5th Amendments if he could--just to gain favor with the thumpers.

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I'm still waiting for a link to all of the good things Vitter has done for this state.

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Hurricane Katrina

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Vitter and the rest of the Louisiana congressional delegation worked to bring aid to the Gulf Coast region to rebuild broken levees, schools and hospitals, restore coastal wetlands, and provide assistance for its many victims.[91]

In early September, Vitter said that he would give "the entire big government organized relief effort a failing grade, across the board." He said that state and local governments shared in the blame as well.[92] Vitter's actions during Hurricane Katrina are described in historian Douglas Brinkley's May 2006 book, The Great Deluge.

In September 2007, Vitter announced that he got "a critical concession" from the White House that decreased Louisiana's obligations for hurricane recovery by $1 billion. However, the White House said that was false.[62]

[edit] Federal Water Bill

Vitter helped write the Water Resources and Development Act for flood-control, hurricane-protection and coastal-restoration projects including $3.6 billion for Louisiana. He called it the "single most important" legislation for assisting Louisiana with its recovery from hurricane Katrina. President George W. Bush vetoed the act, objecting to its cost.[93][94][95] Congress overrode his veto, enacting the bill.[96]

[edit] New Orleans public housing

In September 2007, The Times-Picayune reported that Vitter and the Bush administration opposed a provision of The Gulf Coast Housing Recovery bill which required that every public housing apartment torn down be replaced with another form of low-income housing on a one-for-one basis. The administration testified that there was not sufficient demand for public housing units, a position contested by several senators. Vitter stated it would recreate "housing projects exactly as they were", isolated and riddled with crime. However, Mary Landrieu, the Louisiana Democratic Senator, said the intent was to make certain there were affordable places for working-class people who returned. The bill requires that demolished housing projects be replaced with mixed income communities which local housing advocates say is different from the massive public housing developments that Vitter is referring to. However, the bill does not include a ban on large-scale projects.[97][98] The city housing authority is planning on replacing 4,000 low-income units with mixed-income projects providing a smaller inventory of low-income units.[99] In November 2007, more than two dozen political action, faith-based and human rights organizations delivered a petition with more than 130,000 signatures asking that Vitter reconsider his position.[100] In December 2007, Vitter killed the bill in committee.[98] Some housing advocates charge that Vitter is stalling the bill in order to keep Landrieu from claiming a legislative victory one year in advance of her reelection, a charge Vitter denies, saying Landrieu was refusing to negotiate.[101][102]

Ethics reform and term limits

Vitter has argued for ethics reform and term limits since he was in the Louisiana Legislature in the early 1990s.[128] As a Louisiana state legislator, Vitter successfully pushed through a term limits amendment to the state constitution to oust the largely Democratic legislature.

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