Rita approaches, Rove has bigger fish to fry

Posted by Evan Derkacz at 10:59 AM on September 23, 2005.

This is unbelievable. Rita is bearing down on Texas and Louisiana with 135 mph winds, traffic is backed up 100 miles, a bus filled with elderly evacuees has exploded, people who want to evacuate can't, and Bush's new crony-in-charge has some money to earn?

Senator Frank Lautenberg (so nice when the opposition in congress actually does the legwork for you) sent a letter to the president today "respectfully urg[ing him] to remind Mr. Rove of his responsibilities as the coordinator of relief and recovery efforts":

"Hurricane Rita is bearing down on the Gulf Coast even as the nation reels from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. It would be expected that Mr. Rove would be at his post "24/7" during this crisis."

"However, as unlikely as it might seem, we have learned that Mr. Rove will be traveling to North Dakota to engage in political fundraising activities. When this fearsome hurricane makes landfall on Saturday, Mr. Rove will be delivering a political speech to the North Dakota Republican Party, and will be featured as a special guest at a fundraising dinner."

Evan Derkacz is a New York-based writer and contributor to AlterNet.