9-03-08, 10:48 am

This week the Republicans have been working hard to promote the idea that they had nothing to do with the disaster following Hurricane Katrina that killed upwards of 2,000 people and left hundreds of thousands homeless.

They want us to forget that their president, George W. Bush, sat idly by for days and watched as thousands of people became trapped by the storm and then dragged his feet in response.

They want us to forget about the systematic cuts to budgets for maintaining and rebuilding the levees in New Orleans that could have prevented much of the disaster. Those budget cuts were pushed by the Bush administration and the Republican Congress, led by John McCain. McCain usually calls such spending 'wasteful.'

They want us to forget that John McCain voted against increased aid for victims of the disaster and against measures that would have provided better disaster insurance for residents of the Gulf Coast and Florida. They want us to forget that if he were a real maverick, he would have said no, at least once, to the no-bid contracts handed to big corporations with ties to the White House. But in order to feed the war in Iraq and to keep his personal ambitions for the White House intact, John McCain said nothing, did nothing, except enjoy his cake.

They want us to forget how their ideologically-driven push for the privatization of government services to private corporations led to massive corruption by companies like Halliburton and Blackwater USA – both in Louisiana and in Iraq. Not only could these companies not provide adequately the services they had contracted for, but they stole millions in taxpayer funds.

They want us to forget so that we might be convinced that electing the same politicians, like John McCain, who pursue the same Bush policies will somehow produce a different result.

They want us to forget the past eight years so badly, they didn't even invite George W. Bush to appear at their convention. He spoke only briefly by satellite, claiming he had to focus his attention on Hurricane Gustav. If only he had devoted so much time to Katrina.

So it is worthwhile for groups like Campaign for America's Future (CAF) to remind us of what happened, what the big Republican players were doing when it happened, and why we can't let it happen again.

A new ad titled “Thanks For The Memories,” put out by CAF, is addressed directly to Republican convention goers. The ad opens with images of the 'Welcome to New Orleans' sign flooded by the rising water, a gas pump meter hitting record prices, a foreclosure lawn sign in front of a home, and Bush's 'Mission Accomplished' banner from May 2003 declaring the end of the war in Iraq.

Paraphrasing George W. Bush commendation of FEMA head Michael Brown during the Katrina disaster, the ad continues, 'You've done a heckuva a job.'

Brown, who, media reports soon revealed, lacked any qualification to head an emergency organization and was appointed because of his support for Bush, was subsequently thrown under the bus by Bush for obvious incompetence.

The ad closes by suggesting that 'we'll take it from here,' meaning that the Republicans have brought such a disaster that the American people are going to have to remove them from power.

The 30-second spot is playing at hotels across the country.

View the ad here: