The GOP's end run around Katrina

While those Gloomy Gus types on the left are busy trying to figure out how we can avoid another disaster-- natural or terrorist-made-- like the hurricane, the hard-working Republicans are getting down to the business of governance. Like curtailing civil rights, union-busting, and reducing corporate accountability.

From the Wall Street Journal:

"Congressional Republicans, backed by the White House, say they are using relief measures for the hurricane-ravaged Gulf coast to achieve a broad range of conservative economic and social policies, both in the storm zone and beyond. . . . In the past week, the Bush administration has suspended some union-friendly rules that require federal contractors pay prevailing wages, moved to ease tariffs on Canadian lumber, and allowed more foreign sugar imports to calm rising sugar prices. Just yesterday, it waived some affirmative-action rules for employers with federal contracts in the Gulf region. Now, Republicans are working on legislation that would limit victims' right to sue, offer vouchers for displaced school children, lift some environment restrictions on new refineries and create tax-advantaged enterprise zones to maximize private-sector participation in recovery and reconstruction. . . . 'The desire to bring conservative, free-market ideas to the Gulf Coast is white hot,' says Rep. Mike Pence, the Indiana Republican who leads the Republican Study Group, an influential caucus of conservative House members."