Law & Order, GOP style

The complete inability of the Republican party to exhibit even the slightest trace of human emotion after Katrina is mind-boggling. From Bush's ham-fisted attempts to sound compassionate ("Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job") to his mother's fear that evacuees might remain in Texas, to Dennis Hastert's suggestion last week that it was the perfect opportunity to "bulldoze" the city, their hasn't been anything remotely resembling leadership from anyone in the party.

Now Pennsylvania senator Rick "Spreading" Santorum does his part to keep the party looking like the inhuman pricks that they are:

Sen. Rick Santorum said in a weekend interview that people who don't heed future evacuation warnings may need to be penalized, but said Tuesday he did not mean people who lack cars or other resources.

His remarks were sharply criticized by the campaign of Democrat Bob Casey Jr., who is seeking to unseat Santorum, the No. 3 Republican in the Senate.

"At face value (Santorum's comments) show an incredible amount of insensitivity to the Gulf Coast," said Jay Reiff, Casey's campaign manager. "What exactly does Senator Santorum mean by imposing penalties on people who often times had no transportation and no place to go?"

In a weekend interview with WTAE-TV about the victims of Hurricane Katrina, Santorum said: "You have people who don't heed those warnings and then put people at risk as a result of not heeding those warnings. There may be a need to look at tougher penalties on those who decide to ride it out and understand that there are consequences to not leaving."

What do you suggest, Santorum? Taking away their navel lint? At least he backtracked three days later. I guess.