The Democratic Left sneered and jeered, and called his common-sense disaster preperation kits fear-mongering.

Tom Ridge’s Duct Tape
Posted on Saturday 3 September 2005

Do you remember when the last Homeland Security Secretary, Tom Ridge, told us that to be prepared for emergencies, we should put together a readiness kit? I do. The kit layout is suggested at Ready.Gov. The portion of the kit for dealing with attacks and natural disasters should have, ideally, “at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food” and a corresponding amount of water - a gallon per day per person.

Yet when he announced the suggested measures that we all take to prepare for potential terror attacks or natural disasters, he was met with nothing but mockery. So much so, that his name is synonymous with duct tape - since that’s the only thing anybody in the MSM (or for that matter the lefty blogosphere) cared to discuss.

Thanks for undercutting it, my patriotic left wing friends, and calling it partisan scare mongering. What kind of a warped mind, can spin basic common sense as partisan bickering.

So answer me this, how many of the displaced persons in New Orleans secured a ready kit? If none, then why not? They can’t all be that poor - three days food and water is pretty cheap, especially if you’re buying the non-perishable staples (e.g. beans & stuff) recommended.

Do you remember what the left said about Ridge, that it was just foolish alarmism for political gain? The only thing the left could focus on, was duct tape. I would argue that the partisan sniping from the left, in the form of ongoing and repeated rants about about duct tape, caused people to really dismiss the message Secretary Ridge was trying to put out. The message was simple: The Feds can’t prepare for everything. You have to be ready to survive for 72 hours. After that, FedGov can get enough stuff in place to help.

Before you, my patriotic left wing friends, blast away accusing me of blind, fact-free partisan sniping, reflexive Bush defense, or whatever else crosses your wee minds, I would hope that you check out the juicy links enclosed below.

I’ve gone to the trouble of looking at what the left said about Ridge’s politically motivated scare mongering - how they described it way back then. Yes, I remember what the left said back then, and through the miracle of the innerdsnet, I can bring it to you. Read it and weep. Literally. And ask yourself, if the left and the MSM hadn’t worked so hard to discount Homeland Security readiness efforts, whether the people in New Orleans would have been better prepared.

Here’s what Duncan Black, AKA Atrios, AKA choagy boy for Media Matters, said about it. I bet he doesn’t want you to remember what Ridge said about preparedness, or how ol’ Atrios himself worked to undercut the message.

Here’s Kos going on about it. And again with another.

And Pandagon with another.

Here’s the American Prospect and Matt Yglesias with some mockery of Ridge’s readiness plan.

Here’s what another Dem said about Ridge’s lunatic idea, about keeping food & water on hand.

Here’s what another one said.

Here’s another one, mocking Ridge’s “duct tape and bottled water dreams.”

Here’s another mocking Ridge and duct tape.

Here’s one about Ridge’s readiness list as “fear based mind control.”

Here’s one that says Ridge’s list was the result of White House fear mongering.

Here’s another, talking about “Big Head” Tom Ridge “securing the Homeland with duct tape and fear mongering.”

Here’s another

And another.

And another.

You know, it never occurred to any of our leftist friends in the blogosphere or the MSM, that maybe Secretary Ridge went to the trouble of preparing a readiness web site with emergency kit lists, in the public interest. It never occurred to them that it could be anything other than partisan fear mongering.

Well, shame on them. Do you think anybody might have taken Ridge’s pronouncements and urging to be prepared, had his every comment not been met with mockery, allegations of political dirty tricks, and the relentless cry of “duct tape duct tape”?

Matter of fact, here’s some icing on the cake. Here’s a spectacularly ill-informed lefty mocking out DHS for not taking seriously it’s duty to tell people to prepare for disasters. You’re shitting me, right? When a cabinet secretary puts out a 12 page list of simple things to do to prep for disasters, and you spend two years mocking it as a fear mongering, politically motivated directive to buy duct tape, it seems to me you have few grounds to accuse others of having not taken the threats seriously.

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