Utterly Consistent

Not. Bobby Jindal, then:

The strength of America is not found in our government. It is found in the compassionate hearts and the enterprising spirit of our citizens. We are grateful for the support we have received from across the nation for the ongoing recovery efforts. This spirit got Louisiana through the hurricanes and this spirit will get our nation through the storms we face today.

To solve our current problems, Washington must lead. But the way to lead is not to raise taxes and not to just put more money and power in hands of Washington politicians. The way to lead is by empowering you, the American people. Because we believe that Americans can do anything.

So is Bobby boy now saying that Louisianans should sop up the oil with "compassionate hearts and the enterprising spirit of our citizens?" Not exactly.

“We need to make the federal government accountable,” Jindal said Monday in Louisiana, with U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano at his side.

(...)

“We have been frustrated with the disjointed effort to date that has too often meant too little, too late to stop the oil from hitting our coast,” Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said during a Monday news conference at Port Fourchon with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.

“BP is the responsible party, but we need the federal government to make sure they are held accountable and that they are indeed responsible. Our way of life depends on it,” Jindal said.

(Politico) Now don't get me wrong... I'm not suggesting we actually deliver the kind of gummint that Republicans are fond of claiming they want: "I don't want to abolish government. I simply want to reduce it to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub." What I am suggesting is that you can't have it both ways. If want a Libertarian paradise, move to Somalia. If you want a government that's robust and powerful enough to make a difference in the case of a disaster of this magnitude, you're going to have to pay for it. That means taxes. If you want to have disasters of this magnitude, by all means, keep fighting to end or minimize all oversight and regulation of corporations. If you'd prefer the only rational alternative to disasters like this one, you're going to want some pretty serious oversight and regulation.

There's plenty of room for disagreement about exactly how far we want the government's power to extend, but this sense that government shouldn't exist until you need it- until your "way of life" is threatened- is self-centered, juvenile, and blatantly stupid.

Not that I expect most of today's far-righties to comprehend that.