Need A New Reason to Find Santorum Annoying?

Wednesday, September 14, 2005

Need A New Reason to Find Santorum Annoying?

Senator Rick "Two Terms Only, Please" Santorum (R-Penn.) has long been a critic of the National Weather Service. So when Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf coast, Santorum was eager to take a swipe at the agency, complaining that he didn't believe that NWS had given "sufficient warning" in its initial reports about Katrina.

That's interesting because Santorum's GOP colleague, Sen. Jim DeMint -- who happens to chair the Disaster Prediction and Prevention Subcommittee, offered words of praise for the NWS. DeMint said that after reviewing the NWS's actions, he was "convinced that this was one of the most accurate hurricane predictions we have ever seen."

Indeed, Monday's Wall Street Journal notes that if there was any blame to be assigned for a lack of warning, it is the media -- not weather officials -- who deserve it. The Journal reports that in addition to tracking Katrina's approach, the NWS also was on top of the potential for flooding caused by compromised levees:
The New Orleans office of the National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning at 8:14 a.m. Monday (Aug. 29), saying "a levee breech occurred along the industrial canal at Tennessee Street, 3 to 8 feet of water is expected due to the breech." The media largely ignored [the warning].
So what's Santorum's beef with the NWS? This Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article offers some critical clues:
Sen. Rick Santorum, who has sponsored legislation to limit the information that the National Weather Service can provide to the public, told radio reporters this week that Congress should investigate whether the federal agency's initial warnings on the severity of Hurricane Katrina were adequate.

... [Democrats] have contended that his legislation is intended to benefit private weather companies, at least one of which has contributed to his campaign.
Not that we needed additional reasons to hope that Pennsylvania voters reject Santorum's re-election bid next year.

By the way, this is the Democrat with the best shot of defeating Santorum next November.

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