Katrina as Dem Political Fund-Raiser

This is one of the most sickening and most blatant examples yet of Democrats exploiting Hurricane Katrina for political purposes. This time they aren't just trying to score points; they're trying to score cash.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A new Democratic effort to whip up indignation about the Bush administration's handling of Hurricane Katrina also tried to raise money for Democratic candidates.

Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat and the head of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, issued an appeal Thursday urging people to sign an online petition to fire the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency over his handling of the Katrina response.

After an inquiry from the Associated Press, the DSCC quickly pulled down the page and said they would donate to charity any money raised by the anti-FEMA petition.

When recipients clicked on a link to the petition, the top center of the screen _ above the call to "Fire the FEMA director" _ had asked for a donation to the DSCC.

Other DSCC Web pages have the same appeal for contributions, but several do not.

Since Katrina, Democrats have charged Republicans badly botched the response, and some have called for the firing of FEMA chief Michael Brown.

In recent days, Republicans hit back by accusing Democrats of trying to use the human tragedy for political gain. The letter, the GOP said Thursday, was proof.

"It's a disgrace to exploit Hurricane Katrina to raise political funds," said Brian Nick, spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

"They should halt this activity because it's way over the line," he said.

DSCC spokesman Phil Singer said: "While the content of the letter is totally valid, it should have never been linked to a Web site that asks people to contribute to political campaigns. We regret it, have removed the letter from our site and will donate any contributions raised as a result of this petition to the Red Cross."

The letter is the latest sign that more than a week after Hurricane Katrina struck, the political fight over what went wrong in the response continues to grow.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has called for an independent commission to probe government failures before and after Katrina, while House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi called Bush "oblivious, in denial, dangerous" in his approach to relief efforts.

Rep. Thomas Reynolds, head of the House Republicans' fund-raising efforts, described Democratic criticism as "reprehensible," saying "this is a tragedy, not an opportunity."

Rep. Reynolds is right. The devastation left by Hurricane Katrina is a tragedy, not an opportunity. The rabid far Left don't see it that way. To them, everything is viewed as an opportunity.

The Democrats' strategy, under mad Dr. Howard Dean, is to exploit tragedies for their political gain. The Dems and their liberal media mouthpieces and the MoveOn/Democracy for America/True Majority axis of extremists all jump at the chance to use others' misery for their benefit.

Excluding that brief period of bipartisanship following 9/11, the behavior of the Democrats in the last three and a half years sank lower and turned uglier than I ever thought possible.

The sick minds of Chuck Schumer and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee decided an online petition against Michael Brown would be a great time to do a little fund-raising.

After being called on the activity by the AP, which is shocking in itself, DSCC spokesman Phil Singer said it was regrettable that a letter calling for Brown's head was linked to a plea for cash for Dem candidates.

Had AP not inquired about the appropriateness of the Dems' use of the Katrina tragedy to solicit funds, you know that money-making scheme would still be chugging away. I seriously doubt Singer's claim that all contributions raised from their repugnant appeal will be donated to the Red Cross.

Right. The check is in the mail.

While abhorrent, Schumer's scheme doesn't surprise me at all. This sort of thing is what I've come to expect from the Dems.

Whether it's the deaths of soldiers in Iraq or bad economic reports or the tragedy of a natural disaster, what's bad for news for America is pounced on as good news for the shameless, politically opportunistic Dems.