when they dont deliver the goods (hi, george w. bush), it really kinda spoils that whole claim and makes it moot...and usually republicans are the ones "pushing" that ideal...
That's where the ideological difference comes in. Bush has been terrific for us in compassion ministry! We've been able to get ministries and people into places - prisons, and prisoners out of prison and into our recovery programs and churches - that we never could before. These public - private partnerships have been very effective on a local level, far more effective, imo, than the federally mandated programs that existed before.
My wive's former disaster response program, Citizen Corps, was started by the department of homeland securty under Bush and initiated locally by a republican mayor. They had a huge hand in aiding victims of Hurricane Katrina, housing thousands here in Oklahoma. A democratic mayor was elected locally and promptly killed the program. Why? Because she didn't believe in public-private partnerships, and faith-based initiatives.
If Gustav hits land in New Orleans and thousands are displaced again, who's going to be there now to take in, house, and feed these people? That's a lot of work to throw on an understaffed and under funded Red Cross.
That's a criticism of the local mayor, but it's an issue that shouldn't be bipartisan.