The flood brought another clever political manipulator to office: legendary Louisiana Gov. Huey Long. Long's populist mandate arose in great measure as a reaction to a huge fissure that the flood created in New Orleans society. As the flood waters started approaching New Orleans, the close-knit cabal of New Orleans bankers who ran Louisiana from their exclusive krewes and clubs decided they were going to save their own skins by dynamiting a levee about 10 miles from the city. They were powerful enough that they didn't even need to do it under the cover of night -- they got the governor to sign an order making the operation legal.
James Carville, Swamp Fever, April 7, 1997
I hadn't heard about this until the catastrophe last week. The exposure of the failures of a system based on plutocratic self-interest, and the rise of a populist politics, all precipitated by a great disaster. Will be on the lookout for any signs of historical recapitulation.
One possible correction to the essay: Carville seems to indicate that Shelby Foote was actually a relative of Walker Percy. I don't think this was the case. As far as I know, he was just a semi-adopted family friend
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