On the June 19 edition of his nationally syndicated radio show, Neal Boortz asserted that “the real question” concerning the difference between the current floods in the Midwest and Hurricane Katrina in 2005 is as follows: "[W]hy is it that the people who are being affected by the floods in Iowa and the upper Midwest, why is it that they seem to be so much more capable of taking care of themselves and handling this disaster than were the people of Katrina in New Orleans?" Boortz continued, “I think the answer's pretty clear, is that up there in that part of the country, you find a great deal of self-sufficiency. Down there in New Orleans, it was basically a parasite class totally dependent on government for their existence.”
Boortz made the remarks during a discussion with a caller, who responded to Boortz by saying, “Right. And I don't -- and I'm not trying to and I don't want to make it a racial issue, but you don't -- ” Boortz interjected, “Well, then don't.” Boortz then added: “Look, it's a cultural issue, not a racial issue. In New Orleans, you had a culture of government dependence. In Iowa and the upper Midwest, you have a culture of self-sufficience -- self-sufficiency, self-reliance. It's two different cultures. It's not different races. It's different cultures.”
On the January 30 edition of his show, Boortz declared that the “primary blame” for “Katrina and the disaster that followed” falls on the “worthless parasites who lived in New Orleans,” as Media Matters for America documented.
CALLER: I wanted to know why is it the Iowa floods and stuff like that aren't plastered all over the news like the Katrina thing is? I don't get that. Seems like that's much more massive than Katrina.
BOORTZ: Yeah, just as you said that, I looked up at CNN on the TV, and there were the Iowa floods.
CALLER: Yeah. I don't get that.
BOORTZ: You mean -- well, because the toll of human tragedy is not quite so stark as it was in Katrina. So the question -- I -- the real question here is why isn't it get-- not why isn't it getting the coverage, but why is it that the people who are being affected by the floods in Iowa and the upper Midwest, why is it that they seem to be so much more capable of taking care of themselves --
CALLER: Right.
BOORTZ: -- and handling this disaster than were the people of Katrina in New Orleans? And I think the answer's pretty clear, is that up there in that part of the country, you find a great deal of self-sufficiency. Down there in New Orleans, it was basically a parasite class totally dependent on government for their existence.
CALLER: Right. And I don't -- and I'm not trying to and I don't want to make it a racial issue, but you don't --
BOORTZ: Well, then don't.
CALLER: But the question I have is --
BOORTZ: Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. Don't. Because it's not.
CALLER: I know, but --
BOORTZ: Look, it's a cultural issue --
CALLER: OK.
BOORTZ: -- not a racial issue. In New Orleans, you had a culture of government dependence.
CALLER: OK.
BOORTZ: In Iowa and the upper Midwest, you have a culture of self-sufficience -- self-sufficiency, self-reliance. It's two different cultures. It's not different races. It's different cultures.
CALLER: OK.
BOORTZ: And that's why you're seeing a difference in the coverage of these two events.
CALLER: 'Cause I haven't seen anything about, “Where is the government? Nobody cares about us.” I haven't seen no one on TV at the same level as that [inaudible].
BOORTZ: Yeah, and you haven't seen George Bush saying, “You're doing a great job, Brownie.”
CALLER: Yeah.
BOORTZ: Haven't -- perhaps one of the dumbest statements ever uttered by a politician that I've --
CALLER: Well, nobody scripted that for him, did they?
BOORTZ: No, that was foot-in-mouth disease with that one.
