President Obama is watching the Sandy hurricane/storm to see where federal resources might be needed for the states in harm’s way. During the primary GOP presidential debates, Mitt Romney was asked about the federal government and FEMA assisting the states in a disaster. If left up to Mitt Romney, the federal government would not assist those states that will need assistance due to potential damage by Hurricane Sandy. Those things we don’t have to keep, we ought to stop doing—including FEMA. That would be one more thing that the Romney presidency would cut out of the federal budget as unnecessary.
Hurricane Sandy is expected to affect the east coast from Florida to possibly all the way up to Maine and also inland states like Ohio. Mitt’s position should be highlighted during the storm for those affected to see what a Romney presidency would mean for them. It may not be the right time for President Obama to deal with the issue as he deals with helping these states. But the main stream media should certainly remind viewers of Romney’s position which is spelled out in his debate answer.
I recently wrote an article on the top 10 ways that Romney says “No I can’t”. Helping storm victims through FEMA and disaster aid is one more way that Romney says no. Hopefully, those undecided voters, in the areas where Hurricane Sandy is expected to hit, will give thought to what denial of federal government assistance to their state would mean.
I guess Mitt Romney thinks that disaster victims are –well victims. In Romney world, victim is a bad word. And victims belong in the 47% category of Americans whom Romney detests. And by Romney’s own words and comments about the 47% Americans, we know that Romney does not intend to do anything for citizens he calls victims.
During the unprecedented Sandy hurricane, I hope that all will be safe and that no lives are lost. And if aid is needed by the states to assist their citizens, be thankful that FEMA and federal government aid is available. Where will we be without helping our fellow citizen during these times? That’s the political lesson of Hurricane Sandy.
If Mitt Romney is elected president, there may be no federal aid for disaster help for victims next year. But there will continue to be storms and hurricanes. And there will continue to be aid needed to help Americans during these disasters. Disasters come in the form of hurricanes, snow storms, fires, flooding and other natural disasters. And aid from the federal government will be needed this year and next year and so on. Under a Romney presidency, aid would be diverted to the private sector. Good luck with getting disaster aid under a Romney presidency.
Washington, DC based Debbie Hines is a former prosecutor and founder of LegalSpeaks, a progressive blog on women and race in law and politics. As a legal and political commentator she has appeared in national, international and local media including the Michael Eric Dyson Show, local NBC, ABC and CBS affiliates, RT TV, CBC- Canadian TV, NPR, XM Sirius radio, the Baltimore Sun, Washington Post and Washington Times among others. She also contributes articles to the Huffington Post and the Women’s Media Center.
Leave a Reply