Republican perfidy and corruption
In paroxysms of nonpartisan concern, Republicans have risen to the need for help with the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is unilaterally curtailing the five week Congressional recess and calling for an emergency session to address the disaster. Concerned Republicans are streaming back to DC from all over the nation so they can address the devastation caused by the disaster as urgently as possible.
Nah, I’m just kidding. Mike Johnson has said there’s no way he’ll call anybody back from their cushy little holidays to help with the disaster. No way Jose. Republicans cut short their vacations? Are you kidding me? Not a chance. Americans are desperately in urgent need of disaster relief? Tough shit. They’re gonna have to wait. The born-again “Christian” Mickey Johnson doesn’t want to, and that’s final.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden pointed out in his recent “Letter to Congress on Disaster Needs” that “the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) disaster loan program will run out of funding in a matter of weeks and well before the Congress is planning to reconvene.” He reminded Congress that he warned them of a potential funding shortfall long before Helene “landed on American shores … Now the need is even more urgent.”
The Republican Congress failed the American people then too, so what’s to stop them from failing the American people a second time? If they’re anything they’re consistent. But it’s official. Mike Johnson’s Congress doesn’t plan to provide any disaster aid before November, well after the election. After all, helping a bunch of Americans to recover from a disaster might accidentally make Biden look good. And Mickey can’t have that.
North Carolina Democratic congressional candidate Chuck Hubbard responded to Johnson’s non-plan, saying, “This is unacceptable and shameful! Republicans in Congress are failing Helene victims. Congress must act now to pass urgently needed disaster aid.”
This is nothing new. It’s all part of the familiar Republican playbook. 1) Create a problem. 2) Blame it on Biden. 3) Helping Republicans gain power is worth any amount of collateral suffering caused. Meanwhile Republicans are falsely claiming that funds are being diverted from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to “help illegal aliens.” Help them what? Presumably to vote for Democrats.
There are eight million stories in the naked city of Republican perfidy and corruption. This has been one of them. And, as ever, ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters, comrades and friends, stay safe. Donate now
Robert Harrington is an American expat living in Britain. He is a portrait painter.