White House blasts Cantor on FEMA spending

[cal04]

by Joan McCarter
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/08/30/1011929/-White-House-blasts-Cantor-on%C2%A0FEMAspending?via=blog_1




Route 112, washed out during Hurricane Irene in Halifax, Vermont (Brian Snyder/Reuters)
Here's reality: "The Federal Emergency Management Agency is running out of money and finds itself operating in a new political and fiscal climate that may be as treacherous as some of the disasters to which it must respond." The agency's critical "disaster-relief fund, used to reimburse local governments and individuals for the costs of cleanup and repairs, is running dangerously low." It's been a disaster-laden year, and money is already having to be diverted from relief for this year's devastating tornadoes to respond to Irene.

Right on schedule, Majority Leader Eric Cantor tells us no disaster relief without spending cuts. Where does he want those cuts to come from? Unbelievably, by slashing "disaster relief funding as part of the Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill, which contains massive cuts to FEMA and first responders." That's stealing from FEMA and DHS in the future to pay for the current disasters.

So three cheers for White House press secretary Jay Carney for blasting Cantor. Much more of this from the White House, please.
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/178733-white-house-spokesman-takes-shot-at-cantor-over-disaster-aid

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Carney said the federal government’s priority should be to respond to the disaster. He also noted that Cantor (R-Va.) hadn’t demanded offsets when the Bush administration rang up “unprecedented bills.”

“I guess I can’t help but say that I wish that commitment to looking for offsets had been held by the House majority leader and others, say, during the previous administration when they ran up unprecedented bills and never paid for them,” Carney said, according to a White House pool report.

This is a fight President Obama can win, particularly with the entire east coast which is still cleaning up, and New Jersey and Vermont which are still in the middle of the disaster. Particularly when you consider who Cantor's allies in this fight are. Yes, Fox News dragged out horse judge Mike "Heckuva Job Brownie" to tell us Cantor is absolutely right. With opposition that pathetic, Democrats shouldn't be afraid to make this one a fight.


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[Harmony Blue]

1. Government works when you have people in charge that believe

in the government. :kick:

[elleng]

2. GOOD! Lets hear WH and other Dems take Cantor out!

[dtexdem]

3. Well, instead of a dark horse, Faux News brought out a painted horse.

Of course, we know which end of the painted horse Brownie represents. ;-)

And if the WH can't fight for this one, then it really is pathetic.

[eleny]

4. Martin Bashir on MSNBC just compared Cantor with the scorpion in the fable...

The fable about the scorpion who convinces the frog to take him across the river on the frog's back.

When the frog is bitten and asks the scorpion why he bit him - the scorpion replies, "It's in my nature".

And then he said that dealing with Cantor in relation to the hurricane aftermath is like the frog trusting the scorpion.

[elleng]

5. Good one but, of course, the frog had an OPTION,

WH (and We the People) don't, UNLESS Repugs conclude/are forced to conclude that continuing on this tack will do them in. I'd certainly like this approach, but am not optimistic about quick action.

[eleny]

8. That's the lesson - Don't trust the scorpion/Republican

[leftyohiolib]

11. well hell that's the first lesson in living101

2 is dont vote republican reason see rule 1

[savannah43]

13. Variation from Wiki:

"It is better we should both perish than that my enemy should live." Sounds exactly right. They just want their way, even if it kills them, too. No sense, no integrity, no soul, no brains. Just a bunch of psychopaths. Oh, joy. The modern public manifestation of the Republican party. Too bad people don't go directly to Cantor's house to protest.

[greymattermom]

6. his district should be cut

So exactly how much is he planning to cut from programs in his own district? That question should be asked every time he is interviewed.

[sunwyn]

7. These people could care less about unpopular policy that would stop them from getting elected.

I am sure they have lucrative jobs waiting for them by the sugar daddies.

[NICO9000]

9. Sorry - not good enough for me

Somebody - anybody - in power needs to publicly call out Cantor as the heartless monster he is. Carney could have said something like "It is regrettable that Mr. Cantor is such a zealot that he would cut the very disaster services at the very moment we need them most. His callousness at the suffering of his constituents and others is mind-boggling."

I saw in the paper today that FEMA will run out of money in the next couple of months, so be prepared for that to be the next bogus "fight" the rethugs want to pick.

[Marnie]

10. Hollow words from the WH unless it proves it is willing to

fight to win to find funds for aide and reconstruction. And I don't mean in 2020.

[The Wizard]

12. Just like Ann Coulter

but with the dick still attached. Eric Cantor is a national disgrace, and his district should be transformed into a penal colony. Eric Cantor is anal leakage.

[katty]

14. Withhold Eric Cantor's paycheck and suspend his med benefits

--that should shut this asshole up.