We've all witnessed Republican desperation in the face of lost power since the 2008 election, and it hasn't been pretty. They've done a lot of stupid things and said "no" to virtually everything Democrats and President Obama have tried to do since then. It was bad enough that they stood by insurance companies against Americans and their right to basic health care without fear of going bankrupt, now they're doing everything in their power to take it away and undo the protections it provides, while they get their health care on us.
That's just one on a list of so many ways they've gone to bat for the plutocrats (many of them those very congressmen and women) and are in the process of doing their level best to aid the corporate takeover of America itself.
The Republicans seem to wear cruelty as a badge of honor in their race to the bottom, each one seeming to stoop to a new low as if it were a contest. They've done some pretty outrageous things, but I think we have a winner today.
It's tough to choose, but I think the new low (at least for today) goes to Eric Cantor (R-VA).
Today, when the death toll from the tornado in Joplin, Missouri stands at 119 as of this writing, Cantor has taken an opportunity to use the tragedy to his, and his "bully boys club" colleagues' advantage. He's simply going to hold those tornado victims "hostage."
From Think Progress:
President Obama pledged full support to the state Monday, telling survivors, “We’re here with you. We’re going to stay by you.”
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), however, said that before Congress approved federal funds for disaster relief, it had to offset the spending with cuts to other programs.
From The Washington Times:
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said Monday that if Congress passes an emergency spending bill to help Missouri’s tornado victims, the extra money will have to be cut from somewhere else.
“If there is support for a supplemental, it would be accompanied by support for having pay-fors to that supplemental,” Mr. Cantor, Virginia Republican, told reporters at the Capitol. The term “pay-fors” is used by lawmakers to signal cuts or tax increases used to pay for new spending.
You see, it's not enough that the Republicans already voted for cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to update weather satellites that provide the warning systems in disasters like the tornadoes we've seen in the Midwest this past week, and hurricanes.
In other words, they've said "we can't afford warning systems that would potentially save lives" because we really need to divert more of our budget to the rich folks in the form of things like tax cuts, because the majority of the nation's wealth being held by the top two percent just isn't quite enough. The have-nots will just have to make due (or die trying) so that "haves" can have lots more.
Eric Cantor would prefer to withhold aid to those tornado victims who have lost everything, so that rich folks like, oh I don't know, say Florida's Republican Governor Rick Scott, can maintain the kind of living they've become accustomed to.
Rick Scott just made cuts to insurance in Florida. In the event of a hurricane, Floridians will now pay more for less, with limited coverage. But this won't be a problem for Scott, who is way above the rest of us down here when it comes to hurricane preparedness. Scott already has an extra roof for his $9.2 million home waiting around in storage, should he lose the one he has. Scott divulged this information while warning residents yesterday to "be prepared" for hurricane season which begins next week.
It was part of Scott's joking explanation about why his home city won't get hit. "We will not have a hurricane in Naples, Florida. I guarantee it."
As bad a "comedian" that he is, I truly wish he would give up his day job to work on his stand-up routine and turn the state over to someone who has a clue how to run one, but of course, that won't happen. It will be a true disaster if he's tested by a hurricane while in office, but it's those potential victims who don't have homes, much less a spare roof in the waiting who will suffer the most.
Which brings us back to the results of a disaster, what's happened in Joplin, Missouri, and Eric Cantor who wants to hold disaster victims hostage, with aid for those "have nots" as ransom.
People like Eric Cantor and Rick Scott, who laud their wealth and power over others as they play with people's lives hiding behind a podium in front of cameras, are cowards. Plain and simple. In a fair and just world, they would be held accountable for their actions. In a perfect world, a coward like Eric Cantor would have to actually face the people who have so little left while he tells them he wants to take away even more. If he's willing to hold the residents of Joplin hostage, I think he should hop on a plane and tell them so in person.
I'd love to see him go to Missouri with a camera crew and a podium and really show those victims in Joplin what a tough, powerful man he is, and there's no need for him to spend a single cent of tax cuts dollars to do it.
The plane ticket's on me.
