He's insisting for an offset of any aid to the Oklahoma victims with spending cuts elsewhere. Greg Sargent argues that it's not wrong to employ political arguments in the middle of a tragedy. I'm not sure I agree with that.
"According to the latest count, some 51 people died as the result of a tornado that has devastated a suburb of Oklahoma City, and as many as 40 more deaths may have taken place. As often happens in these cases, an argument has already erupted over who is or isn’t “politicizing” the natural disaster."
"According to the latest count, some 51 people died as the result of a tornado that has devastated a suburb of Oklahoma City, and as many as 40 more deaths may have taken place. As often happens in these cases, an argument has already erupted over who is or isn’t “politicizing” the natural disaster."
"This claim is being directed in both directions. For instance, Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn has already announced that he believes any federal aid to victims of the disaster should be paid for with spending cuts elsewhere. Roll Call writes this up as if Coburn is rushing to inject politics into the tragedy:
The tornado damage near Oklahoma City is still being assessed and the death toll is expected to rise, but already Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., says he will insist that any federal disaster aid be paid for with cuts elsewhere. [...]Coburn added…that it is too early to guess at a damage toll but that he knows for certain he will fight to make sure disaster funding that the federal government contributes is paid for. It’s a position he has taken repeatedly during his career when Congress debates emergency funding for disaster aid.
"Meanwhile, some on the right are suggesting that anyone who criticizes Coburn’s position is also “politicizing” the disaster. The other Senator from Oklahoma, James Inhofe, is a longtime climate “skeptic,” and some have already pointed to this in the context of the tornado, which is also being criticized as “politicizing” it. Conservative writer Conn Carroll, for instance, takes issue with Politico’s Glenn Thrush (full disclosure: Thrush is a friend of mine) for Tweeting this:
I’m a douche low-life scumbag jackhole ghoul for noting Coburn already wants offsets to fed aid and Inhofe is climate change denier.
"Carroll also points out that the Huffington Post has been pushing Coburn’s office to clarify his position. “Left wastes no time politicizing the Oklahoma tragedy,” reads Carroll’s headline.
I do think basic human empathy dictates that maybe you try and wait until the bodies are cold-or we even know how many they are before you start announcing that you may not pay for it-unless Democrats agree to equivalent spending elsewhere. Do I object to all political arguments during a tragedy? I don't know. Maybe this shows that there's eomething wrong with Coburn's whole arugment in the best of times.
Here's the President's words of empathy and promise to action:
"President Obama pledged Tuesday that his administration and the nation will help Oklahoma recover and rebuild after what he called "one of the most destructive tornadoes in history."
"Speaking from the White House, Obama told those affected by the destruction that while they "face a long road ahead," Americans will be by their side. "You will not travel that path alone. Your country will travel with you, fueled by our faith in the almighty and our faith in one another," he said.
"We're a nation that stands with our fellow citizens as long as it takes," he said, before mentioning a string of recent disasters -- some weather, one terrorism -- that have weighed heavily on the country. "We have seen that spirit in Joplin, in Tuscaloosa. We saw that spirit in Boston, in Breezy Point. And that's what the people of Oklahoma are going to need from us right now."
Which reaction you prefer I guess you can ask yourself. Would Sargent think it appropriate for Obama to have gotten "political" in his speech? Just like Sumner says the fiscal multiplier is zero, Senator Coburn insists the disaster relief multiplier is also zero.
Either way Coburn is determined that we lose as is Sumner.
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