Here's a far-from-comprehensive look at Republican attitudes towards FEMA and disaster aid, just in case you were wondering:
- If your state is selfish enough to have a disaster when the federal government is already paying for previous disasters, don't expect the Republican House to simply appropriate additional funds. Instead, they will cut all those other federal programs to pay for it -- and it will be ALL YOUR FAULT.
- There will always be a way to blame Obama for it.
- The Republican solution is always the same: Privatize, privatize, privatize! (And we know what happens when they do.)
- Tea Partiers have no such thing as empathy for their fellow man. Get used to it.
- Republicans are not above making use of the same programs they're trying to kill for the rest of us.
- They will never, ever, ever be transparent-- with pretty much anything.
- From the Bush years, via Rude Pundit: The Strategic Goals of FEMA have shifted from definite measures of effectiveness in emergencies, including the responsibility to feed, hydrate, and shelter victims in the first couple of days after a disaster, to a business-speak that leaves weasel room for any screw-ups.