Daily Press uses Hurricane Irene to Attack Tea Party
By Brian Kirwin | Wednesday, August 31st, 2011 |President Obama’s poll numbers are falling, but not as fast as the credibility of the Daily Press editorial page.
It’s latest offering of the “new Editor from Georgia” attacks the Tea Party and uses the devastating Hurricane Irene to make its point.
It’s sickening.
40 people lost their lives from the wrath of Hurricane Irene. The Daily Press is happy to use this tragedy to make political attacks.
The insipid thrust of the article is that Congressmen like House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Rep. Rob Wittman are practically hypocrites for touting a federal disaster response while talking about cutting spending.
Let me explain it so that even Editors from Georgia can understand it. You can eat less dessert while still eating meat and potatoes.
Should they deliver to their constituents the federal help they want in the disaster’s wake? Or should they promise them the spending cuts those same constituents were demanding during the Great Debt Ceiling Standoff? Listening to some tea party favorites tap-dance through this political thicket would be amusing, if difficult and painful decisions were not at stake. (Daily Mess…er, Press)
What’s Georgian for “Duh?”
He acts as if the budget is made up of one line-item called “The Budget” and the Tea Party wants to cut it all. The Tea Party wants responsible spending and, yes, less spending. There are plenty of places that the Federal Government can cut while still responding to national disasters.
Of course, that might take a bit of work and research. Asking a question or two. Having a bit of writing skill and depth of understanding and perspective.
Hey, if everyone had talent, it wouldn’t be special, right?
The editorial goes on to praise Democrat Bobby Scott, because since he loves tax increases and budget deficits, the Daily Press sees his position as “consistent.”
When the Editor actually says something positive about Wittman, it prefaces the remark with the word “In Fairness.” Doesn’t that blatantly admit that the column up to that point has been unfair?
No, Daily Press, the Tea Party doesn’t want to cut everything in the world. They want spending to be responsible and focused on core functions of government.
There are a whole lot of things in Washington to cut before you get to disaster relief, if you bother to look.
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About the author
The right wants to jeer him. The left wants to censor him. Moderates usually want both. Brian Kirwin is a political consultant and public relations strategist in Virginia Beach with a lightning-rod flair. Brian also serves on the VB Arts & Humanities Commission and frequently appears on Hampton Roads theatrical stages, if only to prove that all actors aren’t liberals. Kirwin’s columns stir up debate and hit the political scene with no punches pulled.
Comments
18 Responses to "Daily Press uses Hurricane Irene to Attack Tea Party"
Is the Daily Press trying to become the Virginian Pilot? I hope this editorial symptom doesn’t turn into a disease.
Cantor views on the budget are completely hypocritical so I am pleased that the Daily Press had the courage to point that out. Defense of corporate power and protection of tax benefits for the rich just about wraps up his portfolio, and when Speaker Boehner and the President had a deal to put our nation back on a sound financial footing, there was Cantor pulling the rug out from under the Speaker. The Republican Study Committee to this day refuses to acknowledge the imperative to raise revenue as well as to cut expenses in order to reduce the deficit, and as they continue to pursue this policy of cuts only that hurts our economy, our nation suffers. I suspect as well this article hints that Kirwin won’t be writing for the DP anymore, but that certainly is no great loss.
Brian, I am very much glad to see this reasoned defense of the Tea Party. Especially here on Bearing Drift.
As soon as you mention the need for cuts even with a debt so large it threatens to bankrupt the country, somebody tries to play politics and divide America by accusing the proponent of responsibility of being against ordinary Americans. How absurd.
And you’re right…..playing politics with a hurricane is certainly unbecoming.
Yes, I remember the same arguments after President Bush essentially ignored the devastation in New Orleans, although he did deign to flyover at 30,000 feet to get a bird’s eye view. Of course, from there, he could not see the people in the water. Point is, it has been the republican strategy to govern poorly, and then to claim government does not work. Kind of like the child who having killed his parents begs for mercy becasue he is an orphan. The best iteration of that tactic in Virginia is to ignore the funding of maintenance of infrastructure, and then blame VDOT for poor performance. Let our children pay the bill for unfunded liabilities.
With the way the left wing used what happened to Gabriel Gifford as a political axe what can we expect? The insanity is thinking the same ole’ stuff may be different this time.
From The Hill dot com:
“Cantor signaled Monday he wants any spending on Irene to be offset by spending cuts elsewhere.”
I will chalk this up to “making wrong people do right things.”
Repubs play into these infantile tactics by not turning the tables on the left. Why should the government spend money on programs that even GAO says are wasteful rather than spending it on disaster relief? Why did all the supposed reforms and funding to FEMA result in even worse initial disaster response to the BP oil spill than to Katrina? This could be endlessly repeated as in … why did enlarging the SEC make it even more ineffective in catching an obvious fraud like Bernie Madoff? etc etc
I know! We have problems with energy dependence and an education system that in many areas is behind much of the world. Therefore, let’s form a Department of Education and Department of Energy. That will solve all our problems, right? ………..oops
Hey Mike, if you want me to say that Big Government George Bush was a horrific president his 2nd term, I will! I will gladly admit that it wasn’t ONLY the failed leadership in the mayor and governor’s office. FEMA and Bush deserve blame for response during Katrina as well.
Government is necessary, but it is not the answer to everything.
@Mike Barett: Are you not aware that the federal government can do nothing in disaster situations until the state REQUESTS HELP? Yet the democrat mayor of New Orleans and the democrat governor failed to do so for days. Once again, don’t let the facts get in the way of a good political smear from the left!!
Well Britt, I totally agree with your statement, and believe that many programs and functions should be curtailed or eliminated. That said, to deny the need for increased revenue is simply inviting further damage to the financial system which will prolong this period of slow growth. Boehner and the President had it in their hands to solve this dilemma; Cantor made sure that the compromise was defeated. One can only assume he was trying to make sure that the President would serve only one term. The irony is most Americans now realize that the House owns the problem.
the Dems say that the TEA party wants to hang all black people.
so would I believe anything a Democrat told me?
I hear the Fed is talking about a possible QE3 now, Mike. That in itself will have repercussions on the dollar, but such a possibilty brings up questions. How will the take advantage of a QE3? Will it just be to make additional spending look better? Or will somebody find a way to pay down some debt and encourage growth?
So far, I have seen no change, and hope is fading fast.
I wonder how Governor McDonald reacted to Representative Cantor’s position. Since our Governor has run up a record amount of borrowing, we can ill afford additional debt. All things being equal, FEMA indicated they currently have sufficient resources. Hence, Cantor’s rhetoric was politically motivated irrespective of the “tea party” who ever they are.
I don’t like excessive borrowing either Wally and you don’t have to go too far back in history to find where I have raked McDonnell over the coals for one thing or another. That said, there are very few states that I would hesitate to compare fiscal health with Virginia.
I wouldn’t trust anything FEMA said, but it may or may not be politically motivated rhetoric. Still, the idea of paying for an emergency expense with selective cuts elsewhere is generally an idea with merit.
I wonder how long it will be for Wally to get the Governor’s name right.
Spend as much as is necessary to get people in the help they need after Irene and cut that out of the DoD’s budget, say in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Why pick a fight over something so important and necessary to people?
Brian: I thought it tongue-in-cheek appropriate for one who makes Happy Meals and Hamburgers out the Commonwealth’s long term debt. But I guess that flew over your head.
Oops. Cantor rescinded his foo-bar concerning FEMA. I wonder why: McDonnell?
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