King followed up to clarify that Romney's view of devolving as much as possible from the federal governments to the states and the private sector really did include disaster relief.
Romney responded:
We cannot afford to do those things without jeopardizing the future for our kids. It is simply immoral, in my view, for us to continue to rack up larger and larger debts and pass them on to our kids, knowing full well that we'll all be dead and gone before it's paid off. It makes no sense at all.) after the Joplin, Missouri tornado disaster that killed 124 people in 2011 are disgusting, disturbing and reflect and immoral attitude to the suffering and needs of those experiencing disasters anywhere in the country. The romney-ryan cabal's plans are wrong for the nation, and the voters have seen just what kind of America they would bring us. From HuffPost.....
King followed up to clarify that Romney's view of devolving as much as possible from the federal governments to the states and the private sector really did include disaster relief.
Romney responded:
We cannot afford to do those things without jeopardizing the future for our kids. It is simply immoral, in my view, for us to continue to rack up larger and larger debts and pass them on to our kids, knowing full well that we'll all be dead and gone before it's paid off. It makes no sense at all.When it comes to multi-state disasters, it's simply not possible to manage relief on an ad hoc, local basis. National resources and national coordination are absolutely essential and our increasingly cash-strapped states are simply not in the position to take on such massive interventions. But Republicans have now declared war on FEMA. The Ryan budget, not surprisingly, has called for significant cuts to the agency. And, of course, the party denies that there is such a thing as human-induced climate change, including such effects as significant sea-level rise. In fact, Romney mocked the idea of climate change and the threat of rising sea levels just two months ago during his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention.
But when push comes to shove, the proof is in the pudding. When such disasters do strike -- like Sandy, whose devastation was undoubtedly connected to changing water temperatures and sea level rise -- no governor, Republican or otherwise, would ever actually turn down federal disaster relief. Just ask Romney supporter, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie this morning.
As if any more evidence were needed, Romney's response to disaster relief and his evasiveness and dishonesty on climate change demonstrates powerfully his lack of conscience and his abject moral cravenness. The Republican Party has become so utterly insane that it actually thinks it's principled to oppose federal disaster relief. Its patently insincere professions of concern about the "children" -- because gutting education spending, Medicaid, etc., has no consequences for kids -- is nothing more than an attempt to convey moral purpose when its worldview is, in fact, morally denuded. And Romney is the most craven of all, because there's good reason to believe that he doesn't actually believe this utter nonsense, but in order to win the presidency, will say absolutely anything, no matter how ridiculous and no matter how contrary it might be to something he said a year ago, a week ago, or yesterday. And if anyone believes that this moral cravenness and cowardice would end once he were elected -- please. He will be beholden to a Party that has simply plunged off the deep end and since he has no discernible principles of his own -- other than ensuring that wealthy people like himself benefit from every tax break imaginable -- there would simply be no reason for him to meaningfully stem the tide of the House Republicans who are now the heart and soul of the party.
Romney's comments on disaster relief, a week after the Joplin disaster, and his refusal today to answer any questions about FEMA and federal efforts in the wake of the devastation caused by Sandy, are useful bookends -- providing as clear a window into the man's conscience as we're likely to have.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jonathan-weiler/mitt-romney-fema_b_2045760.html
Mitt Romney Refuses To Talk About FEMA After Hurricane Sandy Event
Mitt Romney refused to answer reporters' questions about how he would handle the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), after a Tuesday "storm relief" event in Ohio for Hurricane Sandy.
From the Romney pool report:
TV pool asked Romney at least five times whether he would eliminate FEMA as president/what he would do with FEMA. He ignored the qs but they are audible on cam. The music stopped at points and the qs would have been audible to him.A follow-up report noted the specific questions Romney ignored, as he was collecting hurricane supplies following his event:
"Gov are you going to eliminate FEMA?" a print pooler shouted, receiving no response. Wires reporters asked more questions about FEMA that were ignored.During a GOP primary debate last year, Romney had said he supported the idea of states and private sector groups taking over responsibility for disaster relief.
Romney kept coming over near pool to pick up more water. He ignored these questions:
"Gov are you going to see some storm damage?"
"Gov has [New Jersey Gov.] Chris Christie invited you to come survey storm damage?"
"Gov you've been asked 14 times, why are you refusing to answer the question?"
"Every time you have an occasion to take something from the federal government and send it back to the states, that's the right direction," he said. "And if you can go even further and send it back to the private sector, that's even better. Instead of thinking, 'In the federal budget, what we should cut?' we should ask the opposite question: 'What should we keep?'"
"We cannot -- we cannot afford to do those things without jeopardizing the future for our kids," Romney continued, when asked specifically about disaster relief. "It is simply immoral, in my view, for us to continue to rack up larger and larger debts and pass them on to our kids, knowing full well that we'll all be dead and gone before it's paid off. It makes no sense at all."
Those comments were highlighted in the wake of Hurricane Sandy as a sign of how Romney might respond to natural disasters. His campaign quickly clarified that Romney's emergency management response would include FEMA.
“Governor Romney believes that states should be in charge of emergency management in responding to storms and other natural disasters in their jurisdictions,” said campaign spokeswoman Amanda Henneberg. “As the first responders, states are in the best position to aid affected individuals and communities and to direct resources and assistance to where they are needed most. This includes help from the federal government and FEMA.”
The Republican presidential nominee and his running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan, suspended all campaign events on Monday evening and Tuesday "out of sensitivity" to the victims of Hurricane Sandy.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article misquoted Mitt Romney to say he would "absolutely" shutter FEMA. He did not use the word "absolutely" in that context.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/30/mitt-romney-fema_n_2044213.html?utm_hp_ref=daily-brief?utm_source=DailyBrief&utm_campaign=103112&utm_medium=email&utm_content=NewsEntry&utm_term=Daily%20Brief
