Jesus Christ, 36 Republicans voted against Sandy Disaster Relief

[Hawaii Hiker]

http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=113&session=1&vote=00004

Shouldn't something like Disaster Relief after a devasting storm like Sandy pass 100-0,

[aquart]

1. Yes. It should.

[neverforget]

2. It should pass 100-0 but we're talking about Republicans who put money

above people.

[Cali_Democrat]

8. Not necessarily

If a red southern state was ravaged by a hurricane, you can be sure those same goons would have voted for aid.

[JDPriestly]

16. Sessions, Rubio and one Congressman from South Carolina voted against it.

Most of the Nay votes were from the Middle West and Western conservative states.

No empathy.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

38. Exactly. Like what natural disasters ever occur in Idaho. But, can't wait

to see Rubio denounce aid to his constituents next time (heaven forbid) something happens in FL. To me, this is political suicide for him. People will be burning pics of him in the streets down there.

[truebluegreen]

51. re: Idaho--forest fires.

Especially now that global warming "isn't" happening.

ETA: droughts, see above.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

60. Sorry...how true. Wonder what state has the fewest bad things happen to them. nt

[truebluegreen]

67. No offense taken. As for your question, I dunno...

but I do remember a study/survey from a few years back that said that Willimantic, CT (where my aunt lives) was the safest place in the country.

'Course, what with the hurricanes, and blizzards, and hurricanes and blizzards, they may have to revise that.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

68. Willimantic ?? Yikes, I grew up nearby in Manchester. My whole family

still lives there. I believe it...nothing bad every happens there...don't think you even lock the doors

[truebluegreen]

70. Manchester Center?

Know anybody named Brine?

ETA: found the link(s), from Wiki: For the most part, Mansfield is a safe place. In 2005, Slate named Storrs "America's Best Place to Avoid Death Due to Natural Disaster."

So it wasn't Willimantic, it was Storrs (same dif, verdad?)

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/the_gist/2005/09/where_to_hide_from_mother_nature.html

[Laura PourMeADrink]

71. Storrs is where UCONN is. No

Brine doesn't ring a bell.

Manchester was very boring - but we made our own fun. Think the worst crime I can remember in all my years til college was someone getting a ticket for sparking a firecracker on 4th of July.

where are you from?

[truebluegreen]

72. No where close.

Dad and aforementioned aunt were from MA. She ended up in CT, he went to grad school in WI where I was born, but I grew up in CO and later lived all over the intermountain west--UT (gah), ID, WY, MT.

<sigh> I really love New England, I don't know why. Maybe it's in my DNA--I love the seasons, the architecture is right, the trees are the right height....

[Laura PourMeADrink]

74. very funny ! New England is very pretty..most of it. Lots of trees. Growing up

there, I used to think it was so "old fashioned" and always wanted to go into NYC. But now, I think, how smart they were to keep all the old buildings and quaintness.

Now I am in Texas. I imagine it's similar to where you have lived. Much more of a live and let live type environment. New England has almost gotten stifling....there is a rule and law for everything. We went to the beach and there were cops walking up and down looking in coolers to make sure you had no alcohol. I now call it the Nazi beach. They have tried so hard to protect everyone that it ended up doing the reverse where there is less personal freedom.

[truebluegreen]

75. I hear you.

Colorado is out of control in a similar fashion--too many people live along the Front Range and there's a law for everything.

But I like the trees and the cozy countryside in NE. And after living in a mountainous desert / semi-arid climate all my life, I like rain. To a point. I'd never live in Seattle!

[JDPriestly]

57. Fanatical Republicans still vote for their guy.

There was an earthquake in Virginia a few years ago. The representative in Congress from that area opposed federal aid (at least at first) for a school that was harmed by the earthquake. Some of the Republican voters in that area threatened that they would not vote for him because of his opposition to the aid. He was elected anyway. Republicans are fools. Push their buttons just right, and they vote against their own interests. They are ideologues, irrational ideologues.

[neverforget]

24. Well sure because it's their state or district that's been affected. Screw the

rest of the country. Help me! Not you! Selfishness is now a virtue. The way Republicans are going, I'm surprised that it's not an official slogan of the GOP platform.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

63. You hit the nail on the head..."Selfishness is now a virtue". I think it was planned that

way...to systematically turn once caring people into selfish people. I am referring to the rank and file. My MIL listens to Fox and Rush exclusively. It is all she talks about is how we are a welfare state and how every is getting something for nothing. I tell her that government spending on charity and unemployment and food stamps, etc. is only 9 % of the federal budget...but it is like talking to a zombie.

The right wing spin machine did this, subtly, over the years. All fitting in to the master plan - cut every govt program that helps people.

That is why we can not compromise on healthcare. To compromise, you need two sides that both believe in healthcare for all. the difference perhaps being to what degree and how much to spend, etc. Now, their side doesn't even want it as an end result. It is truly amazing that no one in the media calls them on this.

[ChangeUp106]

3. Toomey

It appears my Senator is continuing to make some sort of move up in the party.

[butterflygirl]

36. Hey, when the Club for Growth tells him to do something

He does is it. He is bought and paid for by them, and does their bidding. When I think of the great senator we could have had, Joe Sestack (not sure I spelled his last name right) I just want to cry.

[dsc]

4. I hope NC doesn't have a hurricane because the country will have quite the right

to tell us to drop dead, or at least half of us.

[geckosfeet]

5. Jesus Christ had very little to do with it

[kestrel91316]

6. Republicans want disaster relief for red states but not blue ones.

Yes, it's really that simple. Attempted genocide, IMHO.

I keep saying they want us all dead. I'm absolutely correct. They plan to starve us after they ruin us economically.

[chuckstevens]

14. You're Spot On

When its the Gulf States, David Vitters or Haley BaBORE cry that we need a united federal effort to help these poor people. By when it's Americans in another region of the nation, they called socialism.

When there's an earthquake in San Francisco, many Southern ministers say that it is God's wrath against gays. I wish that the next time a tornado hits a trail park in Hattiesburg, someone will ask if it is because God hates bigoted rednecks?

[Laura PourMeADrink]

39. Even if it's their OWN state?

[jerseyjack]

7. Again, when the next hurricane, tornado, drought or whatever, hits Jesusland,

[Botany]

9. President Obama in alabama 2011 after some tornados

[LiberalFighter]

53. That woman is reaching to shake his hand. Not holding back one bit.

One voter the Republicans lost in the 2012 election.

[annabanana]

10. Standing here in storm mangled Long Beach

with neighbors who are wondering who's floor they'll be sleeping on when the housing allowances run out. Looking to see which Mom & Pop businesses will go under for the last time and which will keep on fighting, .. watching the remnants of our boardwalk fall to the cranes & bulldozers

And I wonder

What has happened to my Country?

[we can do it]

11. I think you need a hug

[annabanana]

18. thank you

I kinda did...

[blm]

55. (( ))

.

[JDPriestly]

17. Sometimes I think we are breaking into little regional pieces.

[we can do it]

19. Or even little pieces within our towns

[lunatica]

33. I'm so sorry annabanana!

It's also criminal that what's happening to you and around you is't in the news all the time. If it were you'd all be much better off right now.

The American people aren't heartless when they know how hard entire States are suffering. But they have to know about it before they pay attention. The media's silence on this just makes Americans think the Federal and State government are on the job and that most of the devastation has been taken care of.

[kimtjj195_tx]

12. 36? I thought it would be more

After all, the Republican Party is all about profits. They could care less about life, unless it's a fetus, of course. Greedy jerks.

[ladym55]

13. And Senator "Rob" Portman of Ohio votes "nay" again

Apparently my "family values" Senator thinks the people of the Northeast need to freeze and suffer.

Of course, OHIO NEVER needs FEMA help!!!

Absolutely shameful.

[we can do it]

21. He is a complete ass, maybe we could convince Betty Sutton to run against him next time.

[ladym55]

45. She is thinking governor

That's what I read last night, but she WOULD make a good senator. Portman is such a tool.

[we can do it]

46. She would be an awesome governor....Is Ted Strickland completely over politics?

[ladym55]

65. Well, he's pulled out of the governor's race already

Don't know what he'll decide to do in future. He's a good man who got caught in a bad situation.

[obama2terms]

15. At least

One of my state's senator's voted for it.

[rurallib]

20. It's like they want to punish people

punish them for being the wrong color, for being poor, for not being rich, for not being in the right business, for living in the wrong place, for being the wrong sex on and on........................................................

[Laura PourMeADrink]

40. They are against any spending on anything that directly helps people. But, hypocritically,

they are for spending that helps business. Oh, wait, my bad, corporations are people.

[glinda]

22. Someone should buy a full page AD in NYT and post the names.

[blue neen]

23. Of course Toomey, the Libertarian friend of Banking Mogul Richard Mellon Scaife, voted NO.

It seems that Pat Toomey only wants to give aid to places like China.

Article from 2010:

"All 19 members of the Pennsylvania delegation -- including seven Republicans -- voted for the bill, an attempt to give the Obama administration another tool to use against China after its repeated rhetorical pressure on currency had little effect. But Mr. Toomey would not have voted for the bill, Ms. Soloveichik said, because it could incite a trade war and "all the businesses and manufacturers and farmers in Pennsylvania that depend on being able to export goods and services to foreign countries would begin to suffer."

"The bill was pitched by its backers -- including co-author Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Upper St. Clair -- as a way to keep American manufacturing from further eroding, and Mr. Toomey's opposition to the bill puts him in the political minority."

"It's another example, and it's a very current example, that shows how far to the right he is compared to the mainstream of Pennsylvania," Mr. Dworkin said."

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/politics-state/ad-claims-toomey-favors-china-trade-over-us-jobs-267579/#ixzz2JKatX5uH

[Samantha]

25. These people (and I use the word loosely) do not understand that the Federal Gov't is not a business

It is the Country's Government entity which holds together the 50 United States and territories. Most if not all states must balance their budgets. The Federal Government does not because it must be in a position in case of a catastrophe to step in and assist under emergency situations states in disaster. In order to do that, it must have flexibility in spending; otherwise it would have to stand down because of financial restraints.

So someone is going to have to ask these 36 people to write on the blackboard one hundred times (yes, you have to treat them like children) that the Federal Government is not a business. One can say as many times as he or she likes the U.S. Government should be run more like a business, but that is absolutely untrue, regardless of how often one hears it.

And it if were not true, the unity of these states and territories would have dissolved a long time ago. There would have bee no glue to hold them together.

Sam

[lunatica]

34. I have my own succinct way of putting it

Businesses are in the business of making money and getting profit for a few. Government are in the business of taking revenue and spending ALL of it on the people's business. They are polar opposites.

[jberryhill]

26. I understand the 36 republicans...

...but I'm surprised that Jesus Christ voted with them.

[TexasTowelie]

27. Both of my senators are assholes

so this vote only served to confirm something I already knew.

[Lesmoderesstupides]

28. The BS will keep happenening until dems learn how to fight back, next disaster in a red state no aid

F em, do this a few times and they will learn.

Being nice to pubs does not work one little bit.

[MrSlayer]

29. We'll never do that.

Nor should we. They are the asshole party. They are the party of neo-fascists that seperate and divide people. We can't do it because Americans are Americans to us, be they right wing, left wing or somewhere in between. This is one of the ways we still differentiate from them.

[lunatica]

35. Punishing the people for what their Republican reps do is so Republican!

Fortunately Democratic reps don't do that.

Though we've forgotten it for the time being, helping each other in times of need has always been an American value. It's always been what keeps this country in top physical condition and a rich nation. It's sad to see how far we've fallen as a living breathing society.

[Lesmoderesstupides]

42. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over again expecting a different result

How's that working out for you?

Dems need to change how they deal with pubs ALL Pubs, no exceptions.

[lunatica]

47. It's actually working out very well. Obama is President

LOL!

[Lesmoderesstupides]

48. Well if one is happy with a corporatist............

[lunatica]

49. Awwww! Poor you!

Why don't you become a Republican since you obviously like their methods better? My question is quite sincere.

[Lesmoderesstupides]

50. Seems like you should be the one to join the Republican Party seeing that you prefer their policies

[lunatica]

61. That pretzel logic you do. That's Republican

[Independentguy]

56. History

Historically speaking, this country hasn't changed a bit. The right wingers have behaved badly for years and years. Left wingers not too far behind them. If you've done any reading about our country's political past, we've clearly not made much progress when it comes to civility among the people we send to Washington D.C. The notion of bi-partisanship has been elusive forever. The denial of help in a crisis like "Sandy" is not only callous, but unforgivable. The big question is: do these radical right wing republicans who would deny desperately needed assistance to these people think that voters will forget their insensitive actions? Their names should be posted so the entire country knows exactly who they are. If any of these righties represent your state, I suggest that you immediately start campaigning to make sure they lose their seats in 2014.

[NRaleighLiberal]

58. well stated...and welcome to DU.

[Independentguy]

59. Thanks

[lunatica]

62. My reps are among the best and most progressive in the country

and I'm proud of them. I live in California.

But your point is good.

[CBHagman]

30. There was a sound bite of Dan Coats (R-IN) on NPR this morning...

...warning that Congress has often passed so-called emergency legislation but that the money might wind up wasted, it might not be an emergency, etc.

He's no newbie, so right about now I want to dig out his voting record on, say, all the "emergency" supplementals used to support the Iraq war, where billions were indeed wasted.

But that's another topic. How dare he stand there throwing that in the face of fellow Americans whose neighborhoods were burned down, whose towns were flooded. How dare he.

[lunatica]

37. For the first time it makes me fear earthquakes in the San Francisco Bay Area

I believe the State has always been able to take care of the emergencies, but if a really massive earthquake happens I have always thought that we would get instant FEMA help. As it is under the best of circumstances sometimes it takes years to fix some of the damage. It took quite a while to fix the Bay Bridge after the Loma Prieta earthquake but fortunately the Bay Area has alternate routes available.

Now I wonder if the Bay Bridge would still sit there broken to this day if there had to be a vote for aid in today's Congress.

[Hawaii Hiker]

31. If 36 repubs voted against Sandy relief, shows how difficult it will be for things like

getting a DC Circuit court confirmation(s).. http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/01/28/1501661/how-chuck-grassley-plans-to-maintain-the-gops-stranglehold-on-americas-second-most-powerful-court/?mobile=nc

Democrats BLEW it...Had outstanding chance for meaningful filibuster reform and they caved....I'm sure Democrats will stay real good at asking for money for 2014 elections though...We'll never have to worry about their ability to fundraise, only to govern...

[lunatica]

32. If they do that to entire states, what do you think they gonna do for mere groups of

people. People like women who they've proven themselves to hate, or Blacks, or Latinos?

[Laura PourMeADrink]

41. Thanks for mentioning Jesus in your post. It's like you are telling him about these

bad people.

[jcgoldie]

43. I expected that of those asshole rethuglicans but...

...I didn't even know Jesus Christ got a vote. I must say I'm disappointed in his politics...

[Sunlei]

44. shove this in their face next election.

[Glorfindel]

52. Wonders never cease - both senators from Mississippi voted "aye"

I hope citizens of the states affected by Superstorm Sandy will remember in the future that senators from Alabama, Georgia, and Florida voted against helping them, and will influence their senators and congresspersons accordingly.

[People b4 profits]

54. Taking the "high" road presupposes that there is some "fair" framework within which

the system operates.

It assumes that both sides are honestly working toward a solution.

It is clear that THAT IS NOT WHAT EXISTS NOW.

To continue to operate under faulty premises dooms the effort to failure.

Put it this way - how successful were the teachers in Sandy Hook in asking/pleading that they and their students not be slaughtered?

ASKING for something and getting the same "no" answer for decades should teach even the stupidest person that asking is not the way to achieve your goal.
Appealing to someone's humanity when they have none is just as futile.

Give them a real consequence for their actions and there is a slight chance you can affect behavior.
Allow them to win at every turn, no matter what they do, is certain to prevent progress.

A scorpion will always bite you.
A rethug will as well.

[RebelOne]

64. Figures that Saxby Chambliss voted nay.

I do not know how he voted when all of Atlanta was covered in water during the flood in 2009.

[Beacool]

66. Those 36 a-holes better not be from my area.

Half of my town was flooded. The PATH train from Hoboken to the WTC is still out of service. The waiting room at the Hoboken Terminal just reopened yesterday and still needs work. People have lost their businesses and had their homes devastated by the water. Many who lived at the shore don't even have a home to go to.

Disgusting!!!

[Rosa Luxemburg]

69. Make them come to the Sandy disaster area and explain that to the people!

scum of the Earth

[Rhiannon12866]

73. And the majority from the Gulf states voted "no?"

[Whisp]

76. I'm really surprised Jesus voted against that. n/t

[SugarShack]

77. To think of all those who voted for Paul Ryan as he voted no in the house.....SUCKERS