Friday, May 13, 2011

Obama and the Wildfires

Obama is taking heat (pun intended) for not declaring Texas a disaster area, so that they'll get more funds to help fight the wildfires that are raging through the state.

Rush Limbaugh talked about that today, and I repeat it below.

Be sure to read the news item below what he says, which points out that the Federal government has been and is sending aid to Texas. They're already paying 75% of the bill for Texas to fight these wildfires. Isn't that enough? Shouldn't Texas have to pay something towards solving their own problems - considering that the US government is bankrupt?

CALLER: Thank you for having me, sir. My question for you is: Why did Obama deny emergency aid to Texas during the wildfires?

RUSH: It's a red state.

CALLER: Well, I know, but still the state's on fire.

RUSH: Why did Obama sue Arizona?

CALLER: Isn't that gonna hurt him politically?

RUSH: No! He figures Texas isn't gonna vote for him anyway. Texas didn't vote for him. This is punishment. This is how politicians like Obama work.

CALLER: But wouldn't other states look at that and say, "Hey, if he's not gonna help them, why should we support him?"

RUSH: No. It's the other way around: Next time you support him and he'll help you when you have a disaster.

CALLER: Okay, so he was just playing sides?

RUSH: Total!

CALLER: Okay.

RUSH: Total! It's not just... (snorts) Look, this is punishment. The state of Texas also happens to be where Bush lives. The state of Texas did not vote for Obama. There are plenty of other states that did, and they're gonna get the money first. It's no more complicated than that. Obama is president of Obama! I'm surprised anyone would have this question. Could somebody point to me one thing he's done for the country at large? Isn't everything Obama's done harmful to the country, one way or the other? He's got his crony capitalist buddies that he helps out, but the country? Is the country better off economically because of Obama? Is our foreign policy better off? By the way, new policy in Libya. Guess what? Remember when Obama said in his original announcement it'd last days? Nope! Now there's no end. We are there until somebody (not us) gets Khadafy. Just announced. The real question is: Why are you surprised that he's sticking it to Texas? He's sticking it to everybody else, every chance he gets -- and I mean that. I'm not trying to be extreme with it.

Now, Rush isn't being completely candid here. All Obama did was refuse to declare Texas a disaster ara. But there are 22 Federal programs that are helping the states.
Current federal aid covers 75 percent of Texas’s costs for emergency response work, such as evacuations, equipment, field camps and meals for firefighters, police barricading and traffic control. The agency’s regional office in Denton continues to monitor the situation and work closely with Texas Forest Service and Texas Division of Emergency Management, FEMA officials say. In addition, firefighting teams from more than 30 states have provided state-to-state support for firefighting efforts in Texas.

http://blog.chron.com/txpotomac/2011/05/cornyn-blasts-obama-for-denying-perrys-texas-wildfire-aid-request/

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