The Ugly Republican Politics Behind Aid For Oklahoma Tornado Victims

Like most Americans, President Obama's reaction to the tornado devastation is Oklahoma was to ask how we could help. He pledged "all of the resources" necessary to rebuild to the state that gave him his poorest results in November, 33% and a loss of every single county. (Cleveland County, where the devastation was the most brutal, went for Romney 59,019 to 34,701 in November.) Oklahoma has 5 congressmen, all Republicans. Jim Bridenstine, Markwayne Mullin, Frank Lucas, Tom Cole and James Lankford. The two senators-- both are extreme right Republicans who have been especially obstructionist since Obama became president-- are Jim Inhofe and Tom Coburn. Inhofe and Coburn both voted against aid to the survivors of Hurricane Sandy. In the House, where a majority of Republicans voted against aid, the two most senior Oklahoma Republicans, Frank Lucas and Tom Cole bucked their party and voted with the Democrats in favor of the aid package. Most of the devastation was in Cole's district, which includes Moore. Cole said on MSNBC yesterday that one reason he voted for Sandy relief was his own state’s history of catastrophic tornadoes. “Frankly, one of the reasons that we try to be sympathetic to people in other parts of the country” is that “we’re always going to be there to help because we’re always one tornado away from being Joplin.”

"As a nation," said Obama yesterday, "our full focus right now is on the urgent work of rescue and the hard work of recovery and rebuilding that lies ahead... [F]or all those who have been affected, we recognize that you face a long road ahead. In some cases, there will be enormous grief that has to be absorbed but you will not travel that path alone. Your country will travel it with you fueled by our faith in the almighty and our faith in one another. So our prayers are with the people of Oklahoma today, and we will back up those prayers with deeds for as long as it takes."

Tom Coburn, on the other hand, is insane, politicizing the tragedy to score points for his anti-social, reactionary ideology and, basically, holding the victims hostage-- yes, his own constituents-- unless he gets his way. Coburn, many are saying, is disastrously wrong but at least consistent. I think the picture from Act Blue on the right goes a long way to explain why Oklahoma's right-wing ideologues can behave this way.

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) will insist that any federal aid to deal with the tornado in his home state must be offset by budget cuts.

“He will ask his colleagues to sacrifice lower priority areas of the budget to help Oklahoma,” spokesman John Hart said. Should other Republicans join Coburn, it could set up a fight similar to the January tug-of-war over Hurricane Sandy funding. That aid package was delayed by GOP opposition and ultimately passed with mostly Democratic support.

Coburn was against the Sandy relief package, as well as 2011 legislation to replenish the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster fund. His office has noted that the 1995 aid for victims of the Oklahoma City bombing was balanced by cuts to unspent appropriations. However, he did ask for expedited FEMA aid in 2007, when an ice storm hit his state.

Inhofe is already making excuses for his own inconsistency by claiming the Hurricane Sandy bill he voted against was filled with pork and that the bill to help the tornado victims won't be. He's a stinking pile of moldering pig dung. When his constituents finish digging out, they should demand he resign.