Do Congressional Republicans Want Your Family To Starve? Probably Not-- But They Just Do Not Care

The House passed a pandemic relief package 4 months ago. There is no doubt it would pass the Senate as well because all the Democrats and several Republicans would vote for it. But McConnell and his GOP cronies have refused to allow it to come to a vote. Is there a solution? Absolutely-- defeat McConnell and every Republican senator running for reelection in November. (Also every Republican candidate running for an open Senate seat.) In fact Merav Ben-David is running for the open Wyoming Senate seat against a complete corporate shill. "Americans need relief now," she told me. "To paraphrase FDR, if your neighbor’s house is on fire, you don’t haggle over the price of a hose. Right now, our country is on fire-- our leaders should not be haggling over the price of putting it out. My opponent has vowed to stand shoulder to shoulder with Donald Trump, to blindly follow his ignorance and malice. We cannot afford to elect someone who so clearly values political convenience over the public good."

Yesterday, reporting for the Wall Street Journal, Andrew Duehren wrote that "A second round of $1,200 stimulus checks to help Americans weather the pandemic once seemed all but ensured, with both Democrats and Republicans supporting the provision in early coronavirus relief negotiations in July. Likewise, many Americans were confident that Congress would approve a new round of federal jobless aid, even if it might be less than the $600 a week that ran out at the end of that month. But with bipartisan talks now stalled, a second direct check is one of several policy proposals left in the lurch. Jobless aid is stuck as well... No deal would mean no new check and no enhanced unemployment benefits from Congress."

In the $2.2 trillion Cares Act passed in March and signed into law by President Trump, Congress approved sending a $1,200 check to many Americans. The payments began phasing out at adjusted gross income above $75,000 for individuals, $112,500 for heads of households (often single parents) and $150,000 for married couples. The bill provided $500 for each dependent as well.

In a bill that passed the House in May, Democrats proposed another $1,200 check for adults and $1,200 for dependents, with a maximum of $6,000 sent to each household. A $1 trillion proposal released by Senate Republicans in July largely replicated the first round of stimulus checks. Both the Republican and Democratic plans had income caps.

But in the abbreviated proposal that Senate Republicans released this week, the party cut out the second round of direct checks. Many Republicans have opposed new major spending efforts, and the party slimmed down its plan to about $300 billion in new spending to unify the party.

Earlier aid helped stabilize the economy. The first stimulus check and the now-expired expanded unemployment aid program caused household incomes to grow rather than decline in the spring, allowing many Americans to continue paying for rent and other essentials even as much of the economy shut down, according to Commerce Department data.

The unemployment rate dropped to 8.4% in August, down from a peak of nearly 15% in April-- but still well above pre-pandemic lows. Most economists in September’s Wall Street Journal monthly survey said they expect the absence of federal jobless benefits to dent consumer spending in the months ahead.

“The recovery remains uneven, interrupted by outbreaks of the virus and now missing stimulus support,” Lynn Reaser, chief economist at Point Loma Nazarene University and a former chief economist at Bank of America, said in the survey.

Many Republicans now see the economy recovering on its own without additional stimulus, and they question whether further deficit spending on aid is wise.

“The farther you go on this, as employment re-engages, more people are getting back to work,” said Sen. James Lankford (R-OK). “I don’t know of anyone that turns away a free check in the mail, but every single check that’s sent out is money taken from your next-door neighbor or from the future.”

Others argued for continued support.

“That is the thing about a crisis like this: If you invest early on, you can mitigate the cost not only to individual people and the economy and to health, but you can also help the recovery happen more quickly,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA). “The longer we go in delaying payments to people, the more we push people into desperate crises.”

Whether the federal unemployment supplement that sustained many Americans this spring and summer will continue is uncertain, though both parties have sought to continue it in some form.

This is a key issue in the campaigns of most of the candidates Blue America has endorsed. For example, Audrey Denney, up in the rural northeast corner of California, is running for a seat held by Trump puppet Doug LaMalfa. Yesterday she told me that her "remote-rural district was already one of the poorest places in the state before the pandemic happened. People are struggling trying to paying rent and put food on their families’ tables. Additionally, this week we experienced the fastest moving and 10th worst fire in California history. People are desperate. A second round of stimulus checks would be a great start-- but it is not nearly enough to get people back on their feet."

Far to the south of Audrey's district, in Riverside County, southeast of Los Angeles Liam O'Mara is running for a seat held by another Trumpist puppet. "Calvert," he told me, "has been bragging lately about supporting the CARES act, which brought much-needed funds into the area. But he is mysteriously silent on his votes against oversight in the bill, which allowed Trump cronies and the filthy rich to rob the public again, and mostly silent on his vote against the HEROES act, and continued opposition to additional support for working families. He seems perfectly happy to funnel our cash to big corporations, but does he care that people in the 42nd have lost jobs and homes? Does he care about the bills piling up and the bankruptcies which will ruin so many lives? I can't believe that he does-- not with his voting record and character. Ken shows up when a donor pays him to do it. Other than that, he spends no time in the district and ignores most of his constituents and their concerns. Keeping the real economy afloat means supporting families and small businesses. I see no evidence that he even understands this."

"I know what it's like to be without a job, without healthcare, trying to raise a family through this pandemic, western New York progressive Nate McMurray told me. "My multimillionaire opponent's family fired me, and at the height of the pandemic they fired an additional 96% of their workforce. Everyday American families see the edge of the cliff barreling toward us, while Trump and the GOP have refused to lift a finger to prevent this crisis. I've long supported policies like UBI, Medicare for All, and taxing the ultra wealthy to avoid the systemic inequalities that this pandemic has exacerbated. We need to defeat Chris Jacobs in my district, defeat Trump sycophants like Mitch McConnell across the country, and defeat Trump as the ringleader of this nightmare."

Texan Julie Oliver has a similar situation-- with an ever richer incumbent. "I've been hungry. I know what it's like to go without groceries and not have a place to go home to. Texans who have been financially impacted by COVID-19 through no fault of their own should not have to face the threat of losing their housing or not being able to feed their families. They need that extra $600 in unemployment benefits to help keep families afloat, and keep money flowing through our local communities. It's the right thing to do and makes the best economic sense for this country. There’s no evidence to the claim that the $600 UI extension is slowing the economy, and economists have proven that $600 a week in extra unemployment aid did not deter people from seeking work. Yet 'zero' was the number that Roger Williams said he would support in Congress for struggling Texans, even as he, a multi-millionaire, took $1 - 2 million in bailouts for his personal car dealership.

Georgette Gomez is the president of the San Diego City Council. Her opponent for the open congressional seat is heiress and perennial candidate Sara Jacobs who is benefitting from the companies that are receiving corporate welfare that should be going to working families. She's been endorsed by the Wall Street owned-and-operated New Dem caucus, the Republican wing of the Democratic Party. Gomez told me that "Emerging from this pandemic and helping families recover demands urgent investments from Congress and leaders with the will to get the job done. I’ve been fighting for working people my whole life-- I'm ready to keep fighting for workers as the Representative for CA-53."

Republicans Still Stalling On Pandemic Relief For Working Families

Yesterday, the U.S. reached a new, hideous-- but soon to be forgotten-- threshold in the pandemic: 6.5 million cases. There will have been a quarter million deaths-- most preventable-- before election day. The economy-- the real one, not the Wall Street one-- is a shambles. The Trump Regime response? A government shutdown in 3 weeks because they can't agree on a pandemic relief bill? Mnuchin and Pelosi say it won't happen but McConnell sure seems like he's on the way to making sure it does. He can't even get enough support in his own caucus to pass an austerity-oriented bill and refuses to allow a vote of the bill the House passed in May (since it would likely pass the Senate). The senators are back from their vacations but there's no apparent movement. "Republicans," wrote John Bresnahan, "are eager to raise the pressure on Democrats, but their latest gambit may fall short," as McConnell as his cronies scrambled to round up votes for a narrow economic stimulus package they introduced yesterday and hope to put on the floor this week so as to hammer Democrats for opposing and being unwilling to compromise. McConnell's $500 billion proposal includes $300-per-week federal unemployment payments on top of regular state benefits, another round of funding to aid small and medium-sized businesses, liability protections for businesses, schools and charities, and $105 billion for education. Meanwhile, the Democrats have been negotiating with themselves to bring the House bill down from $3.4 trillion to $2 trillion, making their own bargaining position weaker, as usual.

In fact, Bresnahan reported that Senate Republicans are privately playing up reports that Blue Dogs, New Dems and other conservatives from the Republican wing of the Democratic Party in the House "are pressing Pelosi to compromise on a relief package. They're circulating quotes from a dozen Democrats in swing House races calling for additional economic help for financially strapped Americans."

The Heroes Act passed May 15 with just one Republican vote but with 13 anti-working class worthless fake Democrats crossing the aisle to vote with the GOP. The congressional class enemies in Congress as "Dems" who voted no are constant shit-eaters Cindy Axne (New Dem-IA), Joe Cunningham (Blue Dog-SC), Sharice Davids (New Dem-KS), Abby Finkenauer (closet Blue Dog-IA), Jared Golden (Blue Dog-ME), Kendra Horn (Blue Dog-OK), Conor Lamb (closet Blue Dog-PA), Elaine Luria (New Dem-VA), Ben McAdams (Blue Dog-UT), Kurt Schrader (Blue Dog-OR), Abigail Spanberger (Blue Dog-VA), Xochitl Torres Small (Blue Dog-NM) and Susan Wild (New Dem-PA).

"The White House and Senate Republicans have made clear that they still do not comprehend the scale of this disaster or the urgent needs of our communities and the American people," Pelosi said in a statement on Friday. "House Democrats have come to the negotiating table willing to compromise, and we will continue reaching out until we achieve a fair agreement that meets the needs of all Americans."

Senate Democrats from Schumer on down have slammed McConnell for sitting out talks on the coronavirus relief package. While the Kentucky Republican said the key is for the White House and Democratic leaders to reach a deal first, he's also faced a challenge in balancing the competing factions within his own conference.

A large bloc of Senate Republicans, concerned about the tidal wave of deficit spending this year, believes the U.S. economy will recover without additional government aid. McConnell, however, also has a number of vulnerable GOP senators up for reelection in less than two months, and they've been pressing him for action.

Senate Democrats are largely counting on the endangered GOP incumbents to help push the Republican leadership toward an agreement.

"It's still so hard for me to imagine Mitch McConnell packing up the Senate for the election home stretch having not even tried to negotiate in good faith," said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT). "I've stubbornly stuck to this idea that Republican senators at the very least will be driven to get something done by their fear of backlash from voters."

After McConnell's bill started floating around, Pelosi remarked that "Republicans appear dead-set on another bill which doesn't come close to addressing the problems and is headed nowhere. If anyone doubts McConnell’s true intent is anything but political, just look at the bill. This proposal is laden with poison pills Republicans know Democrats would never support."

Bloomberg News reported that "The stumbling block is aid to state and local governments," something the Democrats insist on and the GOP is dead set against. The Trumpists characterize the aid as a reward for poorly run, mainly Democratic states. Pelosi in Tuesday’s interview that the GOP has "excuses," not real reasons for opposing the effort. She suggested that restrictions could be placed to meet any objections. San Francisco progressive state Senate candidate Jackie Fielder, told me that "the pandemic has proven what we knew all along: wealth doesn't trickle from the top down, it flows-- or is extracted-- from the bottom up. When working people lost their incomes due to COVID, our economy ground to a halt. When billionaires concentrated greater wealth than ever and major corporations like Amazon saw record growth, everyday people didn't feel the boost. Our elected officials have balanced budgets on the backs of workers rather than demanding that the richest individuals and companies pay their fair share. I'm running for State Senate to change that. We need to learn the painful lessons taught by this pandemic and resist the temptation to return to the status quo. That's why I've committed to taxing millionaires, billionaires, and the biggest corporations in order to fund comprehensive social services and ensure fair wages and protections for workers."

McConnell tried and failed for weeks to get most of the Senate’s 53 Republicans on board with the broader $1 trillion plan in the face of opposition from deficit hawks concerned about adding to this year’s $3.3 trillion budget deficit. He’s previously said that as many 20 Senate Republicans were against any additional spending.

...The looming election will create pressure points for Trump as well as for incumbents in the House and Senate. The White House is pushing for stimulus payments for individuals to go out before the Nov. 3 election.

“Nobody wants to give direct payments to American families more than President Donald Trump,” Vice President Mike Pence said on CNBC Friday.

Immediately before their August break, two Senate Republicans trailing their Democratic challengers in polls-- Susan Collins of Maine and Martha McSally of Arizona-- helped introduce a bill that has a higher unemployment benefit enhancement than the one in the scaled-down proposal.

In the House, Democrats from swing districts are poised to increase pressure on Pelosi to get a deal. The [far right, anti-working class] Blue Dog Coalition sent Pelosi a letter on Aug. 21 urging compromise, and vulnerable first-term Iowa [ultra-conservative, anti-worker New Dem] Cindy Axne followed up last week with a letter demanding action on a smaller package.

...Connecticut Democratic Representative Jim Himes said he thinks Trump ultimately will push to get a deal done later in the month if he’s still trailing Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in polls.

“The president of the United States understands one thing and perhaps one thing only, and that is what is good for him personally,” he said. “And it is good for him personally to get some kind of a deal done.”

Mondaire Jones is the progressive Democrat running for an open upstate New York seat in a swingy suburban district that includes chunks of Westchester and Rockland counties. This morning, he was blunt and went right to the point about GOP obstructionism: "To date, Republicans in Congress have only provided Americans with a meager $1,200, even as this pandemic stretches into its seventh month. They are inexplicably refusing to fund our state and local governments, forcing cuts to crucial services like public education and Medicaid. The Republican Party has the power to avert mass suffering, and it is simply choosing not to. It is unfit to govern."

Conservatives Don't Want To Pay To Help Victims Of Climate Disasters-- And Don't Want The Government To Work Towards Ameliorating Climate Change

GOP crackpots Tom Massie (KY) and Chip Roy (TX)

Last Thursday, Trump allowed Senate Republicans to vote for a $19.1 billion disaster relief bill. All the Democrats and all but 8 Republicans-- Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Mike Braun (R-IN), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Mike Lee (R-UT), Martha McSally (R-AZ), Rand Paul (R-KY), Jim Risch (R-ID) and Mitt Romney (R-UT)-- voted AYE. They rushed it over to the House where Hoyer asked for routine unanimous approval. One far right freak decided to screw things up for all the people in desperate need of those resources, freshmen asshat Chip Roy, who represents an Austin/San Antonio gerrymandered district that is lookin' a little swingy. Roy-- former Ted Cruz chief of staff-- beat one of the 2 or 3 worst DCCC recruits last cycle, right-of-center Blue Dog Joseph Kopser 177,654 (50.2%) to 168,421 (47.6%). This cycle he's likely to be beaten by progressive all-star Wendy Davis.

Democrats are eager to get the aid flowing to people hurt by natural disasters, ironically mostly in red states + Puerto Rico. With most members out for the week, the only way to do it is with unanimous consent and when Hoyer tried again yesterday, another right-wing crackpot, this time Tom Massie (R-KY) refused. Unlike most of his colleagues, Massie doesn't have to be back in his district speaking with voters since he represents a deep-red zombie district north and west of Louisville where most voters just vote straight Republican no matter what. McCain won with 61.5%, Romney with 63.4% and Trump with 65.2%. The PVI is a prohibitive R+18 and Massie was reelected last year 162,946 (62.2%) to 90,536 (34.6%) for Democrat Seth Hall. Massie won all 20 counties-- and not one of them was close. So instead of holding town halls in the suburbs south on Cincinnati or west of Huntington, West Virginia, or in Owenton, Carrollton or Shelbyville, he can make a pest of himself in DC.

Basically all the Democrats and all but a tiny number of Republicans will vote for the bill when they return next week. Hoyer will give it another shot on Thursday, the day before the national flood insurance program, in the bill expires. Roy opposes the bill because there's no money in it to build a wall-- his constituents had better be praying there's no nature catastrophe (other than Roy) in their district because I suspect, the money wouldn't be approved-- and Massie is against it because the bill doesn't cut back on other programs to pay for this one.

Earlier today we looked at how the Bush Regime is cracking down on scientistic research that exposes the inadequacy of the non-response to Climate Change. This ids what the Republican Party has devolved into. As charlatan Franklin Graham declares a national day of prayer for Trump on Sunday, one Trumpist governor, Ron DeSantis (R-FL), whose state is in grave danger of existential flooding, is hiring "a Chief Resilience Officer, someone who will work to 'prepare Florida for the environmental, physical and economic impacts of climate change, especially sea-level rise.'" Trump's policies will hasten the destruction of communities along Florida's coasts but DeSantis' Chief Resilience Officer will try to... prepare them. Time for Republicans to start pulling their heads out of their asses. Even the ex-governor-- and now senator-- Rick Scott a long-time Climate Change denier now says "Climate Change is real and requires real solutions." In fact, the most right-wing and moronic Trumpist from Florida in Congress, the usually brainless Matt Gaetz, who had whole towns in his district wiped out last year, reluctantly admitted that "Climate change isn't something people get to choose to believe or not, it's happening... I can tell the earth is warming based on overwhelming scientific evidence and I don't think it's a coincidence that we've released like 300 years of carbon in the last several decades."

The new positions represent a watershed moment in a state with more to lose than any other. It feels like that moment in the Wizard of Oz, where the movie turns from black-and-white to color. That both offices will be housed in the governor's suite-- and report directly to DeSantis-- sends a serious message.

With the exception of House Speaker José Oliva, Florida's Republican leaders no longer deny the reality of climate change, which every major scientific organization recognizes is real, is exacerbated by human activity and poses an existential threat.

...A sense of optimism is emerging among Florida scientists, environmentalists and government officials who have spent the past eight years frustrated by the Scott administration's head-in-the-sand approach to the rising waters, extreme rainfalls and more-powerful hurricanes on the radar.

But while encouraged, they're also reserving judgment. For while DeSantis pushed the Florida Legislature to find $686 million for Everglades repair, Lake Okeechobee fixes and springs restoration-- all important elements of the climate-change picture-- his muscle was missing behind a bill that would have required state contractors to consider sea-level projections when building in coastal areas.

Unfortunately, most Trump supporters are more likely to get into Franklin Graham's Day of Prayer for Trump than they are to embrace the Green New Deal.

Trump's Life-Long Bigotry Towards Puerto Ricans In New York Is Destroying Peoples' Lives On Puerto Rico

Tuesday Hogan Gidley, White House deputy press secretary, was on MSNBC to defend Trump for his twitter rage against Puerto Rican leaders when he referred to Puerto Rico as "that country"-- twice. Reporting for Politico yesterday, Rebecca Morin, wrote that the Trumpist regime "has been criticized for holding a double standard when it comes to distributing hurricane relief aid and favoring states such as Florida and Texas over Puerto Rico. All areas were hit by destructive hurricanes around the same time."

Trump was also criticized for his visit to the island, after he appeared to downplay the destruction and death caused by two hurricanes that struck within several weeks of each other. Images of the president playfully throwing paper towels became the main image from the trip.

Gidley on Tuesday sidestepped when asked whether Trump believed Puerto Ricans were equal to U.S. citizens living on the mainland, saying those accusations were "absolutely ridiculous."

MSNBC host Hallie Jackson pressed Gidley on Trump's statement that Puerto Ricans are "taking from the USA."

"Puerto Rico is part of the United States. People who live in Puerto Rico are U.S. citizens," Jackson said. "You're rolling your eyes and I don't know why you're rolling your eyes. There's a lot of confusion over why the president would say this and what he understands and how he views the people of Puerto Rico."

"That's ridiculous. He has actually already traveled to Puerto Rico after this horrific hurricane. He was there," Gidley replied.

"He gave them a lot of money. They have mismanaged and misused that money. It hurts their people, and that's what he is upset about," he added.

It's odd that no one has mentioned that Trump's notorious racism has always applied equally to Puerto Ricans and African-Americans. From an early age, when he was still basically an errand boy for his Nazi/KKK father, Trump was illegally preventing Puerto Rican families from renting apartments in Trump properties for which the federal government sued the firm.

Trump has had a bad attitude towards Puerto Rican people and towards the island itself. Last January, Vanity Fair Bess Levin reported that was doing all he could to screw Puerto Rico. She wrote that once "got it into his head that Puerto Rico was using emergency money to pay off its debt, he told then-Chief of Staff John Kelly and then-Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney that he 'did not want a single dollar going to Puerto Rico,' and wanted to divert the island’s relief funds to Texas and Florida. 'POTUS was not consolable about this,' a person familiar with the matter told the paper. This led to what was likely a deeply surreal moment for Patenaude, who reportedly had to explain to White House budget officials during a December meeting that the money for Puerto Rico had already been appropriated by Congress, and had to be used as intended. 'Pam Patenaude showed the most commitment to Puerto Rico of any of the public officials inside the Trump administration,' Carlos Mercader, the executive director of the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration in Washington, told the Post... [The repulsive racist in the White House] "became obsessed with stripping the island of aid-- despite its infrastructure remaining precarious post-Hurricane Maria-- driving one of the few competent people in the administration to give up and quit:

A top Department of Housing and Urban Development official is leaving the agency Thursday following disagreements with other members of the Trump administration over housing policy and the White House’s attempt to block disaster-recovery money for Puerto Rico, according to five people with direct knowledge of the situation. Deputy Secretary Pam Patenaude, second-in-command at the agency helmed by Ben Carson and widely regarded as HUD’s most capable political leader, is said to have grown frustrated by what a former HUD employee described as a “Sisyphean undertaking.”

No one knows how Trump came up with the $91 billion figure-- $80 billion more than what Puerto Rico has gotten in hurricane aid. Trump's fury was unleashed when Democrats blocked the totally inadequate Republican disaster relief bill on Monday. The $13.45 billion bill would have provided assistance to victims of hurricanes in Florida, George and North Carolina, floods in the South and Midwest, and wildfires in California but allocated just $600 million allocated for Puerto Rico, far too little.

After the vote, the psychopath ranted that "The Democrats today killed a Bill that would have provided great relief to Farmers and yet more money to Puerto Rico despite the fact that Puerto Rico has already been scheduled to receive more hurricane relief funding than any 'place' in history and the next morning, decided to play the victim, insisting that "the best thing that ever happened to Puerto Rico is President Donald J. Trump. So many wonderful people, but with such bad Island leadership and with so much money wasted. Cannot continue to hurt our Farmers and States with these massive payments, and so little appreciation!" You've probably noticed this before but it can't be said too much: the man is insane (and should be removed).

If Trump Is Willing To Stiff Texas On Disaster Relief, Imagine How Blue States Would Fare!

Dayna Steele virtually put her campaign for Congress on hold for nearly a month in the aftermath of the devastation Hurricane Harvey brought to the Houston area so she and her campaign volunteers could work with their neighbors on the immediate effects of the storm. Now Texans-- not to mention folks in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands-- are waiting for help from the Trump Regime. It's not coming. We mentioned the other day that Ryan's tax scam bill cuts out earthquake repairs deductions for Californians. Hurricane deductions-- primarily in red and purple states-- was left intact... but the White House doesn't want to come up with the money Texas needs to get the Houston and Gulf Coast fully back on its feet.

Dayna explained that "The goal of Trump and his fellow swamp dwellers is to eventually cut off as much government funding as possible. The less money the government needs to operate, the better off the wealthy and corporations are in this country. That means less help during and after disasters, the eventual elimination of Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid, and the elimination of programs that help kids, the elderly, education healthcare, job training and more." Ironically, there are some very conservative Texas Republicans who are seeing it a lot like Dayna is. There's nothing to the right of Texas Governor Greg Abbott. On Friday he called Trump's $44 billion request to Congress for disaster relief for the effects of Harvey, Irma and Maria "completely inadequate... and does not live up to what the president wants to achieve. The president has told me privately what he’s said publicly, and that is he wants to be the builder president. The president has said that he wants this to be the best recovery from a disaster ever."

The White House told him to pay for his own disaster relief. Damage in Texas alone is estimated to exceed $180 billion. Huckabee's contemptible daughter: "We feel strongly that they should step up and play a role and work with the federal government in this process. We did a thorough assessment and that was completed and this was the number that we put forward to Congress today."

Trump doesn't want to spent more than $100 billion in federal funds. Nita Lowey (D-NY) is the ranking member on the House Appropriations Committee. She's siding with Abbott. "This request does not come close to what local officials say is needed." And it isn't just Lowey. Texas Senator John Cornyn, the #2 Republican in the Senate, is fuming. He told Texans this week that "It’s really time for the federal government to live up to its responsibilities" and he's making common cause with Puerto Rico as well. "We are asking to be treated fairly. And we intend to fight for that."

There is no doubt the people of Texas and the entire Gulf Coast, + Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, need this money to rebuild their lives and our state's infrastructure, but it strikes me as a tad "interesting", that when it was Superstorm Sandy and the East Coast, some of the Texas GOP officials didn't seem to think that the money was really needed for them. Now that it is us, of course the Government should give us everything we need. There's an old saying, "You never need government until you NEED government," and I think these officials are getting a whiff of that. With President Obama, he was right there, ready to give aid, Gov. Christie even praised him for the work he did. It was Congress dragging their heals on Sandy. With these storms, we have a totally incompetent President who has no clue as to what is needed or why, so why should anyone be surprised that the offer is far lower than it will take to restore all? What was done quickly and well was done mostly because of the prep that President Obama had built into the emergency responses, and Trump hadn't had time to screw up yet.

This President is focused on tax cuts that will give his family a big "win" in the tax department. Time and again, he's showed his almost complete lack of compassion for others, so no one should be surprised at this. Angry, yes! But surprised, no. Also, a memo for Texas legislators and governor-- "you reap what you sow."

Earlier today, we met progressive Democratic congressional candidate Kathi Thomas. She suggested that "Perhaps in times of great need like this, we should forego tax cuts for the wealthiest and use some of that money to pay to get those areas sacked by this storm back to operation sooner rather than later. Might we have a time of shared sacrifice? Those on the coast have been forced to 'sacrifice' their homes and belongings, and some of their lives, too. Might we show compassion and work together to make our country stronger, instead of giving so much to the richest of the rich?"

Hector Morales, running for the open blue seat in the Houston-Pasadena (TX-29) area agrees with Kathi's perspective. "This," he told us, "is just another example of systemic failure by our government to put the well being of our citizens at the center of policy. Political agendas and special interests hinder the ability of ordinary people to get the help they need and is just yet another reason why we must elect people to government who have the people at heart and not corporate greed."

Tom Wakely is Abbott's opponent for the governor's mansion in Austin this cycle. He's not putting all the blame on Trump though. He told us that "The irony of Abbott's claim of inadequate funding for Hurricane disaster relief is that he is sitting on $10.3 billion dollars in state funds that he could use to help his fellow Texans. Texas has the nation’s largest economic stabilization fund (ESF), commonly called a 'rainy day fund.' I guess the question is, how much more does it have to rain before we tap these readily available state funds. Right now there is a high school in southeast Texas, in Beaumont, that was completely destroyed by Hurricane Harvey. Central High School, which was over 100 years old, is located in an historically black neighborhood. They have been begging Abbott for funds to rebuild. Michael Cooper, who is running for Lt. Governor, told me, 'that kids are displaced and separated from their community and are now attending classes at two separate schools. Even if Abbott decided to allocated funds to rebuild this 39 acre campus, it would take 3-5 years. A lifetime for a 13 or 14 year old. But given that Abbott could care less about the Black and Brown students who attend Central High, we all know those funds will never come.' An additionally irony is that since 2009, the state of Texas has sued the federal government at least 48 times, the same federal government that Abbott is now asking help from."

As for Trump's $100 billion disaster relief ceiling... Puerto Rico has asked for $94 billion, Florida for $27 billion and Texas countered the Department of Housing and Urban Development's $5 billion allocation with a request for 10 times that-- and that's just for housing, not for infrastructure and, for example, for the projects meant to combat future floods.