Voices: Ron DeSantis doesn’t think federal funds should be used for hurricane relief — except in Florida

Death and destructions are not the only things Hurricane Ian brought to Florida this week. Along with the storm surge and high winds which devastated the southwestern portion of the Sunshine State, Governor Ron DeSantis’ chickens have also come home to roost.

The man who first made his name in Congress by opposing hurricane relief is now begging the federal government to bail out his state. In doing so, he’s providing a timely reminder to the American people as to why Republicans — and DeSantis specifically — cannot be trusted to govern this great country.

First, let’s state what should go without saying: Floridians need and deserve our help. Following tornadoes in the western portion of Kentucky last year and flooding in the eastern part this year, I condemned liberals who suggested my home state “reaped what it sowed” by voting for the likes of Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul. Florida is no exception. The people there, regardless of politics, are human beings and our fellow Americans. We have a moral and patriotic duty to come to their aid.

Yet, there was one thing those Twitter liberals got right: their criticism of McConnell and Paul. They too have opposed disaster relief for other (Democratic) areas. Indeed, Republicans seem to only care about Americans when they’re in red states. That’s despicable.

Florida’s answer to these heartless and calculating politicians is, of course, Ron DeSantis. We know just how cruel he can be – this is the man who ‘kidnapped’ refugees and flew them halfway across the country just this month. But DeSantis has always shown his true colors, going back to his earliest days as a Tea Party congressman.

In January 2013, the newly elected Congressman DeSantis opposed a $9.7 billion flood insurance aid package to help the victims of Hurricane Sandy in New York and New Jersey. Though he expressed sympathy for the victims, he said that “allowing the program to increase its debt by another $9.7 billion with no plan to offset the spending with cuts elsewhere is not fiscally responsible.” In short, DeSantis was sorry for what happened, but not enough to help. His response was basically the equivalent of a shrug emoji.

Fast forward nine-and-a-half years. Now-Governor DeSantis wants the federal government to pick up 100 percent of the cost for debris removal and emergency protective measures for the 60 days following the hurricane. Yet when people bring up his hypocrisy, the governor’s spokesman says that “we have no time for politics or pettiness.”

It isn’t politics or pettiness to point out a glaring double-standard, one that seems to prove Republicans are incapable of caring for anyone but themselves. Nor is it petty to point out that Florida — a state governed by Republicans since 1999 and in which Republicans control both houses of the legislature — is in the midst of an insurance crisis.

Voices: Ron DeSantis doesn’t think federal funds should be used for hurricane relief — except in Florida (msn.com)