The Gulf Coast of Florida is bracing for what is being billed as an historic weather event as Hurricane Milton strengthens to a Category 5 storm with winds up to 150 mph. Coming on the heels of Hurricane Helene – which has devastated parts of Georgia and North Carolina – Milton may just be the defining moment of Election 2024. After all, what is the government’s purpose if it does not come to the aid of its citizens in moments of hardship? Right now, a lot of Americans are hurting, and when Milton makes landfall tomorrow (Oct. 9), more people will be in desperate need of help. Will the Biden-Harris administration step up to the plate? If the response to Helene is a harbinger of things to come, it’s unlikely.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) ineffectiveness has been a cornerstone of criticism regarding the lack of aid to people suffering in the aftermath of Helene. Yesterday (Oct. 7) on Fox & Friends, GOP vice presidential candidate JD Vance suggested the federal government's poor response was due to a lack of leadership: “I think the fundamental mistake the Kamala Harris administration has made here ... was that from the get-go you should have imposed military-style command and control.”
Vance asserted that an organized military approach would have cut back on the red tape and delivered goods and services to those most in need in a targeted fashion. Helicopter and airplane landings could have been coordinated, as well as food and water distributions. As it is, he said, “The problem here, I really believe, is it’s like the DMV [Department of Motor Vehicles] at industrial scale, and because of it, a lot of folks in North Carolina are suffering unnecessarily.”
Thus far, FEMA has been in the eye of the poor response storm, and those affected by the first hurricane are hopping mad about it. Residents of the two states have been begging for government assistance. However, it appears that those stepping up are private organizations and community relief efforts. As Liberty Nation’s Sarah Cowgill reported, “[H]eartlanders are deploying whatever resources they must to help their neighbors.” Meanwhile, hurricane survivors continue to hang on for the broke and illusive organization that could easily be dubbed the Federal Emergency Migrant Assistance program – the all-new FEMA.
On Fox, Will Cain asked Vance how he and former President Donald Trump would put Americans first in this situation:
“[T]he fundamental point [is] that the Biden Harris administration has turned FEMA effectively into an agency that helps to resettle and helps to deal with illegal immigration. That is just fundamentally going to distract focus from their core job of helping American citizens in their time of need. “
However, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell vociferously disagreed with the Republican assertion that FEMA has used its funds for the illegal migrant population. USA Today quoted Criswell’s interview on ABC’s This Week news program:
“Criswell defended FEMA's response and shot down Trump’s claims that the agency is short on disaster relief funds because money has been diverted to help undocumented immigrants and that help is being withheld from Republican areas, calling such assertions ‘frankly ridiculous and just plain false.’”
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) made an effort to clear up the matter on Fox News Sunday. “The streams of funding are different, that is not an untrue statement, of course." But the Biden-Harris administration, under the direction of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, has been putting federal money toward the resettlement of those who have crossed the border illegally. Johnson added, “That's what the Biden administration, Kamala Harris and Secretary Mayorkas have been engaged in."
The Federal Emergency Management Agency's mission is to help people in times of natural disaster, and whatever the reason its response has been neither timely nor well-coordinated.
Hurricane Milton -- Its True Cost Will Be at the Polls
No matter which cache of federal funds was used, those whose homes and lives have been destroyed by Helene and those who will suffer the same fate when Hurricane Milton lands likely don’t care. What concerns them is Mayorkas' statement that FEMA is broke. Meanwhile, yesterday (Oct. 7), “[T]he Inspector General for Homeland Security released a report saying FEMA is sitting on at least $8.3 billion in untapped, unspent funds.”
While this political game of verbal gotcha takes place, hurricane victims are left holding the bag. Fortunately, Sunshine State residents have Gov. Ron DeSantis as their failsafe. DeSantis has proven to be a tried-and-tested leader when it comes to dealing with hurricanes. And it could be said that leadership – even more than money -- appears to be what is sorely lacking in this challenging time.
But make no mistake: These unplanned events will affect the upcoming election as thousands of people are likely to express their displeasure with those who didn’t step up to assist their fellow Americans when they were in desperate need.
