The “We Built That” theme of the Republican Convention will now go down in history as an act of overweening hubris on a par with the naming of the Titanic. The Ayn Randian ideal that the “Masters of the Universe” need no one, least of all government, has been relegated by the a single stroke of climate—a singular, if you will, “Act of God”—to the dung heap of history.
The fools built their whole convention around the theme that they, as individualistic businessmen and entrepreneurs, don’t need government. Yet they cancelled the first night of their convention based upon consultation and advice with the very government that they seek to scorn and dismantle.
Officials from the Republican National Committee and Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign decided unanimously on Saturday afternoon to postpone proceedings after consulting with Florida Gov. Rick Scott, the U.S. Secret Service and federal, state and local emergency management officials.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
And what of the 50,000 bloviating individuals who are descending on Tampa to heap scorn on public servants and to tell “big government” to get out of the way? They can count on a continuation of the utmost cooperation and helpfulness from these same officials— “Normal protocols” of the emergency management workforce
means tracking tropical weather systems during the week of the convention, then relaying the information to convention organizers.
And after Isaac hits? What happens in case of any damage to the roads and bridges and water systems and sewer systems and parking lots and sidewalks that support the convention center where they meet--a place also built by government and not the super-rich masters of the universe? Well, government steps up in that case as well—
And if a storm does hit, work crews will be out the moment the weather calms down to assess damage and begin repairs, emergency officials said.
Well, one asks, is this too much? Does government have too much power? Shouldn’t individuals be left to make some decisions on their own? Turns out that “big” government says yes to this one as well, as stated by emergency management officials—
We provide the weather information, then we take that to the host committee, which decides if the event goes on or if the event gets altered.
The only legitimate complaint that these “get the government off my back” idiots can claim after surviving their rendezvous with stupidity is that government is, ironically, not big enough—
If a hurricane or tropical storm is bearing down on Tampa, the priority of law enforcement is to evacuate residents, leaving GOP officials to make the decision of when to evacuate delegates, Wade said.”
In other words, in some ways Republicans will get the limited government that they wanted. And then, in their usual fashion, they will complain about the inefficiencies of government and ask that very same government for help to “build that” again.
All quotes above (except that from the Washington Post) are from the Tampa Triubune--
http://www2.tbo.com/...