Journalists have produced reports in the past couple of days revealing that the initial damage estimates from the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 3 underplayed just how bad things are. After 20 of the approximately 150 train cars derailed because of a suspected mechanical failure, tons of chemicals were released into the soil as well as burned up into the sky in the resulting fires and subsequent demolitions.
The initial reports cited vinyl chloride, used in the manufacturing of plastics, as the number one hazardous material involved in the derailment. Some time later it was revealed that ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, used in things like paint thinners and agricultural chemicals, was also released. Then, Northfolk Southern mentioned that butyl acrylate and ethylhexyl acrylate may have also ended up burned or in the surrounding soil.
The Republican Party has been trying its best to blame a lack of federal safety regulations, and specifically Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg, for this disaster. The Republican Party has two problems here: The first is the very easily digestible history of railway lobbyists and Donald Trump rolling back Obama-era brake safety regulations; and the second is that Republican officials keep undermining right-wing propaganda by occasionally telling the truth.
On Tuesday, Republican Gov. Mike Dewine of Ohio spoke to the press to update everyone on what was going on in East Palestine.
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Gov. DeWine and other Republicans are sort of unwilling to take any responsibility and, in fact, are playing pretty dumb about most things. DeWine told reporters that “This train apparently was not considered a high-hazardous material train. Therefore, the railroad was not required to notify anyone here in Ohio about what was in the railcars coming through our state." It seems nobody in the press reminded him that it was the railway lobbyists, with the support of Republicans like Sen. John Thune, who got everything besides crude oil off of the “high-hazardous material list” in the first place.
But fine, maybe DeWine spent the past decade with his head stuck in his ass. How do Republicans govern during a disaster that directly affects the people that voted for them? When asked about getting federal help to handle the environmental impact of this terrible event, Gov. DeWine said:
Not looking great
“Ohio EPA works with the U.S. EPA. … The federal government is conducting an investigation to determine why this wreck occurred. This crash occurred. We await that. And certainly will be interested in seeing what, what's going on. You know, look, the president called me and said ‘anything you need,’ I have not called him back after that, after that conversation. I will not hesitate to do that if we’re seeing a problem or anything, but I'm not seeing it.”
Meanwhile, the Republican Party is trying to figure out how to place the blame on labor and “wokeness.” That’s not snark. You have another Ohio Republican, freshman senator and pedestrian author J.D. Vance, saying that we need some kind of very vague “regulation,” but that the Democratic Party is too busy doing “woke” things.
A reminder: The derailment took place on Feb. 3, and the controlled demolition took place three days later. Vance released a statement on Feb. 13. Doing my advanced math, that adds up to, “Where the F have you been, senator?” It is hard to be as cowardly and craven as J.D. Vance is, and even more impressive to have no shame about projecting your own shortcomings onto everyone else.
Maybe he was busy manicuring his beard? It’s got to take quite a while every morning to make that whole thing look as crisp as it does!
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has the mind of over-boiled mashed potatoes, blamed Pete Buttigieg for worrying about hiring practices and not train safety. Now, as we have already explained, while I do agree that the Biden administration and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg need to step up here and force some meaningful updating of transportation safety, the fact of the matter is the Republican Party and people like Greene are exactly why the trains are behind in that department. They pushed back on the Obama Administration’s safety regulations and then rolled back those small compromises altogether when Donald Trump came into office.
Asked about whether or not the governor himself thought it was safe enough to move back into a home in East Palestine, DeWine responded, “I think I would be drinking bottled water, and I would be continuing to find out what the tests are showing as far as the air. But yes, I would return home.” I guess it’s a good thing for the governor that he doesn’t have to live on top of a railway line.
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