Speaker Mike Johnson of hurricane prone Louisiana, where they build houses in flood planes that require levies to stay dry, says conditions should be placed on California aid. Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, where they allow the installation of new mobile homes despite annual tornadoes says "California doesn't deserve wildfire aid." And vulture Republican consultants are already plotting to use the fire to launch a recall where they stand to make millions of dollars of ads against Governor Gavin Newsom.
Let's be clear about what all of this is: exploiting tragedy for personal gain. The behavior of Tuberville, Johnson and their consultants is really no different than the behavior of the vulture real estate speculators who are operating in Los Angeles now offering to pay cash for burned property.
Let's also be clear about which states are and are not dependent on the federal government. California pays $83 billion more in taxes to the federal government than it receives in federal funding. According to the same website, Johnson's Louisiana receives $7.5 billion more in federal funds than it pays in taxes; Tubberville's Louisiana receives $9.1 billion more in federal funds than it pays in taxes.
We want to believe that we can control the fire, but the truth is fire is part of nature, something we cannot control. Fires are started by many things, including lightning, arching power lines, morons shooting their guns into dry brush, even bigger morons shooting off fireworks, and of course arsonists. They only become massive like the one this week in Los Angeles if there are strong winds.
Let's be clear that Angelnos and Californians are Americans, and have been since 1850, when California was admitted to the union after being acquired in the peace treaty that ended the Mexican-American war. Let's also be clear that all Americans, whether they be Alabamians who are hit by a tornado, or Louisanaians who endure a flood or Californians who see their home burn in a fire deserve federal disaster aid.
And let us be clear what we will do next time we are in power if Republicans in Congress do not help their fellow Americans in need now: we will no longer support any federal funding in excess of tax payments in states like Louisiana or Alabama. Or if Republicans load up this disaster bill with anti-gay and anti- immigrant BS, while nominally offering California aid, we will place conditions next time there is a hurricane: want disaster aid? Legalize abortion without restrictions in your state and expand Medicaid under the ACA.
That I am even having to write this shows just how unserious and stupid the Republican Party in the era of Elon Musk pulling the strings on Donald Trump is. It's embarrassing. They should be better than this, and America is better than this.