The latest in what seems to be an inexhaustible well of Sharron Angle sound bites is up this morning — this time, Angle says she would have voted against Hurricane Katrina relief funds. It sounds cruel and heartless (and it is), but Angle has a reason: The funds weren’t offset with cuts elsewhere, and their oversight wasn’t acceptable to Angle.
She wasn’t alone: Indiana Congressman Mike Pence raised questions about the funds, before ultimately voting for them, under pressure apparently.
But that doesn’t change the fact that Angle said she would have cast her vote against funds for people who had suffered an unspeakable tragedy, literally seeing their city swallowed by the sea. Those people needed help. They paid taxes to get help. And help — even now, years later — has been slow in coming.
It’s this ability to turn a blind eye to real people in real need that I think is a fascinating, and tragic, part of the conservative persona. To hold one’s own philosophy so highly that you’d refuse aid to people who desperately need it just to avoid contradicting one’s own beliefs seems to me the height of arrogance, if not moral idiocy.
Angle is not wrong that deficits are not good, and that debt is a bad thing, long-term. She’s not wrong that pay-as-you-go rules are good things, in general, to ensure that spending remains in control.
But there comes a time when those principles must yield for the good of real people suffering in real situations not of their making. (For example, extending unemployment benefits, which Angle also opposes, having once said those benefits “spoil” the jobless and keep them from looking for work.) In those times, we must do what we need to do to help.
By the way, that, too, is a philosophical outlook. I like to think of it as humanity.
UPDATE: Angle’s spokesman tells the Huffington Post that it was not that Angle didn’t want Katrina victims to get aid, but only that she wanted to ensure accountability for taxpayer funds that led her to say what she said. Of course, in the end, that makes little difference: She still would have denied aid to people at the moment of their greatest need, which actually buttresses — and not subtracts — from my point here.
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Totally agree, Steve.
I would think if there were any doubt in voters’ minds about Sharron Angle before, this new revelation is definitely a game changer that slams the door loudly in her face on any and all hopes of reaching the U.S. Senate. And it even casts a shadow over the conservatives locally and nationally.
If our leaders in the government cannot do anything to help those who are suffering and in need, through no fault of their own and due to circumstances of nature that are way beyond their control, then we need to cease to be a government elected by the people for the people.
She has no business governing and leading when she hides behind the Constitution and wields it not to fix things, but to screw them up beyond all repair. She just doesn’t know how to govern and lead. She believes she is to be elected to only cause problems. She don’t know how to solve. And she never has in her entire political history. She wants the benefit of the job, but she don’t want the responsibility attached to it. She would be totally and completely…useless.
Need I remind everyone, we already have one useless Senator (Ensign). We don’t need to make a dynamic duo of do doo doo diddly dirt by Dudley Do Right and Daphne Do Nothing.
By Sharron Angle’s views on this Katrina subject, she clearly shows she don’t care about the people of that region, and ultimately exhibits all tendencies of not giving a damn about the United States of America.
Sharron Angle is toast in November.
This is simply one more glance into the perverted reality of Sharron Angle and her followers. I have asked many times on the Seniors for Harry Reid and Harry Reid Facebook pages for anyone (since there are so many who come there to slam at Sen. Reid) to provide me with even one reason to vote for Sharron Angle that was not “Because I hate Harry Reid”. As of this date I have yet to have been responded to by any of those nay-sayers. This woman is driven by cold hearted hate and so are her supporters.
I’d like to say that I couldn’t believe it when I read Angle would vote against Katrina relief. But I DO believe it. She is stubborn and unreasonable, and will choose money over people every time. She lacks compassion and has zero empathy… traits of the narcissist. Why would other Senators support her? This is the perfect example of how she’ll never vote with you, she only votes for herself.
Consider the scenario of a family member in need of health care beyond what insurance will cover. Most families would take out a 2nd mortgage (yes, more debt) before seeing a loved one suffer or die. I wonder what she would do in that situation.
This is shocking to read, particularly on the anniversary of Katrina. Especially when we see how much work is still needed to be done in New Orleans, how families are still displaced.
I wonder why more people aren’t talking about this? Harry?
In 2005 the GOP run government was blocking all efforts to re-enact the “pay-go” rule and as such, for Angle to argue against deficit spending would be to go against her leadership (well, she always has, hasn’t she?!)