Monroe Dispatch - No Struggle, No Progress

Another devastating hurricane has struck the U.S., leading to dozens of deaths and a cleanup/repair bill that is in the billions of dollars range. The state of Florida has a long way to go to get past the life changing effects that people go through when they have to rebuild after a hurricane turns their lives upside down. Everyone in the state of Louisiana remembers Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the efforts and resources that it took to rebuild New Orleans and the Lake Charles/Lafayette area, as the memories will never go away. The same thing can be said of Florida. Now comes the hard part of rebuilding people’s lives, even as the dead are being buried. Hurricane Ian also shows us that no matter how strong a nation says it is, those nations are no match for the destruction of natural disasters. States in the South have had this reality in its face since the early settlers arrived. There was a time when southern states, along with the federal government “saw eye to eye” when it came to working together after natural disasters such as hurricanes. Now in a hotly politicized America, there are still those leaders who appear to want compassion when it hits home, but not so much for his neighbor. Case in point, Florida’s governor Ron DeSantis was riding a big wave of popularity before Ian struck as a staunch opponent of President Joe Biden’s policies, whether it was the economy or immigration issues. It is being widely speculated that DeSantis has presidential ambitions in 2024 despite Donald Trump keeping his supporters on the edge of their seats on whether he will run in 2024. Truth be told, DeSantis probably wishes that Trump would fade into the night long before 2024, but he can’t because he will need Trump’s supporters in 2024. The governor has his hands full, as he is about to show his leadership skills rebuilding his state, while at the same time show Republicans that he is still willing to attack President Biden.

As the storm barreled through Florida, DeSantis had already asked the president for federal assistance even though Florida is not a “poor state” like some other southern states. Florida has a big surplus, much of which is from federal dollars to be spent on programs like the pandemic responses, that the governor used a lot of that money for his pet projects. Even though Florida can pay for some re-building, but why spend your money when one can go to Uncle Sam. President Biden to the surprise of no one, has not only talked to DeSantis, but has pledged billions of dollars to help re-build Florida. Don’t expect DeSantis to publicly express to Biden that Florida couldn’t rebuild without “the help” of the president, because that would be in the eyes of many conservatives show that the president cared. It is amazing how disasters “can bring us together” one day and the next day, we are back at each other’s throats politically and on social issues. As mentioned earlier about how some leaders see other misfortunes as “too bad”, while when it’s your turn, you are out there holding up your tin cup. When New Jersey asked for federal assistance after Hurricane Sandy hit the state, then governor Chris Christie was shown embracing while shaking the hand of President Barack Obama who had traveled to New Jersey as a show of support. History will show that President Obama was a target of conservatives the moment that he won the presidency. So was Christie from the moment that the picture of him and Obama shaking hands, was seen as betrayal to conservative causes, even though the people that died and whose homes/businesses were destroyed were not all liberals. DeSantis, while a House representative voted against aid for New Jersey, citing “unrelated provisions and unnecessary spending” in the bill. While now DeSantis wants the checkbook opened without unlimited zeroes behind the spending that Florida will need. It’s ok for his state, but wasn’t good enough for New Jersey, hence the hypocrisy.

Reporters in the national media should repeatedly press that question to DeSantis and how much of Florida’s money that had already come from the federal government, is he willing to spend. He should be asked that if he can set aside money to fly migrants to places like Martha’s Vineyard for political purposes, maybe he doesn’t need as much money as he claims. DeSantis, as a judge recently told lawyers for Donald Trump, wants to have his cake and eat it too. Perhaps that is the height of hypocrisy. DeSantis is showing a side of how he is and he is not the only politician who does it. The problem is, are we paying any attention? Do most of us really care? Remember, the world is watching. So is God.