If I were a Christian myself, I’d have to ask if Erick Erickson really thinks he’s a Christian after reading this:
A lot of people who think the government is a mess are upset that it has been slow to respond to Helene. Of course it has. What did you expect?
In fact, it was FIVE DAYS after the storm struck that Joe Biden really mobilized the government. The Southern Baptist Convention was already on the ground while the flood waters were still raging.
The government is not going to help you.
You think FEMA is a mess? You’re damn right it is.
After all, he’s not in a position to really evaluate. Indeed, it seems like he’s repeating the propaganda he’s been instructed to disseminate. Meanwhile, from CNN/Politics,
Republican South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said at a Tuesday press conference that federal assistance had “been superb,” noting that Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg had both called and told him to let them know whatever the state needed. McMaster added that the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Deanne Criswell, had also called. He said, “So we’re getting assistance, and we’re asking for everything we need.”
Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said at a Monday press conference, “I’m incredibly appreciative of the rapid response and the cooperation from the federal team at FEMA.” He specifically thanked Biden, among others, in a press release the day prior.
Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said at a Wednesday press conference that the response to his emergency declaration “was quick from the federal government,” adding there was “a fast turnaround, frankly,” in making the state eligible for some federal reimbursements.
At a Tuesday press conference, Lee spoke of a “rush” of officials “from the federal to the state to the local, the local emergency management agencies, local county mayors with tears in their eyes out there serving their people. There is a great deal of hope when you see what is behind the effort, the coordinated effort, in this community to begin to rebuild.”
Once again, the people up against the wall vociferously disagree with the guy relaxing in his radio studio.
But there’s a bit more to this than just pointing out Republican mendacity and misrepresentations, again. Erickson’s penultimate paragraph:
The government will not save us. FEMA will not save us. We will save each other.
A simple deconstruction highlights an important, unspoken facet of the Republican mindset which is misaligned with our best ideals, and that’s this, which I’ll state through its negative: The government is not alien, it is not the other, it is not the enemy. Despite the literal decades of anti-government propaganda, often by those who wish to take illegal advantage of their fellow Americans, it is none of those things.
In a democracy, in a republic, the government is us. Us, as in we can run for office and help manage and direct the government. Us, as in, with proper qualifications, we can work for the government, from DOT to DOD. When Erickson says, We will save each other, he’s quite right. We will save each other through the agency of the government, as well as through volunteers.
And the rest is just arrogant bullcrap.
