It’s safe to say that the Republican Party now has a mega-branding problem. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie now joins a growing chorus of GOPers from East Coast states impacted by Hurricane Sandy who are ripping into House Republicans and beset House Speaker John Boehner in particular for failing to approve crucially needed aid for victims of Hurricane Sandy.
As we’ve often noted here, the concept of “Compassionate Conservatism” as articulated by George W. Bush and some of the more moderate leaning Republican conservatives now elicits either a)a sneer or b)an indifferent shrug from many of today’s Tea Party and talk show political culture Republicans. And it’s creating a growing GOP split. Few expect Boehner and House Republicans won’t approve the aid, but it’s the seeming indifference and lack of empathy that is causing Christie and some other GOPers to draw a line in the hurricane strewn sand. Christie’s lambasting, searing comments (“Shame on you. Shame on Congress.”) comments are withering — because he notes how previous Presidents including Republican Presidents and Congresses responded ASAP.The Huffington Post reports:
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) lit into House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and House Republicans Wednesday for not holding a vote on a Hurricane Sandy relief bill.
“There is only one group to blame for the continued suffering of these innocent victims: the House majority and their speaker, John Boehner,” he said. “This is not a Republican or Democratic issue. Natural disasters happen in red states and blue states and states with Democratic governors and Republican governors. We respond to innocent victims of natural disasters, not as Republicans or Democrats, but as Americans. Or at least we did until last night. Last night, politics was placed before oaths to serve our citizens. For me, it was disappointing and disgusting to watch.”
House Republicans declined to schedule a vote for Sandy aid Tuesday night, after voting to pass a fiscal cliff deal. If the House does not pass a disaster relif bill before noon on Thursday, when the new session of Congress begins, lawmakers will have to start over.
“Last night the House of Representatives failed that most basic test of public service, and they did so with callous indifference to the suffering of the people of my state,” said Christie. “Sixty-six days and counting — shame on you. Shame on Congress. Despite my anger and disappointment, my hope is that the good people in Congress — and there are good people in Congress — will prevail upon their colleagues to finally, finally put aside the politics and help our people now.”
The Senate has approved a $60.4 billion aid package to help New York and New Jersey recover from the storm, while the House Appropriations Committee has approved a $27 billion measure. Christie said at the conference that he would not accept the smaller package.
Christie said he was not given an explanation as to why the vote did not take place Tuesday. He added that House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) placed a call to him at 11:20 p.m. to inform him that the speaker had decided not to schedule one. Christie then called Boehner four times, and Boehner did not call him back.
“There is no reason for me to believe anything they tell me,” he said, referring to the House GOP.
Here’s the video of Christie’s comments:
Rep. Peter King, another Republican was livid. Mediaite:
The House adjourned Tuesday night without voting on the $60 billion Hurricane Sandy disaster aid bill — prompting outrage from those in the states affected by the storm. Republican Rep. Peter King (R-NY) was especially furious, taking to CNN to denounce Speaker John Boehner and the GOP.
King was blunt in blaming Boehner, saying he yelled and walked off the House floor without allowing a vote.
Republicans have no problem finding New York when they’re trying to raise money, King said. “They’re raising millions of dollars in New York City and New Jersey. They sent Gov. Christie around the country raising millions of dollars for them,” he said. “I’m saying , anyone from New York or New Jersey who contributes one penny to the Republican congressional campaign committee should have their head examined. I would not give one penny to these people after what they did to us last night.”
Calling it “disgraceful,” King said he now has to go back and tell people why the U.S. Congress “refused to give them the food and shelter that every other region has gotten.”
The CNN video:
“People in my party, they wonder why they’re becoming a minority party,” King continued. They’re “writing off” New York and New Jersey, he asserted. “They’ve written me off, and they’re gonna have a hard time getting my vote, I can tell you that.”
What has changed so that even Republicans are now being bitten in their you-know-whats?
1. The growth of ideology that trumps almost all.
2. The desire to win and show power rather than govern and administer.
3. The atrophy of empathy on the part of many of the most conservative Republicans, who have come to become symbolized by the House Republicans.
The bottom line: the GOP has a serious branding problem when its own elected officials seem besides themselves trying to get House Republicans to think of suffering people as…suffering people.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.