As Irene Devastates, Ron Paul Says We Need To ‘Come To Our Senses’ And Abolish

[cal04]

As Irene Devastates, Ron Paul Says We Need To ‘Come To Our Senses’ And Abolish FEMA

This morning, nearly 2 million people are without power and nine are dead as now-Tropical Storm Irene continues to devastate the East Coast. But Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul (R-TX) still thinks that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) needs to be abolished. In his screed to Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday, Paul described FEMA as a drain on the economy — a “gross distortion of insurance” that only “bleeding hearts” would support:

WALLACE: Congressman, you would really, at this point, do away with FEMA and all the things it’s doing to help hundreds of thousands of people along the East Coast?

PAUL: (Laughs.) Have you ever read the reports that came out of New Orleans and all those wonderful things they did? Giving checks to people who didn’t even live there? Sending in hundreds of millions of dollars worth of trailers that they had to junk because they didn’t meet FEMA’s standards? No. It’s a system of bureaucratic central economic planning which is a policy which is deeply flawed. So no, you don’t get rid of something like that in one day. As a matter of fact, I’ve had this position for a long time and the people kept reelecting me and I have a coastal district. But I’ve also suggested that there’s different ways to finance this too, because actually FEMA’s in big trouble financially. Their flood program’s about 20 million dollars in debt. So it’s deeply flawed, but even back then when I refused to vote for the bailout money — because we didn’t have any money. I mean, this idea that government can just bail out everybody and vote for money — but I propose that we save a billion dollars from the overseas war-mongering, bring half that home and put it against the deficit, and yes, tide people over until we come to our senses and realize that FEMA’s been around since 1978. It has one of the worst reputations for a bureaucracy ever. I win elections because I fight for the constituents to overcome the bureaucracy. You can’t imagine how many calls we get because FEMA’s getting in the way and they can’t get their checks, they can’t get their bailouts. Then these checks go to, you know, contractors, and the people don’t end up with the money. The contractors end up with the money, sometimes a no-bid contract. Anybody who wants to defend this department and this agency, they have a tough argument to argue for.

Watch it:
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/08/28/306211/ron-paul-senses/

[hobbit709]

1. If his house got hit, he'd be first in line with his hand out.

[tawadi]

15. +3,000,000

[hayrow]

21. This is like Senator Ron Johnson, bitching about TARP, and running against TARP last year...

and, who was at the front of the line to grab whatever TARP funds he could get his grimy paws on?..... if you answered "Who is current Wisconsin Repuklican Senator Ron Johnson" you'd have Alex saying "Correct".

[roguevalley]

24. he's such a fucker. he even reproduces poorly.

if this were his beloved 1900 he would have died thirty years ago and we wouldn't be listening to his selfish shit. The mortality rate for men then was 47.

[FSogol]

2. Ron Paul - Still a jackass.

:shrug:

[DinahMoeHum]

3. That's like saying: close down a hospital because you're not sick.

Asshole's not much of a human being. The more you read and hear of him, the less you like.

[LynneSin]

4. Ron Paul is an asshole

The problem with FEMA circa Katrina was that imbeciles were running the organization.

Personally I think FEMA probably needs a good rehaul to make sure we don't have the same problems of the wrong people receiving checks or faulty trailers. But FEMA is very important to this country. Fuck him for thinking otherwise!

[LiberalFighter]

6. Exactly. Ran by embiciles. Ran by Republicans. A Bush Fiasco.

If government is the problem it is because of Republicans.

[lumpy]

19. LIke so many agencies, FEMA needs streamlining and

overhauling but Paul is showing his rgressive simplisitic side. Just because people struggled with 1900 disasters doesn't make it right to ignore the need.

[smokey nj]

5. I say we come to our senses and set Ron Paul out to sea on a melting ice floe.

[xxqqqzme]

8. Only if his idiot son

is there for company.

[LiberalFighter]

7. FEMA getting in the way and they can't get their checks????

If FEMA was abolished wouldn't that mean that those that have damages would not receive checks from anyone? Except their insurance if their insurance company doesn't make up excuses to avoid paying?

[DURHAM D]

9. FEMA has always been a dumping ground for hacks during Republican administrations.

FEMA is for people/staff who moved luggage and sound equipment for the Presidential campaign but have no other skills. A friend of mine who worked for the Reagan campaign and then moved to WH staff was able to get her brother a job with FEMA. He was 32 and had never held a job. He was given a pager and a very good salary. He was told they would call him if they needed him. He lived in Dallas and to my knowledge was never called to work during the Reagan and Bush I administration. Why would they call him? He had no skills. I do think he traveled to DC for 3 day "training" classes once or twice a year. This is also known as a paid vacation to the east coast.

FEMA has always been degraded by Republicans. Then the Dems arrive and build it back up but we don't hold office long enough to remove the Republican patronage appointees and permanently switch it to a merit system.

[malletgirl02]

10. Republicans

Republicans work hard to make government fail.

[Ed Suspicious]

16. The people who make thier career working

within FEMA are good decent human beings doing the best job they can. The upper management at FEMA is politically appointed. This means the organization goes violently from competent management wanting to do a good job to inexperienced incompetents who believe they are saving the world from socialism by fouling the place up.

[woo me with science]

11. Actually, he said there'd be plenty of money to help people with storms

if we would stop the endless warmongering. :evilgrin:

[krabigirl]

18. yeah, but people don't like to listen..they just latch on to one part of a statement.

and let their emotions take over from there.

[lame54]

12. He draws on the Bush years as an example...

what a dishonest piece of shit

[HereSince1628]

13. His Libertarian roots are showing...time to get a root job Ronnie!!

Time to drop out yet?

[TBF]

14. Ron Paul sold his house in Lake Jackson and moved to Surfside -

hope he doesn't get hit by any hurricanes there ...

[demigoddess]

17. they always say the neighbors will chip in and help, but

I would like to know how the neighbors will help out when the storm covers several states. They just do not think through these things they believe in.

[Major Hogwash]

20. This is why Lumpy will never be President.

No matter how many times he runs, he will never get more than 5% of the people to agree with his whacky belief system of not helping others in their time of need.

Whatever happened to the "compassion" in the compassionate conservative circle?
It never existed to begin with!!!

[Jack Rabbit]

22. Have you ever read Marvin Olasky's work on compassionate conservatism

Professor Olasky is one of the few intellectuals whom Gee Dubyah could appreciate.

It's pretty scary stuff, and Dr. Paul is falling right in line with it. To put it in a nutshell, it's Ayn Rand revised through the mind of a fundamentalist Christian. If a man is drowning, a compassionate conservative would refuse to throw down a life preserver because the victim would never learn to swim as he should.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

23. keep digging that hole, dumbass. it may need overhauling and

tweaking but, to do away with it completely?! fuck you, Ron Paul. Go sit in the corner with Rick Perry.