CT Blue

It is, of course, no surprise to learn that Ron DeSantis, along with a huge majority of Republican Congresspersons and Senators, opposed financial aid to the Northeast when it was hit by hurricane Sandy, while voting for such aid when it was a red state that was affected. Biden, of course, and the Democrats as well, have done the right thing by rushing aid to Florida, though I have to say that I personally might have given a lot of thought, were I Biden, to expressing my hesitation to send aid to Florida, since the governor there thought such aid was an “irresponsible boondoggle”, though I’d be glad to send the aid if the governor requested it, accompanying his request with an explanation about why it was no longer an irresponsible boondoggle. Something along those lines, anyway, to make DeSantis have to beg a bit.

But there is, of course, a larger issue at play here, one that I’ve not seen much comment about. Not only are the folks from the red state’s in particular, but the Fascist Party generally, likely to oppose aid when it comes to helping blue states, but they are also opposed to doing anything about climate change, even though its most devastating impact is likely to be on their own red states.

If you’ve seen pictures of Fort Myers, it’s pretty clear that the town was almost totally destroyed. Years ago, you could write off a storm of this magnitude as a once in a century thing, and rebuild with the expectation that you could go back to normal for a reasonable amount of time. That’s no longer the case. There’s a better than even chance that storms of Ian’s magnitude will be annual events, meaning that any rebuilding efforts will be incomplete before there is renewed devastation. You have to wonder whether the funds that will be sent to Florida will be spent in such a way as to minimize the impact of future storms on whatever the money is used to construct. In the case of Florida, you have to wonder whether it’s even possible to save the state from the inevitable. The highest point in Florida is a mere 345 feet, and most of it is close to sea level. As Floridian politicians continue to join forces with other climate deniers, sea levels will only rise. If this does become an annual thing, it won’t make much sense to keep pumping money into the state, especially if people like DeSantis remain in control, as they’ll do nothing to make sure the money is spent with future disasters in mind. It might behoove the Biden folks to attach some fairly long strings to the money they send Florida’s way.