Battle Royale

Sandy is finally dissipating on the East Coast and we're just now beginning to see the first images of exactly how extensive the damage is. We are only two days removed from what can only be described as a triple threat storm of epic proportions, one that will go down in history. And already the reality of two opposing forces is clear. On the one hand, the media has the responsibility to cover the storm and its damage nonstop. In times like these we rely on the media; not just for information about the storm itself, but also, and more importantly, those with loved ones in the affected area rely on the media for assurance that family and friends are safe when direct contact is not possible. This truth is coming head-on with the inescapable fact that we are less than a week away from a presidential election. The media also has the responsibility to not only cover the candidates, but to also put their closing arguments in context with the rest of the campaign. Now, in this case there isn't a lot of closing argument from the President. He has a job to do and he is doing it. However, Governor Romney is finding himself in the worst possible position. He is a candidate and nothing more. Now is not the time for explicit politics, and the Romney campaign should know that, but knowing it and acting on it (or in this case not acting) are two totally different things. Instead of encouraging unity and asking his supporters to offer their assistance in a way that is needed most, the governor's campaign held a “relief” event that was really nothing more than a campaign stop with canned foods. Any objective analysis of the event would concur that the showing of a video bio of Romney and dozens of photo ops for him and his supporters with their donations does not a relief event make. Not to mention the fact that Buzzfeed is reporting that somewhere in the range of $5000 worth of the donations were actually provided to supporters by the Romney campaign so they had something to give him when they came through the line. So, since the Governor has decided not to take the next few days off from politics, I have decided I will do the same.

Let's start out by completely ignoring the fact that there is a national disaster currently going on and that millions of people couldn't care less about politics or an election right now. Let's assume that they are totally engaged and undecideds are soaking up every bit of last-minute information possible. It might be important for them to find out that the Governor has explicitly stated that he does not believe that the federal government should be involved in disaster relief.

Breaking down his comments even further, Mitt Romney believes that disaster relief should be handed entirely over to the states. At first, this doesn't seem like such a terrible idea. However, with even a glancing second look, this policy begins to sound as ridiculous as his implicit claims that global warming doesn't exist. The Romney–Ryan plan would essentially gut federal disaster agencies (FEMA) and provide block grants to states instead. One of the many problems with this idea is that block grants have no requirements on how they can or cannot be spent. In other words, the Romney–Ryan plan says to states, “Here is some money to try and make up for the things that the federal government isn't doing under our budget. It's probably not going to be enough to cover everything, and if something really bad happens… Well, sorry about your luck.”

Neo–Cons and Tea Partiers have unquestioningly denounced the idea of even the possibility of global warming. In fact, they find the idea laughable.

This is something that has not been talked about at all this election cycle in any meaningful way. Global warming is real. If you deny that, your idiocy is behind repair. I'm sorry to be so blunt… Wait, no I'm not. This is a real problem that will affect everyone. It is affecting everyone. This tragedy is beyond words in its scope of devastation, but perhaps there is a silver lining. Maybe, just maybe, this terrible disaster will bring the issue of global warming and climate change to the conversation as a critical situation that must be addressed now. The science says that the level of warming we are seeing now is unprecedented. How are we not at DEFCON 1!? As I said, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have neglected talking about global warming to any extent, but there are things that can be extrapolated from what the candidates have said. President Obama has repeatedly stated that part of our energy independence should come from investments in green technologies like wind and solar. The President is also “doubling fuel efficiency standards” that will “save 12 billion barrels of oil”. I'm not saying the President's policies are far from anything near perfect, or acceptable for that matter, when it comes to global warming. However, I am saying that they are infinitely better then the denial that is the policy of the Romney–Ryan ticket. At least the President recognizes there is a problem and doesn't disregard it as fantasy or scare tactics.

I was perfectly happy with allowing the election coverage to yield its time to coverage of the hurricane and its aftermath. Governor Romney wasn't and, in turn, has brought this upon himself. His disingenuous “relief event”, one day after Sandy had made landfall was not only a political miscalculation, but just plain insensitive. It would have been possible to have a real relief event. Instead of gathering canned goods that the Red Cross does not want and does not accept, because sorting them "impedes the valuable resources of money, time, and personnel", the Romney campaign could have asked supporters to refrain from donating to the campaign for a couple of days and donate that money to the Red Cross. That is what the Red Cross really needs; money and blood. (If you would like to help the victims of Hurricane Sandy, please consider making a donation to the Red Cross)

Unfortunately, Governor Romney was not as willing as I was to allow Sandy to take over the news cycle. So, people like myself have followed his lead. We have split our collective focus between the election and the hurricane. We have uncovered how the Governor feels about disaster relief (and apparently likens Sandy clean up efforts to clearing a football field of "rubbish and paper products") and have been reminded of his apparent funnybone when it comes to global warming. Perhaps he is wishing he hadn't been so crass and had allowed Sandy to have the spotlight for just a few days, because this is no laughing matter sir.

Let me close by saying this. I never expected either candidate to put campaigning away up until Election Day. That would have been ridiculous. After all, even the President is going back to campaigning tomorrow. However, there is something to be said about timing. Is it too much to ask for a two or three day hiatus from campaigning out of respect for such a terrible event? I don't think so, and neither should you.