Disaster politics
Governor Cooper excelled at his first three tasks in the wake of Florence: command (resources), communicate (be safe) and comfort (we’re with you for the long haul).
Now comes the long haul. And politics. And bureaucracy – federal, state and local. And inevitable human frustration at the pace of relief.
Nearly 20 years ago, after Hurricane Floyd, I watched a master of disaster at work: Governor Jim Hunt. But Florence is worse. The flooding is worse. The damage is worse; there’s been two decades of growth and development in low-lying, watery areas.
And the politics is worse. Hunt had a cooperative Democratic legislature. Cooper has a legislature determined to score political points on him. Hunt had a friendly, well-run FEMA to work with. Cooper has a North Carolinian heading FEMA, but he’s under fire for commuting home at taxpayers’ expense. We can only hope FEMA does better here than it did in Puerto Rico.
Most of all, Hunt had a friend and former fellow Governor in the White House, Bill Clinton. Cooper has a clueless clown who seemed most worried about Lake Norman and thought one storm victim was lucky because a boat washed up in his yard.
A lot of people never recovered from Floyd, and a lot of people will never recover from Florence. The process will be long, tedious and controversial. There will be a difficult reckoning of what should be rebuilt and where. Political knives are being sharpened, and scores will be settled.
Not to mention the debate about how climate change contributed to the size and ferocity of Florence. What about the storms to come?
Hard as it was 20 years ago, some things were easier. The legislature quickly appropriated $800 million in storm aid. Hunt later regretted that he didn’t ask for a tax increase for more.
He lobbied Washington hard for disaster money. He went there every week for seven weeks. He took a yardstick to show how much rain fell – three feet. He put together an aid request and took it to President Clinton.
The President asked, “How much is this going to cost?”
Hunt replied, “Mr. President, I think it’s going to take four billion dollars.”
Clinton laughed. “Well, what’s four billion dollars between friends?”
North Carolina got the money.
Disaster politics
Governor Cooper excelled at his first three tasks in the wake of Florence: command (resources), communicate (be safe) and comfort (we’re with you for the long haul).
Now comes the long haul. And politics. And bureaucracy – federal, state and local. And inevitable human frustration at the pace of relief.
Nearly 20 years ago, after Hurricane Floyd, I watched a master of disaster at work: Governor Jim Hunt. But Florence is worse. The flooding is worse. The damage is worse; there’s been two decades of growth and development in low-lying, watery areas.
And the politics is worse. Hunt had a cooperative Democratic legislature. Cooper has a legislature determined to score political points on him. Hunt had a friendly, well-run FEMA to work with. Cooper has a North Carolinian heading FEMA, but he’s under fire for commuting home at taxpayers’ expense. We can only hope FEMA does better here than it did in Puerto Rico.
Most of all, Hunt had a friend and former fellow Governor in the White House, Bill Clinton. Cooper has a clueless clown who seemed most worried about Lake Norman and thought one storm victim was lucky because a boat washed up in his yard.
A lot of people never recovered from Floyd, and a lot of people will never recover from Florence. The process will be long, tedious and controversial. There will be a difficult reckoning of what should be rebuilt and where. Political knives are being sharpened, and scores will be settled.
Not to mention the debate about how climate change contributed to the size and ferocity of Florence. What about the storms to come?
Hard as it was 20 years ago, some things were easier. The legislature quickly appropriated $800 million in storm aid. Hunt later regretted that he didn’t ask for a tax increase for more.
He lobbied Washington hard for disaster money. He went there every week for seven weeks. He took a yardstick to show how much rain fell – three feet. He put together an aid request and took it to President Clinton.
The President asked, “How much is this going to cost?”
Hunt replied, “Mr. President, I think it’s going to take four billion dollars.”
Clinton laughed. “Well, what’s four billion dollars between friends?”
North Carolina got the money.