In past votes, South Carolina delegation opposed flood aid

To a few members of Congress, that spending was considered pork that was not directly related to disaster relief, and if South Carolina’s lawmakers decide to seek something like it, they may be subject to the same charge.

“Claiming that he doesn’t remember his vote, and that he’s “all for” helping New Jersey now that no money is actually on the line, because he, “[tries] to be there for friends and neighbors, so [I] hope they’ll be there for us”, is only one step removed from claiming that he cast his no vote by accident.

Wolf Blitzer pressed Graham on why he voted against Sandy relief in 2013.

Lindsey Graham is defending himself after CNN pointed out that he voted against a bill that would have provided federal aid to New Jersey after Hurricane Sandy, but it asking for similar aid for his home state, which is now suffering from historic floods.

Lindsey Graham said Wednesday he plans to focus on New Hampshire as he searches for a foothold in the Republican field. A slightly more likely reason is that Hurricane Sandy hit in a state that wasn’t his a week before a presidential election at a time when being pro-anything as a Republican guarantees a primary challenge.

No estimate is available yet on the damage caused by the torrential rains and flooding in South Carolina.

Ironically, one piece of the Sandy package that was approved in 2013 and turned out not to be needed may help stricken South Carolina homeowners.

To get the package through the Republican-controlled House, it was split into several parts, with Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-Harding, sponsoring a $33 billion piece that included most of the block grants and transportation programs.

This isn’t to say that the state shouldn’t get aid, it should, but the Republicans in South Carolina should recognize their hypocrisy (although they probably won’t).

President Barack Obama did sign a disaster declaration for the state of South Carolina, ordering federal aid to supplement state and local recovery expenses. “It’s home we’re talking about now”.

I’ll return to Graham in a moment.