When Gov. Rick Scott recently asked President Obama to declare a federal emergency [Ed. note: since denied] over the toxic algae catastrophe coating South Florida’s coasts, my head nearly exploded. It is the zenith of hypocrisy for Gov. Scott to plead for federal assistance on the algae bloom catastrophe when his entire record is hacking, whittling and chopping federal authority into little, little pieces. And not just any federal authority — specifically federal rules to regulate fertilizers and specifically federal actions to hold Florida accountable. Many decades ago, the U.S. EPA “delegated” full responsibility to Florida to manage the state’s water pollution regulations while preserving the federal right to protect all Americans’ air and water quality. Tight control of pollution, it turns out, is the last thing that top campaign funders — like Big Sugar — want. As a result, the Republicans war against the U.S. EPA has been unremitting.
I suspect there are things Conservative Republicans do well, but say what you will, exercising consistency ain’t on that list. In fact, one could argue that hypocrisy is at the very top of the list of things Republicans excel at.
(Remember when former Texas Gov. Rick Perry excoriated the federal government for being responsible for virtually every problem facing Mankind…and then demanding the feds respond YESTERDAY to provide disaster relief? You should; it was a regular occurrence. Apparently, it’s not true hypocrisy if you’re consistently hypocritical.)
Floriduh Gov. Rick Scott, never one to concern himself with things like consistency or the appearance of hypocrisy, is asking for federal help in dealing with south Floriduh’s toxic algae bloom. For most other (not red) states, that would seem a reasonable request worthy of consideration by the federal government. Gov. Scott has built his political brand on painting Big Brother as the evil home of government overreach, the source of all that’s wrong with government today. That’s he’s now requesting help from the Source of all Evil © is nothing if not highly amusing.
This is what happens when you allow industries (who, purely coincidentally, contribute large sums to Republican candidates and causes) to set policies intended to “regulate” them.
One can almost hear President Obama saying: Florida, you have to figure this one out for yourselves. You want me to come to the rescue for your governor’s fuck-ups?
President Obama, of course, is well aware how Florida works. It takes two seconds to understand the GOP practice of maintaining, buffing and shining polluters’ privileges through gerrymandered districts. Just like the way one can trace the algae bloom back to excess phosphorous and nitrogen used by Big Sugar, one can trace the deformation of districts to outsized campaign contributions by polluters intent on maintain[ing] control [over] legislatures whose pollution-control laws affect their profits.
So sugar producers foul Floriduh’s water with phosphorous and nitrogen…and Republicans demand IMMEDIATE ACTION from the federal government to solve a self-created problem? Of course; why should private industry be expected to clean up their mess when their BFF, Gov. Rick Scott, can go to the feds and demand that taxpayers fund cleanup efforts?
Once upon a time, Floriduh decided it would cave to Big Sugar and not hold them to even the most minimal of standards. Producers could do what they wished when they wished to do it. They could dump their waste in the ocean with no expectation of ever being called to account for it…and so they did.
At some point, someone- in this case, President Obama- needs to be able to call “BULLSHIT” on Floriduh and force them to either a) live in, or b) clean up their own mess. He might even try something like this:
Really? You and the Florida legislature worked like mad dogs to reject, refuse and to deny the ability of the U.S. EPA to regulate fertilizers including nitrogen and phosphorous, the cause of the algae blooms. And you want the federal taxpayer to rescue you because of your own stupidities? When the federal government offered to assist in regulating fertilizers, you said ‘no thanks’. Then you set the Florida Chamber of Commerce and Associated Industries of Florida loose on Congress. When we have tried to move Everglades restoration forward, your administration has pushed back against any efforts to put tighter restrictions on phosphorous and nitrogen flowing from sugar fields owned by your buddies, the Big Sugar cartel. So who are you kidding with your complaints about the federal government not stepping in and being active? We tried. You denied. We promoted the U.S. economy and environmental stewardship and you demagogued against pollution control laws because they “kill jobs”. You kicked us out and then you cut your own agencies’ science staff to the bone. Next time you call, give me some good news; like you support buying enough land in the Everglades Agricultural Area to stop the use of Florida waterways as sacrifice zones for Big Sugar.
I’m not necessarily advocating that the people of Floriduh be made to suffer (actually, I really am), but they’re the ones who consistently vote crooks and criminals into office. They’re the ones who’ve blindly elected and re-elected politicians who’ve created the current mess. This being the case, I have a difficult time condoning idea that the federal government should be rushing to Floriduh’s rescue.
Decisions have consequences- and poor decisions can have truly dire repercussions. Floriduh’s voters have consistently elected people willing to place the interests of industry over those of the people of the Sunshine State. Voters set the stage for the problems on south Floriduh’s shores today. Why federal funds should be expended to mitigate a problem of Floriduh’s own creation is a question I’m still awaiting an answer for.
Sometimes forcing someone to clean up their own mess is the best way to teach them that decisions have consequences and that actions (or inaction) may well lead to some undesirable and/or dangerous results.
If I were President, I think my response might well be something along the lines of “Suck it up, Cupcake. Put on your big boy pants and clean up your own mess. You broke it; you fix it.”
Then again, Republicans aren’t often big on learning lessons.
