by Say what you will about some of Ron Paul’s "less mainstream" ideas – the man has his principles and votes accordingly, even when it hurts. Galveston was hammered by Hurricane Ike and Congressman Paul, whose district includes the hard-hit area, voted against a $23B aid packalge that would have brought a big chunk of that bacon home to his district.
Not everyone is pleased:
Some Galveston officials aren’t too pleased with their Congressional representative, Ron Paul, R-Lake Jackson, for voting against the $22.8 billion disaster recovery aid package on Wednesday.
"That’s sad. That’s bad," said City manager Steve LeBlanc.
"I find it very distressing," said Councilwoman Karen Mahoney, who represents the West End of the island, where damage was extreme. "He’s voting against aid for the region that he represents? I don’t find that very representative."
What Mahoney and others need to recognize is that there are greater principles than what is currently happening in a small congressional district on the Texas coast. Paul’s vote is one for the constitutional notion that the federal government exists to protect the states, not to succor them with the taxpayer’s largesse.
Yes, it’s highly unfortunate that Ike devastated the island. But as in the case of New Orleans no one can claim that the disaster wasn’t both predictable and inevitable. We make our choices and have to live with the consequences, don’t we?
I realize that idea is woefully out of fashion in this enlightened day and age. It’s clearly not been in evidence during the brouhaha over the home mortgage bailout. Still, there’s something solid and reassuring about a leader who knows what the limits of the federal government should be and acts accordingly, even when it hurts us here at home.
