Twisted Sister City: Cleaning Up

President Obama visited Joplin, Missouri yesterday to honor those who gave their lives to save others in the massive tornado that obliterated the city, and to promise that the country will help rebuild.

Those who have survived a devastating tornado in Joplin, Missouri, should do their utmost to live up to the example set by those who died while helping others escape the storm, President Barack Obama said Sunday at a memorial service for the victims.


Obama spoke about two of the heroes from the twister, which barreled into Joplin packing 200-mph winds a week ago Sunday.

One of them, Dean Wells, directed his co-workers and customers at Home Depot to safety, returning again and again for more people until a wall of the store fell on top of him, the president said.

And Christopher Lucas, 26, a manager at a Pizza Hut, herded employees and customers into a walk-in freezer, finding a bungee cord to hold the door shut from the inside and wrapping the other end around his arm. Lucas held on as long as he could, Obama told the crowd Sunday, "until he was pulled away by the incredible force of the storm. He died saving more than a dozen people in that freezer.

"There are heroes around us all the time," the president said. "And so, in the wake of this tragedy, let us live up to their example, to make each day count, to live with a sense of mutual regard, to live with that same compassion that they demonstrated in their final hours. We are called by them to do everything we can to be worthy of this chance we've been given to carry on."

The service was pretty sobering, and it was the right thing to do to honor the dozens who fell in the tornado's devastating path.  But equally as important is the promise the President made to help rebuild Joplin.  Some 75% of the city's buildings are gone, along with most of the city's infrastructure.  It's going to take a long time to get Joplin back to where it was just ten days ago, but it's the right thing to do.

That's why it's confusing to me to see Republicans like Eric Cantor insist that to help Joplin, we must make cuts elsewhere in America.

In an appearance on "Face the Nation," Cantor (R-Va.) emphasized that, in dealing with the devastation, "there is an appropriate federal role" - but that, like any family, the government doesn't have unlimited resources.

"Congress will find the money," Cantor told CBS News senior correspondent Harry Smith. "And it will be offset."

"I know that America is just stunned by the scope of devastation and loss and the horrific tragedy that the people of Joplin and other places across the country really are experiencing this tornado season," Cantor said.

But, he added, comparing the federal government to a family on a tight budget, the government would have to make cuts somewhere else to compensate for the expenditures.

"When a family is struck with tragedy - like the family of Joplin ... let's say if they had $10,000 set aside to do something else with, to buy a new car ... and then they were struck with a sick member of the family or something, and needed to take that money to apply it to that, that's what they would do, because families don't have unlimited money.

"Neither does the federal government" have endless resources, he continued.

Idiotic comparisons like that aside, can you recall Democrats ever saying after a massive disaster like this that "We don't have the resources to help you so we'll have to make cuts elsewhere"?  And I surely can't recall Republicans saying that before.  That's the second time in less than a week Cantor has promised that the only way Joplin will get any money is for it to come from spending cuts.  I'm sure that's news to Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, also a Republican.

Nixon noted that the state government had already put aside $25 million in funds to begin that process - and said that the state would "make our case" to the Obama administration "to make sure we get the dollars that other regions have gotten."

"I'm confident we'll find the resources to get this done," he said. "Whatever method it takes. I mean, we've had an unbelievable outpouring of private donations already and I have a great deal of experience with our federal partners. I fully expect that we will have the resources to rebuild here." 

Might want to call Eric Cantor's office there, Jay.  He's holding your state hostage for more budget cuts.  Please note the difference between the President's response and Eric Cantor's response, too.