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Louisiana Sen. David Vitter (R), upset with Harry Reid saying Hurricane Katrina was "nothing in comparison" to Hurricane Sandy and the devastation caused to the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut area, lashed out on the social network calling the Senate majority leader an "idiot."
"Sadly, Harry Reid has again revealed himself to be an idiot, this time gravely insulting Gulf Coast residents," Vitter Tweeted, linking to a story in the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
Vitter later also released a statement with the same language and adding, "Both Katrina and Sandy were horribly destructive storms that caused real human misery. And by most any measure, Katrina was our worst natural disaster in history. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina caused 1,833 deaths and over $108 billion in damage. Hurricane Sandy has caused 131 deaths and $65 billion in damage."
On Friday, Reid said the following on the floor, urging passage of Sandy funding:
"I really do believe it is important that I have the record reflect the reason we have gotten as far as we have on Sandy is because of the senior Senator from New York. It is too bad that it has taken so long. When we had that devastation from Katrina, we were there within days taking care of Mississippi, Alabama, and especially Louisiana--within days. We are now past 2 months with the people of New York and New Jersey.
"The people of New Orleans and that area, they were hurt but nothing in comparison to what happened to the people in New York and New Jersey. Almost 1 million people have lost their homes; 1 million people lost their homes. That is homes, that is not people in those homes. So I think it is just unfortunate that we do not have the relief for New York and New Jersey and the rest already. It has to be done. We have to meet the needs of the American people when an act of God occurs."
The Times-Pic writes:
"Sandy devastated some of the nation's most populated areas, but it didn't come close to Katrina. Hurricane Katrina, and the flooding that followed when federally built levees failed, killing 1,833 and causing more than $145 billion in damage. Sandy has been blamed for 120 deaths and over $80 billion in damage."
Monday afternoon, Reid released a statement saying he "misspoke" on Friday:
"In my recent comments criticizing House Republicans for threatening to betray Congress' tradition of providing aid to disaster victims in a timely fashion regardless of region, I simply misspoke. I am proud to have been an advocate for disaster victims in the face of Republican foot-dragging, from Hurricane Katrina to Hurricane Sandy, from fires in the west to tornadoes in the Midwest. I have worked hard with Senator Landrieu to ensure that the people of the Gulf Coast have the resources they need to fully recover, and I will continue to advocate on their behalf until the region is fully recovered."
The House passed a $9.7 billion Sandy recovery aid package Friday, which the Senate took up and passed by unanimous consent. The House is expected to take up another $51 billion aid package as a result of Sandy Jan. 15th, after it returns from recess.
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Are we talking about Vitter the whoremonger? Or is that a different LA Senator on the client list of the D. C. Madam?
Heaven help the RED SOUTH when they need northeast votes for the next hurricane relief bill.
Dear craddlemountain...wow you just lumped a whole bunch of people into one pile. Either you are very astute or guilty yourself of everything you described. I am certain it is the later.
I'm tired of all these food fights. There should be a law that prevents people in leadership positions to say outrageous, stupid things - republicans and democrats. Although, I will say, there are more crazies in the republican party in recent years. Stupid things being said by elected officals is why the American people are so misinformed.
I have heard the pork added on to the relief that have nothing to do with the storm are huge. That should be embarrassing, but not for congress!! Let no disaster go unused..... Maybe they should pull all the riders and pork out of the bills and get the relief to the people. But this has become a christmas tree adorned with a lot of crap that doesn't have anything to do with the storm. We should expect more of our politicians. Maybe we should DEMAND more of our politicians.
I read the bill. The "pork" is not that bad. This was a huge disaster.
Vitter has the nerve to call someone else an idiot? What a scumbag.
He's a scumbag in a big sack of crap! And, a AAA idiot.
If the shoe fits.....
"Misspoke"...means you LIED. Quit chocolate- coating your idiocy. Democrats and Republicans alike were all hurt by the storms AND your lunacy. Time for the old-folks home bozo!
2012- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has been working to secure sweetheart deals for Chinese green energy firms. Specifically, Reid reportedly has been pulling strings behind the scenes on behalf of ENN Mojave Energy, a Nevada subsidiary of the Chinese-owned ENN Group. The idiots keep supporting him and voting for him, oops forgot to mention his son works for the company, hmm any conflict of interest here for the Liberal voters. Google it for non-believers
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2012/08/harry-reid-promotes-crony-capitalism-with-chinese-cronies.php
Ge Someone Knows Sen.Reid Well
Another raceist GOP/Tea Bagger against anything and anyone who supports Obama. Let these raceist biggets eat their hearts out and be miserable for another 4 years.
how does your paycheck look this week dmill or are you one of the may Odumbo supporters who dont even pay taxes or collect a paycheck?
The Tea Party voted for more minorities in the 2010 election then the Dems, sounds more like your the racist
viknat, where did you come up with that idea? A vast majority of the women and minorities in the Congress are Democrats...
Larry - http://www.examiner.com/article/who-s-racist-now-not-the-tea-party-or-republicans
The racist, horrible, hateful Tea Party elected more minorities than Democrats did. Including Governor Sandoval in Nevada or was that -- yes, Nevada. First Hispanic governor. Brian Sandoval, Latino Republican. They elected him. New Mexico elected Susannah Martinez, nation's first Hispanic female governor. Florida, of course, elected Marco Rubio, son of a Cuban immigrant. And South Carolina elected Republican Nicky Hailey, state's first female, whose parents immigrated from India, as well as Tim Scott, the state's first black Republican Congressman. There's a few more. There's Allen West, the first black Republican elected to Congress from Florida. Since a former slave served two terms in the 1870s. Two Latino republicans from Texas, Congressman Bill Flores and Francisco Canseco. It's awful. A racist bloodbath.
Of course Reid is an idiot and alot worse as well. This bomb-throwing left-wing nut will say anything (and many times has) that are at best distorted and many times outright lies. Republicans are scumming whores but appear as just simpleton saints next to Reid. He could care less what is good for the American people, his job is to just apply baseball bat firmly to knee-cap to any and all Republicans just because they are Republicans. Now theres leadership!
Reid is an IDIOT. Even with his statement that he misspoke, he still has to try and deflect the blame on someone else because he is a spineless dumbass just like the rest of the democrats.
Someone Knows Reid Very Well
I don't know where amanda gets her idea that providing money for the Alaska fisheries and the smithsonian is not pork. There are hundreds of demands on congress for money because of some "local' disaster. These should NOT Have been in the Sandy bill. The Sandy bill would have been taken up by the house if the other "pork" was left for another day. The democrats and especially reid and pelosi have no concern for how much we spend... Just spend spend spend Pelosi said it again today.......give us more tax money so we can spend even more. God Help us survive Reid and Pelosi.
I can't understand how Vitter is still in Congress. The issue here is that Sandy and Katrina were both terrible disasters. Problem is that the GOP has decided to pick a fight with the Northeast and are holding back aid to the Sandy victims. This is wrong and un-American. It has even divided GOPs from different parts of the country. So I think it is fair for Harry to speak out against the extreme conservatives who continue to eliminate even some Republicans from their inner circle.
and you wonder why the budget isnt balanced, we are about to hit the debt ceiling, we owe china billiions, we have trillions in deficit, etc.....when your idiot (as vitter properly put it) senate majority leader cant do simple math, that tells the whole story.
Katrina = 1,883 deaths
Sandy = 200 deaths
Vitter needs his diaper changed.. What an @!$%#...
Someone Knows Ried Very Well
Heck! There are so many "Idiots" in Congress you need to have a scorecard of some type! Reid is just a standout!
Oh, Lord, isn't Senator Vitter the guy who chased after prostitutes for years? I'm not sure that we need to know what he thinks. Reid has some issues...but Vitter, oh, no.
a politician not hooking up with a hoe is not trying son. where have you been. just like "if you aint cheating you aint trying"..
Ignorance can be cured, Stupity can not. Reid is an "IDIOT"
Reid, Pelosi, Biden make idiotic, sometimes nasty mean statements frequently. Reid is the worst for personal attacks and many of them have been out and out lies. Only a rabid foaming at the mouth secular progressive liberal Obama zombie supports the three trio of evil.
So say it Harry: "GEORGE BUSH DID A GREAT JOB AND OBAMA HAS NOT" It seemed to me during Katrina he was bashing Bush like crazy and now his performance is his model. Once again the adage is proven that you know a politician is lying because their lips are moving. Shameless really.
The REAL disaster here is that in BOTH Katrina and Sandy we have to face a Congress so self possessed and unfeeling that they fail to act effectively to aid the citizens who elected them to office. Katrina people are STILL waiting on federal money promised them. While their elected representatives traipsed off to warm homes and holiday celebrations, Sandy victims still sift through the ashes and rubble of their lives, trying to salvage some semblance of what used to be their joy. Both storms left devastation and tragic deaths in their paths but the stain of bad federal agency management and ineffective government is what is what is undisputed and apparent here, IMHO.
you go girl