Rules for you, but not for me has long been an unwritten motto within the Democratic Party. Whatever they do to you, you must not do anything to them, otherwise you will inappropriately “politicize” the current issue. That was the line delivered on CNN in a discussion about the Biden-Harris administration’s response to Hurricane Helene, and Scott Jennings was having none of it.
When Jennings appeared on the Anderson Coopers show on Friday, he suggested that criticizing Biden and Harris represented some sort of boundary crossing. In particular, he mentions how George W. Bush was treated in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Joe Biden was on the beach when the hurricane came ashore. Vice President Harris raised money from celebrities before hosting a photo op on the plane. I promise you, if there was a Republican in the WH there would be no political restraint like there was none after Katrina. pic.twitter.com/K8LjX6Sd6U
— Scott Jennings (@ScottJenningsKY) October 5, 2024
JENNINGS: I lived through Hurricane Katrina in the Bush White House, and I know you lived through it, Anderson, and covered it, and I don’t remember the Democrats or the national media after George W. Bush , FEMA and everyone else had committed a restraint thing. It became immediately politicized and I remember it well. It’s burned into my brain.
And now all these people are out here saying, “We can’t politicize this, we can’t criticize this,” you know, nothing can be said about Biden and Harris here or FEMA or anything else, and I just think If a If there was a Republican in the White House and a Republican president on the beach and the vice president raising money from celebrities, I guarantee you someone would be upset about it.
Jennings captures the frustration that so many Republicans have felt now and for decades when it comes to double standards in the press. Recall that then-President George W. Bush’s political legacy was essentially destroyed during a flyover where he surveyed the damage caused by Katrina. He was then on the ground within three days to direct the response.
In contrast, Joe Biden only showed up in North Carolina seven days after the storm hit. He spent the weekend relaxing on the beach as the hurricane hit Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and the Carolinas. Across the country, Kamala Harris attended a swanky celebrity fundraiser in California. None of them were criticized by the same mainstream press that denounced Bush as an evil, empathetic idiot for failing to somehow prevent the unforeseen problems in New Orleans.
To say that the devastation is worthy of the same criticism is not true. More than 200 people have died from widespread flooding in and around Asheville, NC, and hundreds more are still missing. What has Biden done? He has repeatedly claimed that everything is great and that the local people are “consistently happy”. His deafness is matched only by Harris’ campaign plan.
SEE: Joe Biden’s Answer to the question about Hurricane Helene causes outrage
After what Democrats did to George W. Bush, there will be no “political restraint” on hurricane response. The Biden administration made several mistakes that are worth addressing before voters go to the polls in November. Maybe one day Democrats will learn not to set precedents that harm them. Until then it’s time to continue.
