GOP drowns us all, Brunswick Beacon

Brunswick Beacon, 07.24.25

Ronald Reagan seduced Republicans with this siren song: “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’ ” He systematically slashed government programs. He stripped Food Stamps from 1,000,000 Americans. He cut Social Security by raising the retirement age and, for the first time, taxing benefits. He threw 600,000 Americans off Medicaid, causing hospitals and community health centers to close.

Reagan urged Grover Norquist to launch “Americans for Tax Reform” to spur further cuts. Norquist dreamed of making government so small he could “drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub.”

Norquist’s dream came true in Texas, where floods drowned 134 people, with 101 still missing. People died because federal, state and local Republicans succumbed to Reagan’s siren song of crippling government.

Trump cut 600 National Weather Service staffers, including Texas’ regional warning coordination meteorologist, responsible for developing flood plans, warning residents and helping them evacuate.

Trump and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem pledged “to eliminate FEMA,” drastically degrading emergency responsiveness. Noem forced FEMA to get her approval for all spending over $100,000. That delayed search-and-rescue efforts and left two-thirds of calls to FEMA’s emergency line unanswered during the crucial 72 hours when rescuers could have saved lives. Ironically, first responders from Mexico arrived within hours.

Kerr County is in Texas’ ”Flash Flood Alley.” County officials asked the state for $1 million for flood warning sirens. Texas’ Republican-controlled state government turned a deaf ear.

In 2021, Kerr County received $10.2 million from Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act. Local Republicans spent it on everything but flood warning sirens, so children died needlessly when just a few minutes’ warning could have saved them.

Trump said, “Only an evil person would ask” why warning sirens weren’t installed. He called the tragedy “just something that happens,” adding another shameful chorus to Republicans’ siren song of “every man for himself.”

Nancy Briganti

Carolina Shores