I do not want a hurricane to hit the Gulf Coast, and I especially do not want New Orleans to take a direct hit from Hurricane Isaac. However, that is now a real possibility. And, if it happens, it is likely to occur on the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s landfall in 2005. The GOP has already had to cancel their schedule for today at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida, but a hurricane hitting New Orleans on Thursday would be the worst possible reminder of their record the last time they controlled the executive branch of our government. If the Obama administration handles any resulting emergencies with competence, the significance will be just that much greater.
Even if New Orleans is spared, the GOP will have to be careful about their tone on Thursday as a Category 2 or greater storm is going to hit somewhere on the Gulf Coast that day. There’s also a possibility that coverage of the last day of the convention will be significantly curtailed, as more focus is placed on the people in need and the storm damage.
A lot of people on the left are reacting to this with a little too much glee. Gloating about the Republicans’ bad fortune is in bad taste and won’t sit well with the storm victims or most impartial observers. Yet, it’s almost irresistible to joke about karma after the right has blamed prior disasters on God’s disapproval of liberals’ moral values. Using that kind of logic, how can the wingnuts fail to see this storm as proof that God hates Mitt Romney?
My advice is to cool it with that kind of talk. It’s just as stupid when we talk like that as when the Republicans do it, and we actually know better. Mocking their bad fortune is also cheering the bad fortune of ordinary folks in the path of the storm.
