Many Elected Officials Appear Tone Deaf to Helene's Damage

The lambasting received by President George W. Bush following his response to Hurricane Katrina compared to our own officials' nonchalance over the weekend.

These grandparents would fall to their death in Asheville, NC - with their young grandchild - just after this photo was taken.

Nearly two decades ago, Hurricane Katrina made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane. The storm had first hit Florida as a Category 1 storm but re-entered the warm waters of the Gulf where it slowed, gained strength, and ultimately slammed into New Orleans. As a 400-mile-wide storm, moving only 12 mph, it would impact 4 states, trap approximately 100,000, and ultimately be responsible for the death of 1833 people.

The Perceived Insensitivity of the Response to Hurricane Katrina was a Political Disaster

Not wanting to detract from the rescue operations with a presidential visit, it was decided that former President George W. Bush would survey the damage while aboard Air Force One. In 2005, he had spent most of the month of August at his Texas ranch, leaving two days after Katrina made landfall. Photographers captured his somber assessment of the storm’s destruction.

President George W. Bush viewing the destruction of Hurricane Katrina.

The President’s flyover would be critiqued harshly and frequently as the days and years followed. Deemed by many to be an anemic, uncaring response by an emotionally detached leader, this would later be termed as the “undoing” of President Bush.

How Times Have Changed

Similar to George W. Bush, our nation’s 46th president was also vacationing at home during the time of the current natural disaster. Freshly back from Rehoboth Beach, President Biden announced Monday that he would tour the destruction of Hurricane Helene later this week when his entourage’s travel was less likely to impede rescue efforts.

Vice President Harris’ team did take to Twitter to share that she had been briefed on the unfolding Hurricane Helene tragedy, but otherwise it seems her calendar was largely unaffected by the storm. Harris had a trip to the Mexican border and a meeting with Ukraine’s Zelensky over the weekend.

Former President Donald Trump also kept to campaign events this past weekend but made time to tour the damage in Valdosta, GA on Monday. A partnership with Elon Musk to restore internet to especially hard-hit areas of the Southeast was also announced by Trump’s campaign.

The Optics of Apathetic Politicians in an Hour of Need

Social media was in its infancy at the time of Hurricane Katrina, but now essentially every single public figure has at least one account. Such access affords constituents the opportunity to peek into the priorities of their elected officials in real time - and such can be illuminating.

Many across the Palmetto State have been stone cold silent since Helene made landfall. Others like Speaker Murrell Smith and Speaker Pro Tem Tommy Pope used their platform this weekend to push for adoption of an amendment (both misspelling it “amendement”). To his credit, it appears that Rep Pope decided to offer free lunches for first responders today at his office.

A review of social media accounts, specifically Facebook and Twitter, provides a snapshot of how some officials have been timelier - and more intentional - than others in providing relief in the wake of the storm.

SC Rep Heather Bauer helped orchestrate an air delivery of supplies and then started her Monday morning lobbying for Richland County relief with a hand-delivered letter to Governor McMaster. SC Rep Bill Herbkersman took to social media to find other pilots with personal aircraft willing to deliver relief to hard-hit areas while Senator William Timmons announced he was suspending his campaign in the aftermath of Helene.

SC Rep Matt Leber announced on Monday evening that his fundraiser planned for tonight will now be a free low country boil with live music for the Colleton County community. US Senator Jon Ossoff (Georgia) sent pre-storm warnings via social media, distributed meals and food boxes after the storm, personally surveyed the damage after the storm, and encouraged President Biden to expedite relief for 90 Georgia counties early on Monday.

The Optics of Empathy - or Lack Thereof

If the criticism levied on former President Bush was any indication of how an unenthusiastic response can lead to political suicide, it seems appropriate to consider a similar standard now.

Rahm Emanuel’s philosophy of “you never want a serious crisis to go to waste” has been repeated and ostensibly adopted by many career politicians, but how about in South Carolina?

It is 96 hours After Hurricane Helene. Do You Know Where Your Elected Officials Are?

(Answers included at the end of this post, and you may be surprised!)

1. Which state representative spent his/her time over the weekend campaigning at a parade, even posting a charged Pokémon in a reference to power outages?

   1. Heather Bauer

   2. Jordan Pace

   3. Justin Bamberg

   4. Micah Caskey

   

2. Which elected officials gave out their personal cell numbers on public social media pages with offers to help their friends and followers?

   1. Brandon Guffey and Tommy Pope

   2. Dick Harpootlian and Luke Rankin

   3. Ryan McCabe and Josiah Magnuson

   4. Ronnie Sabb and Katrina Shealy

3. Since Hurricane Helene made landfall, which county saw their SC senator grab a chainsaw to clear a road, visit a nearby Denny’s to express his/her appreciation, and disseminate information on where to find free meals?

   1. Spartanburg

   2. Richland

   3. York

   4. Beaufort

4. Serving as a judge for an AI competition, participating in a “filming,” and setting up a GoFundMe for personal friends were weekend activities for which state representative amidst a historic natural disaster?

   1. Brandon Guffey

   2. Micah Caskey

   3. Thomas Beach

   4. April Cromer

5. Which senator from an area prone to threats of hurricanes used their social media platform over the weekend to share an article featuring himself and tout his father’s ability to grow dahlias?

   1. Brad Hutto

   2. Tom Davis

   3. Greg Hembree

   4. Deon Tedder

      

6. Who enjoyed parents’ weekend at the Citadel where the football game was delayed due to the opponents’ difficulty traveling through the storm?

   1. Chris Murphy

   2. Wes Climer

   3. Melissa Oremus

   4. Jay Kilmartin

7. This SC state representative drove to NC this past weekend, but NOT for recovery efforts, for a Harris/Walz fundraiser. He even took to social media to complain about his lack of sleep, also taking care to plug his own fundraiser.

   1. Todd Rutherford

   2. Bill Herbkersman

   3. Steven Long

   4. J.A. Moore

8. As his constituents were loading up trucks full of bottled water, diapers, and non-perishable food items to send to those in desperate need, ___ took to Facebook to remind them to watch their mailbox for their property tax bill.

   1. Tom Alexander

   2. Ronnie Sabb

   3. Weston Newton

   4. Davey Hiott

9. Which SC representative’s social media presence during Hurricane Helene featured a television clip on the inaccuracy of world maps?

   1. Joe White

   2. Robby Robbins

   3. Russell Ott

   4. Gil Gatch

10. Which public figure posed with a dog, then posted a cat? And on Sunday, while nearly a million or so South Carolinians are still without power to charge their devices, encouraged followers to share their own sunset photos. This person even shared a popular Bible verse for encouragement, Philippians 4:13, though assigned it to a lesser-known Old Testament verse.

    1. Alan Wilson

    2. Pamela Evette

    3. Nancy Mace

    4. Case Brittain

Opportunities Abound in a Crisis

Full disclosure: my own firstborn was at a college where the National Guard was dispatched to evacuate them over the weekend. Such overwhelming feelings of helplessness can often be quelled by the simple conveyance of heartfelt concern.

Yes, indeed, when a crisis “goes to waste,” opportunities to provide refreshment, hope, and comfort are also wasted, and true priorities are revealed. Perhaps Rahm Emanuel’s approach to crisis management has some Biblical basis:

A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. Proverbs 11:25

Facebook sources: JoshKimbrellSC, RyanMcCabeSC, brandonguffey48, ChrisMurphyforstatehouse, TheCitadel, sabbforsenate, gil.gatch, @SenOssoff, MurrellSmithSCHouse, TomDavisSC, OperationH20, repbillherbkersman Twitter sources: @NancyMace, @RepNancyMace, @tommypopeSC, @VP, @VoteTimmons00, @magnusonsc, @JustinBamberg, @TheArena, @TylerDBaileyEsq, @bmbrbauer, @realDonaldTrump, @SenOssoff, @jamooreforsc. Other: Cape Gazette

ANSWERS: (1) c (2) c (3) a (4) a (5) b (6) a (7) d (8) b (9) d (10) c.