Representative Lauren Boebert (R-CO) is not the brightest member of the United States House of Representatives – though, admittedly, that can be a low bar.
At times, she has misspoken to the point of being nonsensical.
At other points during her controversial career in politics, the Colorado Republican has abused her office and done more harm than good for the Republican Party.
Yet, every once in a while, Boebert hits the mark.
When it comes to her recent criticism of President Joe Biden over his mishandling of the devastating wildfires in Maui, Boebert’s criticism is fair.
Joe Biden is a Part-Time President
Recently, Lauren Boebert took to her favorite social media app, X (formerly Twitter), to attack the forty-sixth president for his apparent lack of concern for the horrific wildfires plaguing America’s fiftieth state.
On X, Boebert criticized Biden by reminding her large audience that the forty-sixth president was yet again vacationing in Rehoboth Beach, Del., while Maui was burning.
Thus far, 3,000 homes have been destroyed in the wildfire, with around 80 people (at the time of her post) killed by the natural disaster.
The death toll has unfortunately climbed since then.
Immediately, the Left took to X to denounce Lauren Boebert and refute her criticism of Biden.
Some argued that Biden was going to give whatever aid the government of Hawaii needed, while still others mocked Boebert by reminding her that Joe Biden wasn’t a firefighter and his appearance on the island would be more disruptive at this time than it would help.
Judging from President Biden’s daily schedule over the last few years, I’d dare say that he’s not really much of a president either—considering that he works about 30 hours a week. At best, that makes Biden a part-time POTUS.
I digress.
What’s Good for the Goose, is Good for the Gander
Where was this sympathy and understanding for former President Donald J. Trump during what many people believed was his botched response to the devastation that Hurricane Maria caused in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico in 2017?
Many of the same voices rushing to defend Biden for not appearing more concerned; for not acting as the nation’s consoler-in-chief during this dark time, are the same people who were ripping Trump for his purported insufficient response to the horrible hurricane that befell Puerto Rico.
In fact, the Left crafted a ridiculous explanation for why Trump was supposedly slow to respond to that crisis.
Their story – which was itself based on a grotesque smear about the forty-fifth president – was predicated on the belief that Trump hated Latinos and was withholding vital aid to the stricken island because of his inherent racism.
By the way, this belief persists among Democrats today whenever the subject of Hurricane Maria’s response comes up.
After all, in the Left’s meta-narrative of Donald Trump’s presidency, he was an unrepentant white supremacist who was keen to use state power against his racial and class enemies within the United States as well as against his political foes on the Left.
This couldn’t have been farther from the truth. But the Left’s narrative stuck.
I think it’s safe to say that most Americans implicitly live by the belief that what’s good for the goose, is good for the gander. If the Democrats want to fabricate ridiculous claims about a political opponent in the White House, then the Republicans have every right to do the same.
Because, just as the facts surrounding the Biden Administration’s response to the wildfires in Hawaii are not necessarily in comportment with the claims of Rep. Lauren Boebert, so too were the facts about the Trump Administration’s response to Hurricane Maria not in alignment with the accusations made by the Left.
For example, the Democrats claimed that the Trump Administration withheld or delayed aid to Puerto Rico. The fact is that the Puerto Rican government did not initially think they would need the kind of resources they ultimately asked for because few believed that Hurricane Maria was going to be as devastating as it was (this tends to happen frequently with natural disasters).
Plus, there was an issue in getting the aid to Puerto Rico through no fault of the Trump Administration. As a territory rather than a full-fledged state, there are certain legal hurdles that must be crossed before aid can be given.
Ultimately, however, the Trump Administration was able to provide the full amount of assistance – upwards of $26 billion – to the stricken island. But not before the Left eviscerated the Trump Administration’s response – despite full aid as well as a famous presidential visit to the island having been rendered.
Democrats didn’t care about being fair or gracious to the Republican president, at the time.
Why should the Republicans feel obligated to do for the Left that which they refused to do for the Right?
Frankly, Lauren Boebert and the Republicans aren’t going far enough in their criticisms of Biden. After all, he should have been impeached months ago.
A 19FortyFive Senior Editor, Brandon J. Weichert is a former Congressional staffer and geopolitical analyst who is a contributor at The Washington Times, as well as at American Greatness and the Asia Times. He is the author of Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower (Republic Book Publishers), Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life (Encounter Books), and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy (July 23). Weichert can be followed via Twitter @WeTheBrandon.
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