Early last year, when House Republicans killed emergency relief for victims of Hurricane Sandy, few were quite as hostile towards the aid package as Rep. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.). The right-wing Arkansan not only railed against the relief, he gave a speech rejecting the very idea of helping communities in New York and New Jersey.
“I don’t think Arkansas needs to be bailing out the Northeast,” Cotton said at the time.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) was publicly disgusted with his party’s antics. The Republican-led House, the governor said, “failed that most basic test of public service, and they did so with callous indifference to the suffering of the people of my state.”
In time, Democrats were able to pass an aid bill over GOP objections, and the issue faded. In an amazing twist, Christie seems to have forgotten the whole mess.
Here’s an awkward endorsement.Gov. Chris Christie’s 19-stop tour in support of Republican candidates took him to Arkansas on Friday morning, where he joined a rally with Representative Tom Cotton, who is hoping to unseat Senator Mark Pryor, a Democrat.Although Mr. Christie is known for flashing his temper, he can also be forgiving, evidently.
Yes, last year, Cotton may have failed the most basic test of public service, and he may have shown callous indifference to the suffering of Christie’s own constituents, but this year the governor has decided Cotton has an “R” after his name — and that’s good enough for him.
Let’s not forget that Christie’s not the only one. After House Republicans blocked post-Sandy disaster relief, Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) was apoplectic, calling his own party’s position “an absolute disgrace.”
At the time, King hinted at a possible party switch, and declared, “[A]nyone from New York or New Jersey who contributes one penny to congressional Republicans is out of their minds.”
This year, King not only endorsed Cotton — the one who didn’t want Arkansas to bail out the Northeast — King also cut him a four-figure check, unsolicited.
All politics is local? Apparently not all politics.
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Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."