Virginia Representative Eric Cantor has reversed his position on funding FEMA following Hurricane Irene’s destructive visit last weekend.

“There are no strings attached,” Mr. Cantor claimed.  “We found the money.  It’s the Democratic led Senate that is holding up the legislation that would authorize the funding of FEMA.  The House has already found sufficient savings to provide billions of dollars in disaster relief for victims of Hurricane Irene.”  (Yes, blame the Democrats.)

Now I may be wrong, but those sure do sound like strings to me.  But lets use Mr. Cantor’s own words, and those of his spokesman, to set the stage.

“Yes, we’re going to find the money,” he told Fox News on Monday.  “We’re just going to make sure that there are savings to continue to do so.”  And . . .

“Eric has consistently said that additional funds for federal disaster relief ought to be offset with spending cuts,”  stated Mr. Cantor’s spokesman.  Also . . .

In his most telling statement:
“We will fund the money, if there is a need for additional monies.” said Mr. Cantor.  “Those monies are not unlimited, and what we’ve always said is we offset that which has been funded.”

All this would be well and good if Mr. Cantor was simply a skinflint, or one of the freshman Tea Head Representatives.  But he has been in the house for years, and has a previous record of voting for emergency funding legislation.  In 2004, when Hurricane Gustav whacked his home state of Virginia, he had no problem voting for funding to help in the clean-up, no strings attached.  And further, when George Bush was waging two unfunded wars, and needed money to continue the fight, Mr. Cantor voted again and again to find the money needed.  It seems only now, with a Democrat in the White House, that he has a problem.

Why is it that Mr. Cantor has a problem helping to rebuild America, and thereby helping American citizens, when he has been voting for the last decade to fund the rebuilding of Iraq and Afghanistan to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars?  The answer to that question is easy; he is playing politics.  It’s the same politics that allows him to castigate President Obama for wayward spending while failing to acknowledge the role the previous administration played in the debt debacle.  And this is all directly related to the upcoming 2012 elections.

Mr. Cantor should stop playing politics, stop the double talk, and fund FEMA without strings.  American citizens deserve the same treatment Mr. Cantor has shown to the people of Iraq and Afghanistan, and the people in his home state of Virginia.  No more double standards.  Do the right thing, Mr. Cantor.  My only question is, do you know what is right?

(Some might question my opinion on this subject, as I am a liberal.  But I am neither a Democrat nor Republican, and have voted for both parties.  As an Independent, I vote for the best candidate, as I see it.  My decisions are not clouded by political affiliations.  If Mr. Cantor was a Democrat, I would still be riding him for his inane position.)