The political truce is over.

"The reheated Benghazi "scandal" and other two aimless "scandals" are nothing but political junkie fodder. Neither will end in anything substantial. Collective yawns from the public as the tea party queens flog themselves with their laminated copies of the constitution that they can't read."

~Comment left on Mediaite~

Ouch!

I think we are far enough away from the tragedy in Oklahoma to declare an end to the cease fire when it comes to political s*** talking.

Of course the wingnuts couldn't even wait until the wind stopped swirling to start with their political cheap shots.

"That’s exactly the premise of a tweet that Fox News contributor Erick Erickson sent in the aftermath of the devastation. “I wonder when President Obama will find out about Oklahoma,” ...Erickson went on to scold his critics as humorless and “self-righteous,” even as he tweeted “Confession: I often hesitate to retweet pastors because of the unbridled hate from the hell bound that might then get directed at them.” [Source]

Erickson is a moron and a racist, so his very inappropriate and ill- timed tweet is not all that surprising. 

Bill Bennett, on the other hand, surprised me a bit. I expected a  little more from him. But there he was on his radio show this morning belittling and making fun of the poor people who suffered during Katrina and praising the folks from Oklahoma for their "fighting spirit" and their "patriotic American can- do attitude". [No links, but if I am lying, Bill Bennett is free to try and to sue me.] Bill Bennett, like all those of his ilk, is a sanctimonious dope.

And, as if this wasn't enough,a wingnut politrickster found it necessary to play political games with a national tragedy.

"As of this morning, at least 51 people, including 20 children, are dead in the suburbs of Oklahoma City, following one of the deadliest tornadoes in U.S. history. Rescue teams worked through the night, especially in the devastated city of Moore, and local officials fear the death toll may yet rise significantly. [Update: as of this afternoon, the death toll had been revised down to 24, not 51.]

Ordinarily, so soon after a disaster of this magnitude, discussions about political agendas and ideologies are put on hold, which is why it came as a surprise when one of Oklahoma's U.S. senators staked out a far-right position on federal disaster relief just five hours after the storm hit.

The tornado damage near Oklahoma City is still being assessed and the death toll is expected to rise, but already Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., says he will insist that any federal disaster aid be paid for with cuts elsewhere. 

CQ Roll Call reporter Jennifer Scholtes wrote for CQ.com Monday evening that Coburn said he would "absolutely" demand offsets for any federal aid that Congress provides. 

Coburn added, Scholtes wrote, that it is too early to guess at a damage toll but that he knows for certain he will fight to make sure disaster funding that the federal government contributes is paid for.

I've seen many note overnight that Coburn is at least consistent -- there are plenty of politicians who've balked at disaster-relief funds when there's a devastating storm, only to change their minds when their constituents are among the casualties. Coburn, however, has routinely questioned emergency funding for everyone, and apparently wants to apply the same standards to his own home state.

But while consistently is welcome, it doesn't change the questions about unnecessary callousness.

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For many years, federal disaster relief was effectively automatic -- there was bipartisan support for quickly responding to American communities in their time of need. It was a reflection of who we are as a people -- when disaster strikes, we're there for the people in affected areas, regardless of politics.

But in recent years, many Republican lawmakers have decided to change the standards. Under the new approach, they'll consider emergency resources, but only if Democrats agree to cut a comparable amount from the budget elsewhere. There's no real economic rationale for this, but for much of the right, the ideological rationale is sufficient."' [Source]

Overheard in the Fox newsroom: "Is it safe to talk about Benghazi and the IRS now?" 

Yes wingnut, the truce is over.