New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie reacted angrily to a fight brewing in Washington over whether Hurricane Irene disaster aid may need to be offset by federal spending cuts. “Our people are suffering now, and they need support now. And they [Congress] can all go down there and get back to work and figure out budget cuts later,” the Republican governor told a crowd in the flood-ravaged North Jersey town of Lincoln Park.

I don’t see that it is the federal government’s job to make everyone whole.

There is a role for the federal government during disasters. It seems to me that rebuilding federal roads and bridges and dams is a no brainer. Flying in food and rescuing those that are stranded.

I tend to put more responsibility on the state and local level governments to pay for the rebuilding their infrastructure and caring for their residents. It seems that they could save for and/or borrow sufficiently to rebuild instead of the feds. If you choose to live in N.O. maybe you should pay another $1000 a year for the priviledge of living in a high risk area.

Virginia GOP Gov. Bob McDonnell, breaking with Cantor, on Tuesday suggested that deficit-spending concerns should not be a factor as Congress and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) respond to the hurricane.

“My concern is that we help people in need,” McDonnell said during his monthly radio show. “For the FEMA money that’s going to flow, it’s up to them on how they get it. I don’t think it’s the time to get into that [deficit] debate.”