When Superstorm Sandy slammed the mid-Atlantic in late October 2012 (just days before the election), leaving 117 Americans dead and tens of billions in property damage, then-New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie worked closely with then-President Obama. Christie spoke with him regularly on the phone, touring the devastated Jersey Shore with him and praising his relief efforts in interviews, leading a Fox News anchor at one point to try to steer him back to talking about Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Christie rebuffed the suggestion.
It was a high point for bipartisan cooperation in the aftermath of a natural disaster, but it also appears to have been its death knell. On Wednesday night, Hurricane Milton made landfall as a Category 3 storm near Siesta Key, Florida. Today, Americans will wake up, survey the damage and try to rebuild — again. But it's worth remembering that the trail of destruction left by Superstorm Sandy appears to have also included the long tradition of bipartisanship after a natural disaster. This is a preview of Ryan Teague Beckwith's latest article. Read the full column here. |
