Dozens of deaths have been tied to last week’s ice storm in Texas, and experts expect the death toll to go much higher.
And while it may take weeks before we know just how high, that didn’t stop Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., from mocking the Republican-run state, as he used the frigid winter storm to push climate change, exploiting the deaths to say he hoped Texas “learned a lesson.”
“The bottom line is, Texas thought it could go it alone and built a system that ignored climate change,” the Democratic leader said at a Sunday news conference.
“It was not what’s called resilient, and now Texas is paying the price,” Schumer added. “I hope they learned a lesson.”
The New York Post reported that Texas is the only state in the continental U.S. “to run its own stand-alone electricity grid and had not been forced to weatherize because it is not subject to federal oversight.”
.@SenSchumer: “The bottom line is, Texas thought it could go at it alone and built a system that ignored climate change.” pic.twitter.com/FVTZExYsZo
— The Hill (@thehill) February 21, 2021
“When we build power — when we build anything now — we have to take into account that climate change is real,” Schumer said. “Or people will have to be caught, the way the people in Texas were.”
“When I wrote the [Hurricane] Sandy bill, $60 billion for New York, we made sure everything was resilient,” he added. “When they built back the subways, built back this, built back that, they were going to be resistant to climate changes, and we have to do that.”
At no point did Schumer appear to offer any condolences for those who died, or sympathy for what Texas residents were forced to endure last week, going days without power in freezing temperatures that included unprecedented icing, as he politicized the tragedy.
Schumer was asked by a reporter about Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, being caught up in the controversy over going to Cancun, Mexico, amid last week’s storm.
“Ted Cruz is getting overwhelming criticism from Democrats and Republicans, and it is well-deserved,” the Senate leader said.
Schumer was not wearing a mask during the briefing and at one point coughed long and hard into an open hand — this garnering little attention from the media.
Here’s a quick sampling of responses to the story from Twitter:
Umm…Chuckles…here in NY we lost power for up two weeks after Tropical Storm Isais, Hurricane Sandy and Hurricane Irene. Stop politicizing the weather. It happens. I’m sure you didn’t slam your own state then.
— Jordan Hirsch (@JDTrader64) February 21, 2021
Wait a minute..then why do they have windmills in the first place. I think the windmills & solar panels are the problem. That’s what isnt working.
— Bear (@3Bear2021) February 21, 2021
I’m confused. Is he talking about global warming or global cooling?
— David Terrie (@dlterrie) February 21, 2021
And I might add if you haven’t noticed the ICE AGE that turned to GLOBAL WARMING is now all encompassing to fit the narrative depending on the location and situation “CLIMATE CHANGE” – comical that it’s a shock (NOT) bad ice / snow storm in the South would create huge problems
— dad_coach (@dad_jeff) February 21, 2021
Chuck should concentrate on keeping his own house in order. We notice he has not had much to say about NY and keeping his people
safe. Texas going 100 % green would have been a disaster. Chuck, however is not a fact based kind of guy.— John A. Buxton (@arttrak) February 22, 2021
With all due respect to @SenSchumer, this is horrible timing. As the saying goes, you don’t kick somebody when they’re down; and Texans have suffered as it is.
— Nicole (Nitzchiah b’ Avigdor) Czarnecki, UMBC ‘13 (@Nickidewbear) February 21, 2021
Chuck, now do Cuomo putting infected Covid patients with our most vulnerable, killing thousands
— Peter Zabroski (@PZabroski) February 22, 2021
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The longest-tenured writer at BizPac Review, Tom grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills.
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