These people.
House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell both issued statements in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing that hit the expected and appropriate notes: "we are all thinking of and praying for the families and loved ones of those affected by this horrific incident," "we will carry on in the American spirit." And something else.
McConnell:
Sen. McConnell spoke to the president this afternoon about the explosions in Boston and continues to monitor the situation. As always, he was moved by the quick action of first responders and volunteers who rushed to aid the injured even before the area had been secured.
Boehner:
We also give thanks for the professionals and Good Samaritans who prevented further loss of life.
That recognition that first responders risk themselves and save lives is everywhere in the first days after a disaster or attack. You find out who means it later, when it's time to vote on funding for fire fighters and EMTs and police, time to determine whether they'll be paid enough to support their families and retire in basic comfort. By that standard, we already know about Boehner and McConnell.
The thing is, to have the first responders who will be trained and ready in the kind of big emergency that puts their work on a national stage, we need to have them all the time. Fire fighters may spend a lot of time sitting around the fire station with little to do, but when a major fire breaks out, or an arsonist goes from home to home lighting them on fire, we're all damn glad the system works that way and they are ready and waiting. The same goes, in different ways, for police and EMTs. And it is that training and readiness and experience that are hit by budget cuts to public safety and by attacks on the professionalism and livelihoods of those people—the attacks that Boehner and McConnell's party has made such a priority in recent years.