One hears constant backslapping and self-congratulations about 'heartland values'; however, when the rubber meets the road these vaunted values are often as hollow as the people who boast about them.
Take the example of Missouri House Speaker Steve Tilley, who was caught on camera giggling, chuckling, snorting and joking about a town that may well be at a crisis stage by this weekend.
The southern Illinois town of Cairo sits at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Heavy rains have brought the rivers to dangerous levels and they're expected to crest on Sunday, possibly bringing what have been called 'historic' floods to the town. A voluntary evacuation of Cairo began this week; if the situation becomes critical the evacuation order may become mandatory.
The Army Corps of Engineers has proposed blowing a levee in SE Missouri in order to relieve the pressure on these rivers. Doing so would flood about 130,000 acres of largely unpopulated farmland in Missouri, and naturally Missouri governor Jay Nixon has opposed this plan. Missouri has filed suit to stop the Corps from blowing the levee; Illinois and Kentucky are fighting the suit.
The state of Missouri asked a federal judge Thursday to block the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from blowing a 2,000-foot hole in a levee that would flood rich Missouri farmlands in a bid to ease near-record flood levels at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers.
Maj. Gen. Michael Walsh, president of the Mississippi River Commission, expects to decide no sooner than this weekend whether to blow up the levee just downstream from Cairo, Ill. That would divert some floodwater into a channel 35 miles long and as much as 12 miles wide known as the Birds Point-New Madrid Floodway.
I would expect Missouri to fight to protect their farmers. What I wouldn't expect is the Speaker of the Missouri House to find the situation in Cairo so hilarious.
When the Missouri House Speaker was asked about the levee situation, he discussed it for a moment and then took another question from a reporter. This was his charming banter:
"Would you rather have Missouri farmland flooded or Cairo underwater?" asked the reporter.
Tilley immediately answers, "Cairo. I’ve been there. Trust me. Cairo.”
He then continues, “Have you been to Cairo? OK, then you know what I’m saying then.”
I'll just add this from the HuffPo article on the situation:
Cairo, Illinois (pronounced KAY-roh) was at the turn of the 20th century a bustling trade center. The 2,800-person town is now largely abandoned, two-thirds African-American, and deeply impoverished: nearly 50 percent of children under the age of 18 in Cairo live below the poverty level.
So, Steve Tilly: Wink, wink, you know what I'm sayin' then...such good, Christian heartland values!
After whining about 'threats' he's received, Tilley issued an apology:
Tilley, R-Perryville, has since received threats in response to the comment, and even had a Capitol security guard stationed outside of his office door today as an added precaution.
Responding to the firestorm over his words, Tilley issued a prepared apology.
"In a recent interview I was asked about a proposal that would blow up a dam in Missouri and impact Mississippi County and Cairo Illinois. As the Speaker of the Missouri House I came to the defense of Missouri, but in doing so I said some inappropriate and hurtful comments about the community of Cairo," the statement read. "I first want to apologize for my insensitive remark and personally apologize to anyone that I offended."
The statement added, "My commitment to the residents and farmers of southeast Missouri should not have led me to insult another community and for that I am sincerely regretful."
Yes, his prepared statement was appropriate. But how he really felt is in the video.Updated by Dem Beans at Fri Apr 29, 2011 at 11:32 AM CDT
Quick Update: A Federal judge has just given the Army Corps of Engineers permission to blow the levee in Missouri. Good news for Cairo!