Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid took aim at Republican nominee Mitt Romney on Friday, calling his trip to Louisiana to survey damage as a result of Hurricane Isaac is the "height of hypocrisy."
“Under a Romney-Ryan administration, we would not have been prepared to respond to Hurricane Isaac," Reid said in a statement sent to reporters shortly after Romney's plane landed in New Orleans. "If Paul Ryan and his fellow House Republicans had succeeded in blocking disaster relief last fall, there would have been no aid for the victims of Isaac today. And Paul Ryan’s budget would gut disaster funding, making it much harder to get aid to our fellow Americans in their time of need."
“It is the height of hypocrisy for Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan to make a pretense of showing sympathy for the victims of Hurricane Isaac when their policies would leave those affected by this disaster stranded and on their own," Reid continued.
“This is yet another example of Mitt Romney’s extreme right wing agenda, which asks middle class families to sacrifice in order to protect millionaires and billionaires from paying their fair share.”
According to the Romney campaign, he will meet with Gov. Jindal, as well as first responders to thank them for their work. Romney plans to visit areas impacted the storm in Lafitte, Louisiana.
The Majority Leader has proven to be one of Romney's biggest antagonists on the campaign trail. He made headlines earlier this month when he accused Romney of not paying any taxes, demanding Romney prove the negative that it was not the case by releasing his tax returns. Romney declined, but later told reporters under pressure that he never paid less than 13 percent in federal taxes.
UPDATE: Ryan spokesman Brendan Buck issues a statement calling Reid's comments "sad."
“Paul Ryan believes providing aid to victims of natural disasters is a critical obligation and should be treated as a high priority within a fiscally responsible budget. It's sad that some see these heartbreaking events as opportunities to distort his record and play politics. A Romney-Ryan administration will always ensure that disaster funding is there for those in need. Period.”
