The Mountaineer — a newspaper in North Carolina — published a scathing take-down of Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) this weekend, condemning the first-term Congressman for his initially non-existent response to devastating flooding in his home region. The title for the piece, which was written by a local advocate named Callie Pruett, refers to Cawthorn’s relative inaction as an “unforgivable dereliction of duty.” In short, the piece explains, as flood waters raged through communities that Cawthorn is supposed to be representing, the Congressman’s social media accounts were focused on worn out Republican talking points, and for some time, Cawthorn offered no additional public statements supporting local communities.
As the article puts it:
‘In a 24-hour span from Tuesday into Wednesday, Western North Carolina experienced flood destruction on a level not witnessed for 17 years. Yet, as the floodwaters rose with fury — destroying homes and businesses in their path — and finally receded in the late morning hours of Wednesday, Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC-11) released no statement, no list of resources or shelters for constituents, and not a single tweet in support of the thousands in WNC residents suffering from the flood.’
So where was he? Well, as mentioned, Cawthorn’s social media feeds were focused on pushing Republican talking points, including a reference to the “wall” put up at the southern border by Donald Trump. (In reality, much of the so-called “wall” consists of replacements for old physical barriers.) Pruett shares that on early Wednesday, “more than a day after floodwaters began to rise, staffers were still scrambling to respond to basic questions, apparently surprised by the onslaught of calls from constituents” — which is just disgraceful. According to Pruett, a Cawthorn staffer said that his Twitter account is run by staff members but with every tweet seen and approved by the Congressman, so the tone deaf nonsense posted during the flooding wasn’t some kind of accident.
Eventually, Cawthorn appeared at a press conference early Wednesday afternoon “committing to getting state and federal funds to help the communities,” Pruett says — but this show of support came long after the devastating flooding had actually gotten underway. “Cawthorn’s first public comments on the matter were around 24 hours after the Pigeon River reached initial flood levels, followed by retweets of hours-old resources from other public organizations working on the crisis,” Pruett adds. He’s disgracefully inept.
Pruett concluded by slamming Cawthorn over his “quest for stardom.” As she put it:
‘Despite what he might think, amidst his endless quest for national headlines, Cawthorn remains our voice in Washington, and his office, a vital lifeline for Haywood County residents in need. We deserve a voice that actually cares about us rather than his own celebrity — a representative who can put down a partisan quest for stardom when our community is in crisis.’
Read the full article going against Cawthorn at this link.
