Poor Performance Breeds Ugly Speculations

     …some of which are looking mighty plausible right now:

     Early voting in North Carolina starts in just days, and Appalachian voters in the western, deep-red stronghold of the state are still desperate for help with basic necessities after destruction wrought by Hurricane Helene. A slow-rolled disaster relief response from federal and state government agencies has many wondering if the Democrats in charge are trying to suppress the votes of the predominantly Trump-supporting region.
     “As rescuing survivors and repairing damage continues in North Carolina, the alarming lack of state-level adjustment regarding the conduct of this year’s election has begun to appear intentional on the part of Democrat Governor Cooper and his allies,” a press release from the Election Transparency Initiative, run by former acting deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Ken Cuccinelli, stated.
     The vast majority of the 28 counties and tribal areas included in the emergency declaration are Republican strongholds, and the voters there can make or break a win for former President Donald Trump in the tight swing state he only carried by about 75,000 votes in 2020.

     As hard as it is to prove why something isn’t happening, you’d think the political players directly responsible for this situation would understand the importance of appearances. North Carolina governor Roy Cooper is a Democrat. His future could hang on what conclusions North Carolinians draw about his misfeasances and nonfeasances in the Hurricane Helene disaster.

     FEMA, of course, is a different subject. The agency lies within the orbit of Homeland Security, whose secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, was already the target of withering fire over the border crisis. Given FEMA’s active, willful obstruction of private relief efforts in the stricken region, Mayorkas had better have prepared a nice retreat in some country with no extradition treaty with the United States.

     Distinguishing malevolence from ineptitude is often impossible… but therein lies the defense most cherished by the malevolent. Dismiss no potential explanation until the votes are in.