Too bad there wasn’t a Republican Convention in 2005. Unfortunately, hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast when it wasn’t politically convenient for the Republicans governing the country to, frankly, give a damn.

John McCain, who is exploiting hurricane Gustav to try to appear “post-partisan,” did everything in his power to NOT help the Gulf Coast after Katrina.

As Bob Geiger shows from his impressive research into the official Senate record, McCain voted against at least two separate bills and amendments that would have provided relief and improved hurricane defenses after Katrina.

Why would McCain vote against helping the victims of Katrina? Because his party told him to. These bills were defeated on straight party line votes. McCain was voting in lock-step with Bush and the rest of his “Republican first” friends in the Senate.

But now McCain is all about “country first,” to the point where he’s considering standing in the flood zone when accepting the Republican Party’s nomination for President. So, McCain and his entourage of about 100 would elbow their way past the National Guard and other first responders for a great photo op at the Republican Convention. Yeah, way to put “Country First.”