The tornado that tore through Kentucky, leaving 64 dead and more than 100 missing, is a disaster that will require significant emergency aid. Federal emergency assistance is already on the way, but the needs of a state that saw whole areas virtually flattened will go beyond the immediate. Votes for that aid can be expected from congressional Democrats, because congressional Democrats reliably vote to fund recovery efforts from areas battered by natural disasters. Votes for the aid can also be expected from Kentucky Republicans who don’t extend the same courtesy when other states are hit.

President Joe Biden has already announced an emergency and is sending immediate federal assistance after Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, asked for such a declaration, backed by Kentucky’s entire congressional delegation. That delegation includes Republican Sen. Rand Paul and Rep. Thomas Massie, both of whom have long histories of objecting to funding after other natural disasters.

Paul’s votes against disaster relief bills include opposing funding for recovery from Hurricane Sandy, which struck in 2012; Hurricane Harvey in 2017; Hurricane Maria in 2017; and a 2019 bill including aid for multiple disasters.

This time? Well … “The Governor of the Commonwealth has requested federal assistance this morning, and certainly further requests will be coming as the situation is assessed,” Paul wrote in a letter to Biden. “I fully support those requests and ask that you move expeditiously to approve the appropriate resources for our state.” 

Massie also opposed that 2019 bill providing funding for multiple natural disasters. In fact, he blocked it from passing by unanimous consent. And, yes, he opposed funding for Sandy—which, he said, “recklessly increases the national debt”—and Harvey and Maria. But it has always been a different story when it comes to Kentucky, as the Courier-Journal detailed in 2019.

In July 2015, Massie’s signature was on a letter asking then-President Barack Obama for aid to counties hit by storms, which ”are confronting a number of significant economic challenges, and the need among many of these citizens is great.” In April 2018, another set of storms “causing extensive damage exceeding the ability of the state government and localities to effectively respond” left Kentucky in need of aid, according to a letter to Donald Trump signed by Massie, Paul, and the rest of the state’s congressional delegation.

Look, hypocrisy is nothing Republicans are ashamed of. People like Massie and Paul will never hesitate to act all pious about their opposition to disaster relief for other people while demanding that their state get everything it needs. But everyone else should be clear that this hypocrisy speaks to their basic truthfulness on other issues. These are people who are telling us, loud and clear, that they are in it for themselves and that nothing they say should ever be believed, because it will always be tailored to fit their political needs in that moment. We should listen to them on that—which means not listening to the words they spew to justify their actions.