I really don’t want to read another article about the so-called Tea Party. When some members of Congress oppose giving money to New York and New Jersey to repair Hurricane Sandy damage because they’re afraid that they’ll have primary challengers from the Tea Party, you know that our federal government is in the toilet. Anyone who follows politics around the country knows that the bulk of the funding for the Tea Party come from billionaires like David Koch who can get their agendas done by using otherwise well-meaning citizens who are all charged up.

So, after shutting down the flow of information from Congress and the White House, what would I like to hear, if anything? I’d like to see daily reports on what our elected officials are doing to help the people whose lives have been destroyed by Sandy. There are still thousands of people out there who have no homes, can’t get their insurance claims paid and are waiting for government aid checks that still haven’t arrived.

Sen. Chuck Schumer and Governor Andrew Cuomo have been reporting from time to time on new dollars coming in, but we need to keep the pressure on all the elected officials in this region to fight for every dollar that is available for storm relief. I can’t say enough kind words about Congressman Peter King, a Republican who is challenging his own party on a daily basis because it has been indifferent to the storm victims. Telling rich Wall Street businessmen to stop giving money to Florida Sen. Marco Rubio’s presidential campaign because he opposed Sandy aid is gutsy and typical of a man who has a real political spine.

As far as I’m concerned, we’re getting too much information from the wrong people, and we need to get more information from the people who count in our daily lives.

Jerry Kremer was a state assemblyman for 23 years, and chaired the Assembly’s Ways and Means Committee for 12 years. He now heads Empire Government Strategies, a business development and legislative strategy firm. Comments about this column? JKremer@liherald.com.