I breathed for a bit before deciding how to respond to Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s latest buffoonery.

Or even whether to.

His insipid heaves are long past so incessantly tedious to become unworthy of comment.

Just Tubs being Tubs, I typically say to myself.

What’s the underbelly of word salad? Alabama’s senior U.S. Senator spews word chum, blood-red bait for the not-so-great white … sharks.

Ignore it. Until I can’t.

Until his utterances become insanely inhumane. Insanely unchristian. Insanely un-American.

Tubs conquered the trifecta on Monday when he said the crestfallen victims of California’s devastating wildfires — those who lost their homes and their businesses, survivors of those who lost their lives — don’t “deserve” federal relief because the state’s voters generally elect Democrats as their public officials.

“They got 40 million people in that state and they voting these imbeciles in office,” he said into a friendly Newsmax mic, “and they continue to do it. And it’s just a very small part of them in that state that’s doing it.”

Very small, like, the majority? Since that’s what it takes to win an election, Tubs. But keep finger-counting.

He offered a caveat, though, saying he wouldn’t mind sending victims, sending Americans “some” money — it came a flimsy but. “Unless they show that they’re gonna change their ways and get back to building dams and stormwater, doing the maintenance with the brush and the trees — everything that everybody else does in the country, and they refuse to do it — they don’t deserve anything, to be honest with you, unless they show us they’re gonna make some changes,” he said.

Let’s not even talk about building dams (which California does plenty of and which have exactly zero to with these fires), stormwater (huh? Is he blaming God?) or “maintenance” with the brush and the trees (See: California’s long-standing vegetation management program).

You should already be used to headlines using this template: “Here’s what Tuberville said about [you name it]; here are the facts.”

There’ll be plenty more.

Comedian Jon Stewart termed Tub’s wailings “psychotic.”

Even fellow Alabama Republican Sen Katie Britt was moved to a rare break from her party buddy — or buddies, I should say, since some congressional Republicans agreed that conditions should be placed on federal aid to California fire victims.

“I think what we need to be doing right now is standing firmly with the people of California,” Britt told Politico’s Jonathan Martin the day after Tuberville did just the opposite, “letting them know they have our prayers, they have our support and that we stand ready to be thoughtful about ways that we can help in making sure that they have the resources they need.”

“America,” she added, “stands with them.”

America. Now there’s a word we’ll have to clutch onto for the next four years. Cling to as a reminder of who we are

Because what Tuberville said was insanely un-American.

We do not weaponize nor politicize aid to our fellow Americans when disaster yanks lives, livelihoods and all they’ve known from beneath their feet. Whether washed away by food or hurricane. Or reduced to ashes by fire.

Imagine if this happened:

In reaction to the $1 million-plus in losses inflicted last year on Florida farmers by hurricanes Debby, Helene, and Milton, according to researchers at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agriculture Sciences, President Biden said, “Which state was that? Florida? With that mean-mugged Republican governor? Nah, they’re on their own.”

The GOP conniption would have reached Olympic proportions.

Justifiably so because painting federal disaster aid red or blue is loathsome. Indeed when a FEMA employee (not a public official) tried it in Florida last year — directing workers to avoid homes with Trump signs in their yard — they were quickly fired.

At the time, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis slammed “the blatant weaponization of government by partisan activists in the federal bureaucracy,” on social media.

Of course, not a peep from DeSantis since Tuberville — and he deserves all this smoke — did the same.

Did what is beneath our humanity.

Did what is betrayal. Betrayal to our foundation. Betrayal of our Constitution.

Betrayal to “We the people…” To our quest toward (some of us hope) a more perfect union.

Betrayal is treasonous to that quest — as quixotic as it may seem right now.

We must not, we cannot get used to that. Nor ignore it.

Let’s be better tomorrow than we are today. My column appears on AL.com, and digital editions of The Birmingham News, Huntsville Times, and Mobile Press-Register. Tell me what you think at [email protected], and follow me at twitter.com/roysj, Instagram @roysj and BlueSky.