The latest numbers from Irene put over 4 million Americans without power tonight, stretching from South Carolina to Maine.
Nearly 4.2 million homes and businesses along the U.S. East Coast were without power Sunday evening as Tropical Storm Irene, downgraded from a hurricane as it hit New York early Sunday, continued to wreak havoc on power grids in New England even as the storm weakened, according to reports from power companies.
New York City avoided the extensive damage and power loss that had been feared.
While Irene's visit took less than a day, work to restore power will likely take weeks and cost millions.
Hopefully help will be directed to where it needs to go and fast. But the reality is that the storm has caused billions of damage across the mid-Atlantic and New England, and the Republicans have already signaled that paying for the cleanup will be the next hostage situation they plan to force when Congress is back in session after Labor Day.
Hopefully the Democrats are ready to fight on this.