Was the lack of FEMA aid to Dane county "political"?

[undeterred]

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/10/24/after_tornado_wis_counties_take_new_hit/

PLEASANT SPRINGS, Wis. -- A month and a half after a tornado barreled through Herm Tiedeman's farm, the twister's mark remains stark: fields of wiped-out crops, a woodpile of downed trees, and century-old buildings that are no more. Across the street are empty lots where houses blew off from their foundations, while other homes crumpled.

But after the Federal Emergency Management Agency last month declined to declare Dane County, which sustained more than $33 million in damage, and two other counties disaster areas, many residents say FEMA's rejection caused as much pain as the tornado. Tiedeman and his neighbors will be unable to take advantage of low-interest loans made available to victims of other disasters, and local taxpayers will largely have to fund municipal repairs.

Of the two other counties, Richland had damage at $4.4 million and Vernon at $800,000, bringing the statewide total damage to nearly $40 million. The federal refusal adds insult to injury because of the vast effort being made to help rebuild the Gulf Coast.

'I'm sorry we didn't have contaminated water, alligators under every board that are going to bite your head off, and poisonous snakes," said Tiedeman, who had insurance for the cleanup, but not for the $75,000 it will cost to rebuild. ''We've got to get help somehow."