I'm honestly not sure if the author was intending to bury the lede and make this look more balanced, or if like a great comedian he was just making sure to truly build up the punchline...

...but for those that read the whole article holy crap did that make the republicans sound like idiots.

"Why are they taking so long to do something!"
"Where is the support? Why has it taken 2 weeks for someone to show up?"
"Where's the government when we need them?"

End of article:
After repeatedly rejecting the governments offers of help, the governor finally accepted support on Thursday. Mr. Regan was there to answer questions and to help coordinate aid within hours.