Nick Coleman, John Murtha & Phyllis Kahn
People are probably, and rightly, wondering what this trio of nincompoops have in common. Here’s what they have in common:
Nick Coleman insists that Gov. Pawlenty’s vetoing the gas tax bill wouldn’t have prevented the I-35W bridge collapse but also insists on blaming. Gov. Pawlenty anyway:
For half a dozen years, the motto of state government and particularly that of Gov. Tim Pawlenty has been No New Taxes. It’s been popular with a lot of voters and it has mostly prevailed. So much so that Pawlenty vetoed a 5-cent gas tax increase, the first in 20 years, last spring and millions were lost that might have gone to road repair. And yes, it would have fallen even if the gas tax had gone through, because we are years behind a dangerous curve when it comes to the replacement of infrastructure that everyone but wingnuts in coonskin caps agree is one of the basic duties of government.
There’s a couple things worth noting that are missing from Coleman’s column. One of those things is that the gas tax bill wouldn’t have collected a nickel until the day the bridge collapsed. Another thing that Coleman won’t talk about is the fact that there’s language in the bill that would allow much of the money to be diverted to LRT. In other words, the DFL’s pet project potentially could’ve taken funding away from I-35W repairs.
I also recall hearing the DFL talking about needing to add new lanes to relieve congestion. I don’t recall hearing a word from them about fixing bridges. Before anyone says a word about what the GOP did or didn’t say, let’s remember that the DFL essentially rendered them irrelevant. They treated the GOP like second class citizens from the opening gavel to the final chaotic moments of the session.
Let’s also talk about the role Washington porkmeisters like John Murtha, Robert Byrd, Bill Young, Ted Stevens and David Obey played in all of this. Murtha alone directed $150 million of taxpayers’ dollars to his district. Bill Young accounted for another $117 million of funds for his district. I can’t imagine Byrd and Stevens are far behind in this category.
David Obey deserves a special mention for his efforts to keep earmarks out of the main bills until he could put them into the conference report. Nancy Pelosi promised that this would be the most transparent Congress in history. That’s a nice soundbite but it doesn’t have anything to do with reality.
They called for greater integrity in Washington, and Democrats pledge to make this the most honest, ethical, and open Congress in history.
Instead, Democrats have failed miserably on all counts. They’ve been dishonest. They’ve been unethical. They’ve been secretive.
The fight was over a simple issue: whether taxpayers can find out in advance how Congress plans to spend their money.
The fight was necessary because Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D–WI) had announced that he would decide how billions of dollars would be spent on special projects, but not until after the House of Representatives approved each of 12 spending bills. The money to finance those projects was being included in those bills, tucked into what were derided as “secret slush funds.”
In other words, the money that Nick Coleman said should’ve come from a gas tax increase should’ve been taken from these porkmeisters’ slush funds.
Which brings me to Phyllis Kahn. Phyllis Kahn is the local version of corrupt Minnesota liberals. This winter, Ms. Phyllis submitted tons of bills aimed at paying back her political allies. Ms. Phyllis was a serial wasteful spending bill submitter. She got multiple mentions each week during King’s and Michael’s shows for submitting bills that wasted taxpayers’ money in ways that drunken sailors wouldn’t have thought possible.
In other words, the wasteful spending that these politicians passed would amount to enough money to fix a significant amount of the bridges that received “structurally deficient” ratings this past year. That’s why Nick Coleman’s diatribe should be an insult to thoughtful Minnesotans. His bombastic diatribe is a distraction from the real source of the problem.
It’s long past time we held government accountable for the spending decisions they’ve made. It’s time we held Nancy Pelosi, John Murtha, David Obey and the Democratic House majority accountable for their reckless spending habits and their attempts to hide their addiction from the American people.
Only then can we hope to return to responsible government that puts a higher priority on keeping our infrastructure safe.
Technorati Tags: Nick Coleman, John Murtha, Phyllis Kahn, David Obey, Earmarks, Agenda Media
Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog
August 4th, 2007 at 3:46 pm
” Another thing that Coleman won’t talk about is the fact that there’s language in the bill that would allow much of the money to be diverted to LRT. In other words, the DFL’s pet project potentially could’ve taken funding away from I-35W repairs.”
Gee doesnt this have a familiar ring. Didn’t the citizens of California pass (how many now) bond issues for highways, only to the have nut cases in the Sacramento asuylum for the hopeless, steal those funds for Mass transit because that was ‘the solution to traffic and highway gridlock’?
I all honesty, like to ride the train , but come on! Theres a way to fund them too without being going behind our back!
August 4th, 2007 at 5:12 pm
Such politics is a win-win for the donkeys. When they insert hidden pork into bills they pay off the payola. When a catastrophe happens, they get to blame whatever elephant (the prez, the guv’nor, the former guv’nor, etc.) because HE didn’t pay for whatever would have prevented the catastrophe. And we, the people, are dumb enough to forget it’s the legislatures that set funding!
Now, the feds aren’t blameless in the Katrina aftermath, but wasn’t it local and state donkeys who diverted dike repair funds for decades? But who cares? It had to be GW’s fault the dikes failed!
Lying illegitimates. And vipers.
August 4th, 2007 at 6:56 pm
Aye, and Bush should have let Laura’s visit be enough. By going down there today, all he did was feed the notion among the ignorant and dim witted, that he’s responsible for every dang catastrophy that happens, whether natural, man made or otherwise.
Its getting so everytime theres a thunderstorm somebody has to get the White House on the horn ASAP. Dammit its his fault, and I want my Federal money!
August 5th, 2007 at 12:43 am
T.A., with all due respect, this wasn’t just a minor incident. This was a major catastrophe. The only thing that prevented it from being an historic catastrophe was that the people who were rescued by first responders turned into the first responders’ helpers. If they didn’t help like that, the death count would be significantly higher.
August 5th, 2007 at 4:20 am
The one thing about government officials is they sure tell a good story. Same thing with business officials, they tell really good jokes all the time. I’ve never heard anything more hilarious then a good CSPAN session.
Cheers
May 13th, 2011 at 5:45 am
Thanks for the article. I have usually seen that the majority of people are desirous to lose weight as they wish to appear slim in addition to looking attractive. Even so, they do not often realize that there are other benefits for losing weight in addition. Doctors assert that obese people have problems with a variety of ailments that can be instantly attributed to their particular excess weight. Fortunately that people that are overweight and also suffering from diverse diseases can help to eliminate the severity of their illnesses by means of losing weight. You’ll be able to see a gradual but notable improvement with health as soon as even a moderate amount of weight loss is accomplished gywl512.