Conrad deFiebre has an interesting analysis of the 1st CD Republican primary up on Minnesota 2020 today.
State Sen. Dick Day and Rep. Randy Demmer are rivals for the Republican nomination for southeastern Minnesota’s seat in the U.S. House next year. They’re also fighting it out for a less desirable distinction: the state legislator with the most unsafe bridges in his district and the sternest opposition to funding that could fix them.
Day’s constituents around Owatonna have to put up with five highway bridges rated structurally deficient and eight more listed as functionally obsolete. Demmer’s House district around Hayfield and Rochester has three structurally deficient bridges.
Both voted no on bipartisan transportation funding bills in 2005 and 2007, and their opposition helped sustain Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s vetoes of the measures after they passed the Legislature. For good measure, Demmer voted against a state bonding bill this year ‚ also vetoed by Pawlenty ‚ that would have appropriated $30 million for deficient local bridges.
Demmer and Day were the among the standouts in a new analysis of public bridge data by legislative districts and their elected officials’ votes, released Wednesday by the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy.
Decisions have consequences. Day, Demmer and Pawlenty (along with the many others who have opposed transportation investments) are responsible for the hundreds of bridges across Minnesota in disrepair. They should be held accountable for their decisions.
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Welcome back Zack. Your title is Accountability.
BROOM4SENATE AND JEFF FISHER ARE ABOUT TO HAVE ONE BIG ACCOUNTABILITY PARTY FOR DICK CHENEY.
ATTN EVERYBODY:
Jeff Fisher is a close friend of Al Gore’s and the Secret Service.
GOOGLE JEFF FISHER PAUL WELLSTONE IMMEDIATELY.
hmmm…. since Jeff is Al Gore’s best friend and Jeff is about to be my best friend, Maybe Al Gore will help out the Broom 08 campaign with a global warming presentation at the State Fair for me, this year or next.
IF YOU THINK I MAKE BOLD STATEMENTS, GOOGLE JEFF FISHER PAUL WELLSTONE NOW.
Hush Mark and David don’t you cry Senator Broom will expose these murdering bastards and bring them on by.
I can find no other words for the first two replies other than “batshit crazy”. Seek help.
About the topic: Day did come out in favor of a gas tax increase a couple of years ago, but he failed to follow through when his district needed him. Highway 14 is, quite frankly, a deathtrap and a disgrace.
The fact that rural populations would both want more state road funding, they are most dependent on them, and at the same time not want to raise the gas tax, they are likely to make less money and have further to drive, should not come as a surprise. Why the area’s representatives not mirror their constituents?
Most of the population wants to be provided with services and have somebody else pay some or all of the costs. Either another demographic, tax bracket or generation.
A gas tax for road funding is a good way around this seemingly hardwired human tendency if we can pass it. Maybe we could even appropriate funds based on where the tax was collected.
I’m also curious what makes a “death trap”? It has been a while, but I drove that many times in my youth and I’m not sure how it was any more or less dangerous than any other two lane highway.
Still demagoguing the issue of transportation funding, eh? “Accountability”? No. Shameless? Yes.
Oh, and Eric, those “batshit crazy” people, the ones who find conspiracies in Wellstone’s death and Bush and 9/11, are a significant part of your base. You can run, but you can’t hide from them. Don’t worry, though, the public will get to know them real well in a year.
The road is in terrible shape.
http://www.ushighway14.com/HWY14rpt01-2004.pdf
http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/200204/08_mulcahym_gettingthere/druley.shtml
Of course no one wants to pay taxes. Of course people want everything for nothing. But we all know that isn’t politically realistic.
Wtm, they’re a much smaller part of the left base than the crazy ass religious idiots are of yours. A nutjob is a nutjob is a nutjob. You happen to have more of them, though.
Eric,
On the contrary. It is the only thing that is politically realistic. Accountability for a politician is a sure ticket back to private life no matter to which party they belong.
You guys don’t think I can appreciate the insanity of my situation but yet sanity of it? I would find it hard to believe if I wasn’t living it myself.
Am I a left wing nut? No. Do I ramble on about JKF or 9/11 No.
I am no different than any of you we are are human beings.
It could of been anyone of your brothers, sisters, mothers, or fathers on that flight that crashed, and at that point all of you people who are HATERS could not thank me enough.
HMM….PATRIOT 1280 STARTING AT 630PM YOU SAY???
…and when I do eventually see Michael Moore it will fun for all.
…and until Sean Broom issue’s an apology to the Broom 08 campaign I thank everyone that has not responded to his posts, keep up the good work
A Republican nutjob is redundent.
Zack I think I’ll leave you guys in peace for a week or so, Keep up the good work.
….and remember NO ONE RESPOND TO SEAN BROOM POSTS UNTIL AN APOLOGY IS ISSUED.
….AND SWIFTEE, DID AL FRANKEN EVER RETURN THAT MONEY THAT HE STOLE FROM THE CHILDREN YET?
MAYBE MIKE CIRESI’S FIRM COULD DO SOME PRO-BONO WORK FOR YOU SWIFTEE AND LOOK INTO ALL THE DETAILS OF THAT DEAL.
wtm, Explain to me why Craig needs to resign but Vitter doesn’t. Explain to me why there seems to be a preponderance of GOP’ers that seek out inappropriate sexual activities. Does GOP now stand for “Grab Our Penis” or “Gross Old Perverts” or maybe “Gay Only, Please” or “Get Oily Pally”?
Both Rand Demmer and Dick Day sre going to find it difficult to look voters in the eye as they ask them for their support as they supported Tim Palenty’s veto of the Transportation Bills in 2005 and 2007.
Neither of these men are fit to serve at the National Level. Were they in the mud with their constituents when the floods hit? Are there photos of them talking with those affected, assessing the damage done by the rains?? Makes me wonder if they really care about those who lost everything in a matter of hours.
kathy,
How many of Walz’ and Oberstar’s pork barrel earmarks had to do with bridges? None. They aren’t fit to serve.
Zack,
You said:
Decisions have consequences. Day, Demmer and Pawlenty (along with the many others who have opposed transportation investments) are responsible for the hundreds of bridges across Minnesota in disrepair. They should be held accountable for their decisions.
Does that include Steve Murphy who opposed Day’s $1.7 billion package for transportation last year? Funny deFibre doesn’t mention that fact. Is this the same Conrad deFibre who did political reporting for the Star Tribune? No wonder Minnesotans believe the paper is a wholly owned subsidiary of the DFL.
Chris!!
Tim Walz was one of the few members of Congress who actually published publically his “porkbarrel earmarks” for the 1st CD. Here are some of them and what would you oppose??? Doesn’t mean that all of these will get funding, but at least he thought out the list carefully by asking constituents what is needed. Sure enough, Bridges will get put on the list.
-Highway 14. Upgrades in Waseca, Blue Earth and Nicollet counties.
-— Trunk Highway 169. Reconstruction in Faribault and Nicollet counties.
-— Trunk Highway 4. Pavement reconstruction in St. James.
— Trunk Highway 15/Johnson Street intersection in Fairmont. Funding would support a study on ways to control a hazardous intersection in Fairmont.
— Highway 60 expansion to four lanes in Nobles County.
— Road Sign Replacement Program in Watonwan and Houston counties
— Center for Applied Biofuel Research at Minnesota State University. Funds would support research into renewable energy.
— Center for Renewable Energy at Minnesota State University. This funding would support ongoing research into cellulosic ethanol, biodiesel and other renewable forms of energy.
— Minnesota National Guard Field Maintenance Facility in Mankato. Funds would support the design of a maintenance facility to support the training of Minnesota’s National Guard.
— Watonwan County Emergency Services. Funds would support an upgrade of the county’s emergency operations center and a facility for emergency management equipment.
— Rapidan Dam near Mankato. Funding for a study by the Army Corps of Engineers to evaluate options for the Rapidan Dam.
Chris, what about Alaska’s Don Young’s earmark for an interchange for a developer in Florida that happened to bundle $40,000 for him. That neither the county or the state wants. Young changed the Bill AFTER it passed the House to change the earmark from repair and widening of I-75 to an interchange for the developer. What is your response?
What of these earmarks would Randy Demmer and Dick Day oppose?
They can begin whine-o-thons about the Congressman Walz’s earmarks all they want. They need to be asked which ones they don’t like: the one for the ailing Rapidan Dam, the ones for Highway 14, for a bridge on I90? The one for returning veterans education? The Lewis and Clark Water system? These days especially, they’re hard put to argue against those specific projects.
The thing about Tim is that he is playing by the rules, being transparent, which was lacking in the past. A Bridge to Nowhere in Alaska that cost many millions? That was a “porkbarrel earmark” if you ask me.
Chris O’Lielly,
“No wonder Minnesotans believe the paper is a wholly owned subsidiary of the DFL”
Actually only you and your small minority of right wing extremists believe that, Chris O’Lielly. I think, (and it’s your Party’s own fault), that Republicans will be in the minority for a generation.
It is a shame that a lot of decent Republicans are going to get swept up in the aftermath of 6 years of Republican incompetence and corruption. What I don’t understand is the solution some have chosen, they just keep moving forward with the same bullshit and pretend everything’s just fine, make excuses and blame everyone else but themselves.
“Actually only you and your small minority of right wing extremists believe that, Chris O’Lielly.”
And that would be why the Star-Tribune readership has been declining and continues to decline, which would explain why DeFiebre no longer works at the paper and is shilling for a left-wing group. At least the pretense of journalistic “objectivity” is now gone.
Anyway, continue to demagogue the bridge collapse and bang away on the gas tax increase drum. That really worked well in the 28B special election a few weeks ago.
kathy,
You made my point. Walz did not ask for a single earmark for bridges and neither did Oberstar.
As for your previous comments about Republicans not being in the mud with constituents, how do you know this? The answer is you don’t know who was where or when. Next time you spout off about people not caring about the flood victims, don’t - because you don’t know what you are talking about.
wtm,
If, in fact, the Tribune was a biased left wing newspaper it would offer more hard reporting about the bullshit that’s gone on in right wing world last 6 years. In addition Kirsten would be out the door on her ear.
I think they and a majority of newspapers all over the country have failed the American people, some more than others. The Star Tribune does try to “balance” things, which in their case means giving attention to stories that offer up an abundance of extremist propaganda from the right. In my opinion this propaganda is completely worthless.
How many of our troops have died because the American people keep being told by the right everything’s going to be fine in 6 months?
HOW MANY?!! Do you even care about all the mistakes? What about the mistakes that are in our future? Are you SURE that the surge is working? Remember, when Bush tells us all how great the surge is working, which he will, the Star Tribune will print that.
Rest assured should a Special Session be called by Gov. Pawlenty to address the Transportation Bill to increase the State’s Gas Tax, both Demmer and Day may again oppose such a raise. Both Demmer and Day had the opportunity to do the right thing for their Districts in 2005 and 2007, knowing that there were roads and bridges deemed deficient, to vote for the Transportation Bills before them. Should they vote against raising the Gas Tax in light of the I-35 Bridge collapse and the recent flooding in Southeastern Minnesota, they will be shooting themselves in the foot if either of them wants to be the GOP endorsed candidate for Congress.
From what I am reading, Pawlenty wants the increase to come from the State’s budget rather than be a seperate Tax in and of itself.
NITRO:
GOOD JOB ON NO SEAN BROOM POSTS.
I heard a caller last night on 1280 put Sean Broom in his place in regards to wellstone.tv
FIRE SEAN BROOM FIRE SEAN BROOM FIRE SEAN BROOM
BOYCOTT SEAN’S POSTS BOYCOTT SEANS POSTS
…AND FOR EVERYONE ELSE BOYCOTTING SEAN’S POST’S KEEP IT UP!
YOU WILL LOSE SEAN! GO APPLY FOR THE POSITION OF DOG CATCHER SOMEWHERE.