Yes. Clearly.
Look at this post he put up earlier today.
“‘We’re going to have to swallow the bitter pill, take the political hit and raise these revenues,’ [State Senator] Murphy said, adding that another bridge collapse ‘is a likelihood, and we don’t want that.’” Source: FOXNews, August 3, 2007
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Senator Murphy, which bridge is likely to collapse?
UPDATE: If Senator Murphy thinks another bridge collape [sic] “is a likelihood” he should have a press conference and present evidence of which bridge he thinks is likely to collapse.
Well, Michael, I don’t want to put words in the good Senator’s mouth, but I suppose he could have been pointing to any one of the 451 bridges rated by the federal government as “structurally deficient” in Minnesota. Michael also must have short term memory loss, because I recall countless press conferences held by Sen. Murphy and other legislative leaders and transportation advocates over the past few years in which they BEGGED for a gas tax increase to address deteriorating bridges and roads across the state.
Anyone can see that his post is ridiculous and doesn’t really merit a rebuttal. I felt compelled to write about it not to defend Senator Murphy, but to note just how frightened the MN GOP is.
I want to be clear: I am not blaming Gov Pawlenty or the State Republican Party for the brigde collapse.
If, however, you have been reading MDE over the past few days, you’ve seen a political panic attack. He’s posted a series of weak attacks on DFLers in a desperate attempt to get on offense. Michael, and by extension the Republican Party establishment, must be absolutely terrified of the political impact of the bridge collapse.
Michael, take a deep breath.
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I agree. The MN GOP and Michael Bordkorp are freaking out.
I would add to the conversation their impending loss in the 28B special election. They are on the verge of losing a seat held by the former Republican Speaker. It is, by all acounts, a red district. After tomorrow, you will able to count on one hand the number of GOP held MN House seats in Southern Minnesota.
Pfeilsticker’s likely victory tomorrow will be just as if not more significant than the 2005 special elction victories by Tarryl Clark and Terri Bonoff. It will be nearly impossible for the MN GOP House Caucus to win back the majority in 2008. In addition, they don’t have a serious challenger for Tim Walz. And Coleman’s poll numbers are tanking.
Add to that the internal struggles within the GOP and Ron Carey’s numerous issues. The MN GOP is in serious trouble with no good news on the horizon.
The 2008 RNC will not be a showcase event for Norm Coleman and Tim Pawlenty to show off our state. It will be an opprotunity for the national media to continue their efforts to expose our current state of dysfunction.
Wait, I didn’t think we were going to play politics with the tragedy. Or was that just a 72 Hour rule on that?
Murphy had better be careful how he proceeds. His record on highways and bridges as opposed to building trains and more transit is not good. If you want to point the finger, wouldn’t we have all been better off if the $1 billion light rail project went to roads and bridges?
Who’s playing politics?
He’s only exposing the tactics of Michael Brodkorb. That’s not playing politics when you expose the tactics of others, is it?
Of course little mikey is afraid. That’s what cowards typically are.
Chris, please re-read my post. I urged everyone to not start pointing fingers and simultaneously restated the importance of allowing political debate: “The bridge is a function of government and its collapse was a function of the failure of government; therefore, the discussion is inherently and unavoidably a political one. But we must venture forth in a way that will be productive, not divisive, and insightful, not vengeful.”
I think that Zack’s post more than fits into that rubric. He’s discussing the MN GOP’s tactics, not needlessly pointing fingers.
There’s no capability to point fingers because the investigation has not been completed. When we know why the structure fell then we can assess blame. My personnal suspicion is that a combination of neglect, ignorance, and optimism led to the bridges condition being so compromised that it was susceptible to single point failure. That’s just me though and I don’t know much. I do take comfort in knowing that the future of the highest wage earnings in the state are safe from the ravages of paying for infrastructure.
Oddly, I agree with Richard to some extent (excluding the last sentence). There is simply no way to know why the bridge collapsed at this point, but, as Richard suggests, it probably collapsed because of a confluence of factors — poor design, poor support, hot weather, over-use, etc. To assign blame before the release of the investigative report would be premature.
In regard to Murphy’s statement, his overall point could have been achieved without the add-on that another bridge collapse is a “likelihood.” That statement reeks of scare-mongering.
Wtm,,, you mean like, “a smoking gun in the form of a mushroom cloud”. I agree scare mongering like that should not be supported or repeated.
I would liken the MN GOP to that of a Bridge. The slow collapse of a once mighty party in Minnesota has surely seen better days when it actualy stood for something 40 years ago. Now, it’s mainly ANTI TAX INCREASES, ANTI ABORTION, ANTI GAY,and PRO GUNS!! The MN GOP has become a party of dicisiveness regarding Social issues.
The MN DFL on the other hand, has been growing stronger at the Grass Roots level. The demographic gap between Democrats and Republicans in Minnesota is closing. In Olmsted County, it’s about a dead heat. 31 years ago, the disparity between the parties was 80% GOP to 20% Dem.
Michael is clearly in panic mode. Lots of political fires big and small for the MN GOP, he is compelled to throw gasoline on them in hopes of putting them out.
And all this time I thought that the Minnesota was a DFL state. Thank goodness the gap is closing and we can start getting some democrats in power…
Alright, that’s enough. If I have to hear one more ho-dunk idiot Minnesotan point the finger at lightrail and transit, I just might go postal. Let me clarify, folks: THE G@#DD!*& STATE CONSTITUTION MANDATES THAT YOUR GAS TAX DOLLARS-EVERY FRIGGIN ONE-GOES TO ROADS AND BRIDGES. NOT BUSES, NOT “TRAINS TO NOWHERE”. ROADS AND BRIDGES!!!!!
You know who pays for most of Hiawatha? Hennepin County!
While I’m on a roll, let’s talk about subsidies. Every redneck moron in Marshall and Lakeville has to complain about how their taxes are subsidizing lightrail. You know what, r-tard? I tired of subsidizing businesses in your area because you’re too stupid or lazy to move to an economically self-sufficient city. I’m even more tired of paying subsidies to oil companies, the trucking industry, and every other company that cries “free market” while picking our pockets.
Actually, Hiawatha is subsidized to the tune of about $30 million a year. Where does that money come from? The entire state. Which cities get the most LGA? That’s right, Minneapolis and St. Paul. And where does the money come for their LGA? The rest of the state. Which school districts get the highest per pupil spending? Minneapolis, St. Paul and Duluth. Where does that money come from? The rest of the state.
I’m pretty sick of you !@#$%^&* living in your concrete jungles calling people that don’t live in the concrete jungle a redneck. I’m even more sick of people like you thinking that every dollar the state collects should go to Minneapolis and St. Paul. The point is that the DFL controlled Senate has blocked spending on roads and bridges for decades while focusing hundreds of millions of dollars on transit.
$30 million? That’s a drop in the bucket, son.
$30 million isn’t insignificant and it is about $3 per ride taken. All the gas tax should go to roads and so should sales tax from cars, license fee and other funds raised from automobiles. The flip side of that is that the only funding given to roads should be from those same sources. If people want better roads or maintenance they will have to accept a higher gas tax. The same logic should be applied to other transit methods as well.