Minnesota Bridge Collapse Blowback

Well, we knew it would only be a matter of hours before the "blowback" on the Minnesota bridge collapse would start.  And now, just a mere 48 hours since the collapse, we are seeing it in two forms:

A.  The bridge collapse was the result of George W. Bush and the Iraq War.

B.  We need to raise taxes in Maryland because we have $40 billion in backlogged transportation projects.

Where do I start?

Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) has already stated that he would pay for improved bridge safety by ending the Iraq War.  And CNN freakazoid Jack Cafferty asks the same question.  You knew it was only a matter of time before the implication started:  The Bridge Collapse is all the Fault of George W. Bush, 43rd President of the United States.  Oh please. 

First, highway safety and inspection are well within the purview of state governments.  The Federal Government provides money, standards, and accident investigation.  The States are responsible for construction, maintenance, safety, and inspection of bridges.  That is the way it is in our federal system.  The notion that we aren't spending enough on highway and bridge inspection is questionable at best.  Maryland alone spends $95 million a year performing bridge inspections, and has been on an aggressive overhaul and replacement project for the last ten years.  On I-83 alone, they have replaced four overpasses (MD 45, MD 439, Harris Mill Road, and Cold Bottom Road) plus the crossing over the old Northern Central Line.  They are working on Mt. Carmel right now.

Second, most bridge accidents in the US aren't actually from wear and tear, but are the results of deficiencies in design (the I-95 collapse in Connecticut) or workmanship.  Both of these situations are easy to correct with going on some "bridge" crusade.

Finally, the mantra of "it's George W. Bush's fault" is wearing a little thin, and it would be even if it were John Kerry or Al Gore in office.  The simple fact is that the President is not nearly as powerful on a day-to-day basis as all those political flacks (left and right) would have you believe, or they would like to take credit for.

But that shouldn't let a good lefty governor like Marty the Mick jump into hip deep to justify massive tax increases.

The Calvert Street Communist Party Newsletter had this to say:

Despite his assurances of safety, O'Malley said the collapse in Minneapolis underscores the need for the state and the nation to spend more on its infrastructure. Maryland has $40 billion in unmet transportation needs, the governor said.

"If there is any good to come out of this, perhaps it is that we realize we have a need to make investments to safeguard our infrastructure and improve it," O'Malley said. "We, as well as every state in the union, have a huge unmet need for investments in our infrastructure."

But O'Malley declined to link the incident with the state's debate over whether to increase gasoline taxes or other revenues to augment transportation funding.

I love the editorializing there.  He "declined to link" even though, that is what he just did.  Any time the Guvnah starts talking about "investments" while we are in the cloud of a "structural deficit", the word "investments" should be translated as "I am going to steal your money."  Nice move there, editors. Way to play political spokesman for the Guvnah.

You can bet your bottom dollar -- because it will be the last one you have left -- that eventually, the lefties in this state like Mikey "Double Dipper" Busch, Mike "Man Perm" Miller, and Moe "$1500" Conway will certainly use this tragedy to justify a whole new set of taxes for transportation needs.