Plenty on Pawlenty: He will have a big Bridge problem if he is picked as VP

zulchzulu

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Thu Aug-28-08 02:07 PM
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Plenty on Pawlenty: He will have a big Bridge problem if he is picked as VP

Edited on Thu Aug-28-08 02:14 PM by zulchzulu

There is a bridge problem in of all places, the site of the Republican Convention, for Pawlenty. Add that McCain stepped in it regarding the bridge collapse and you have the makings of several political points to smack down McCain's possible choice. It goes to the heart of safety at home.

One year ago today (August 1, 2007), the I-35W bridge spanning the Mississippi River at Minneapolis collapsed, killing 13 people. The bridge�s deadly failure brought calls for immediate inspection and repairs of bridges around the country and focused the public�s attention on the nation�s crumbling infrastructure.

But a year later, hardly any of the talk has become action. In fact, President Bush says he will veto legislation (H.R. 3999) passed by the U.S. House in July that provides $1 billion to inspect and repair bridges. Says Edward Wytkind, president of the AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department (TTD):

The I-35W bridge was not an isolated example of a structure in disrepair. It is a symbol of America�s failing infrastructure and the lack of urgency to do anything about it. It is beyond ridiculous that the Bush administration opposes H.R. 3999, a sensible investment and reform proposal.

Bush is not the first executive to say no to bridge repair. Last year, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty�often mentioned as a possible vice presidential candidate for Sen. John McCain�vetoed a $6.6 billion transportation spending plan that included money to replace the I-35W bridge and inspect and repair other bridges. The state legislature overrode the veto.

http://www.groundreport.com/US/Minnesota-Bridge-Collapsed-1-Year-Ago-Bush-Pawlent

Pawlenty has a long trail of vetoes that would have helped the Minnesota infrastructure and even provide thousands of jobs:

"Literally wielding a big red VETO stamp to appease the no-tax crowd that remains hell-bent on a something-for-nothing relationship with government, Gov. Tim Pawlenty deep-sixed the bipartisan transportation bill. 'How dumb can they be?' he sneered of the lawmakers who dared approve a tax hike to fix the state's roads.

http://www.planetizen.com/node/18910

Add to the bridge problem is that McCain stepped in it by accusing that the bridge collapse was due to pork-barrel spending (what a dumbass...):

McCain said on Wednesday that wasteful, pork-barrel spending was responsible for the disaster, but Pawlenty said federal investigators suspect a design flaw unrelated to recent spending decisions and said the experts should be allowed to complete their work.

On Thursday, facing increasing criticism from Democrats, McCain backed off from his statement.

Insisting that McCain owed Minnesota an apology for "disgusting" comments, DFLers jumped in to deride Pawlenty for not denouncing McCain's politicization of the issue and said the disagreement shows that Pawlenty, a co-chairman of McCain's national campaign, must not be a real candidate to be McCain's running mate.

http://www.startribune.com/politics/state/18470349.html

Plenty more on Pawlenty, including this nice little gaffe:

Pawlenty has already shown signs that he may not be ready for prime time. To wit: In a radio interview last month with a local station, Pawlenty said of his wife: "She loves football, she'll go to hockey games and, I jokingly say: Now, if I could only get her to have sex with me."

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/06/the_case_against_tim_pawlenty.html