Pawlenty Bridges Falling Down!

Talk about Governor Tim Pawlenty's dumb "luck."

News out of the Twin Cities this evening is that I-35E in St Paul had to be shut down in both directions after a four foot chunk of concrete fell off the Maryland Avenue bridge and struck a car. Fortunately, there were no reported injuries.

The bridge is to be inspected before it, and I-35E, is reopened.

It's been almost a year since the I-35W bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis collapsed. The rewritten children's song of that day comes to mind again:

Pawlenty bridges Falling Down,

Falling Down, Falling Down.

Pawlenty bridges Falling Down.

No New Taxes!

For years, our politician's have spent lavishly on their pet projects and assorted corporate welfare (St. Paul is still paying for the Xcel Center; Hennepin County has just started paying for the new Twins Stadium), while ignoring our crumbling infrastructure.

Tim Pawlenty didn't invent infrastructure neglect. But, he deserves our scorn, as he signed a "No New Taxes" pledge for a wealthy lobbyist group. And, he appointed his Lieutenant Governor to oversee the Department of Transportation - a clear conflict of interest.

It's hard to advocate for necessary maintenance funds when you're catering to a special interest group which appears to oppose all government spending. The Pawlenty administration clearly appears to be less concerned about a crumbling infrastructure than they are about breaking a pledge to their wealthy benefactors.

Fortunately, today's "incident" doesn't sound too serious. Only one car damaged. Nobody was killed. If it had happened during rush hour, as the I-35W bridge collapse did, the story might have been completely different.

As we approach the Republican National Convention in September, Governor Pawlenty had better pray that there are no more infrastructure failure issues to further damage his image.

And, voters everywhere should think hard about how political indifference, in general, and the Republican brand of "Trickle Down Economics," specifically, has damaged this country.

Norm Coleman, Apply Directly to the Forehead...

Every time I see Norm Coleman's commercial - You know the one: "He brought hockey back... He brought hockey back..." - it reminds me of the infamous "Head On, Apply directly to the forehead... Head On, Apply directly to the forehead..." commercial.

That product was shown to be little more than a placebo. Unfortunately, Norm Coleman is much more dangerous.

For some reason, Senator Coleman won't talk about his current record of strong support for George W. Bush, and the dirty politics of Karl Rove. Instead, he wants to talk about his record as mayor of St. Paul.

Norm apparently wants people to believe that he was responsible for professional hockey's return to Minnesota. I suppose that's news to all the fine people who worked on the project. But, it's not unusual for a politician, especially one like Norm, to take credit for the work of others.

One thing Norm did deliver, however, was the necessary "corporate welfare" to build the Xcel Center. Yes, it was Norm who saddled the long suffering citizens of St. Paul with the debt to pay for the Xcel Center. They continue to make payments on this debt.

Way to go, Norm!

I'm surprised that he hasn't brought up one of his "major accomplishments" as Mayor of St. Paul. He successfully moved the street maintenance budget out of the "general fund" and replaced it with an annual property assessment. The net result was that the city could collect the ever increasing costs of street maintenance from the tax payers of St. Paul. And, Norm could continue to claim that he "held the line" on taxes. No new Taxes!

Way to go, Norm!

Norm, you lead the way for Governor Tim Pawlenty to use the same tricks. Raise fees, not taxes. Continue to raise fees, all the while preaching "No new taxes."

I'd give just about anything to meet an honest politician today, especially a Republican. But, I fear that they've all been lying for so long that they now believe it's the truth because they've heard it so often.

Sad. Very Sad.

Minnesota deserves better.

Conduct Unbecoming

Barack Obama is traveling overseas, visiting favorite Republican war zones before moving on to Europe, where he'll start rebuilding our reputation in the world.

After Republicans repeatedly suggested that trips overseas somehow translate to foreign policy experience, Obama has gone traveling for a week. After he returns, he should have about the same amount of foreign policy experience as John McCain, who spent years in a North Vietnam prison.

So much for foreign policy experience. And, so much for image making.

The Republicans have been more than a little jealous of all the press attention Senator Obama has been getting. Some have even suggested that they deserve "equal time," even though it was the Republicans who insisted that the old "equal time" rule be repealed years ago.

John McCain was all over the morning news shows this morning. Was he saying anything substantive? No. He was whining like a toddler (or at least like former Senator Phil Gramm): "I was right. I was right. Senator Obama was wrong. Senator Obama was wrong. The surge has worked. The surge has worked." Wherever he went, he seemed to repeat himself. I guess we can cross those items off the Talking Points list, he's covered them.

It was undignified and unbecoming.

Both men took strong stands on a specific issue - the troop surge. One could argue that the additional troops (which the incompetent Bush administration should have sent in from the beginning to maintain order) have helped to improve security in some areas of Iraq. But, based on a slight improvement, it's not fair to say that we're winning the war.

Besides, there's the matter of the increasing violence in Afghanistan.

A political cartoon this weekend depicted it best. It showed American troops withdrawing from Iraq into Afghanistan. Then, withdrawing from Afghanistan into Iraq. Then, the seemingly endless cycle would repeat itself.

Instead of pretending that foreign travel somehow grants foreign policy experience, I'd just as soon both men stay home and come up with solid, bipartisan plans to fix our ailing economy, and rebuild our once proud middle class.

That would be an image we could all respect.

Republican Talking Points

Watching the President's news conference this morning, it's clear that George W. Bush and Norm Coleman remain on the same page.

Norm Coleman's recent campaign ad had him saying that he knows "times are tough," and acknowledging that people are having trouble making ends meet. This morning President Bush acknowledged the same, saying that it's a "difficult time for many families."

The only thing they they both left out was the the "fact" that we've become "a nation of whiners" which has resulted in us entering a "mental recession" as was so bluntly stated recently by Republican Senator Phil Gramm. I believe he'd been listening to too much conservative talk radio.

To the typical Republican, there's no recession. Maybe there's been a slight dip in their investment portfolio. But, no recession. And, there's very little pain.

After all, the gas bag drug abuser, Rush Limbaugh, just signed on for another eight years at something like $38 Million per year. Sure, in better times he might have fetched at least $40-50 Million a year, but times are tough.

The fact is, the beneficiaries of the Bush tax cuts are doing quite well. Once their "basic needs" are satisfied for a million or two a year, they still have money left over.

For the average citizen, however, life is not so easy. By the time they pay their housing expenses, feed the family, pay for their medical expenses, and insurance - if they're lucky enough to be able to afford it - there's little or nothing left.

Compare the number of foreclosures in a neighborhood such as North Oaks to the number of forecloses in North Minneapolis or St. Paul's Frogtown. Which population is feeling more pain from the "fine economy" the Republicans have given us?

I'd love to see a politician be honest once in a while.

Instead of simply acknowledging that the typical American is feeling "pain," I'd like them to acknowledge their role in creating that pain.

Instead of standing up to Karl Rove and the Bush administration's lust for power, wouldn't it have been nice if Norm Coleman, and his Republican colleagues, had stood up and asked the hard questions. Couldn't they have inquired about the wisdom of starting a three trillion dollar war, while cutting taxes? Talk about credit card abuse. What were they thinking?

Yet, the Republican message remains the same. The economy is sound. The economy continues to grow. We need more tax cuts to continue on the path.

The nation has endured a "trickle down" economy for many years now. Have the tax cuts for the wealthy helped you?

Think and vote accordingly.

McCain Campaign Stop

John McCain came to visit the state of Minnesota on Thursday, July 10. He spent about an hour at a meet and greet with the Republican telephone call center team, before retreating to his hotel to rest.

On Friday morning, he crossed the border into western Wisconsin to hold one of his town meetings - this one for women only - in Hudson. The attendees included, God bless them, some of the local crowned Princesses (without a parade in site). As is typical Republican fashion, it was an invitation only event.

Senator McCain did not look to be comfortable in front of the crowd. He looked old and tired. Could it be that the campaign has already aged him?

I like John McCain. I think I'd be honored to have him as a father, a grandfather, or a great grandfather. I can imagine sitting with him for hours, trading stories, talking politics, and perhaps gaining a new perspective on historical events.

While I have much respect for the man, and more than a few policy disagreements, I can't see him as President.

His time has passed.

He's too old.

Military Qualifications

I recently saw a reporter ask John McCain how his military experience qualified him to be Commander in Chief. He acted wounded, as if his patriotism had been challenged. He appeared to have a hard time answering the question.

To me, it seems like a valid question. Sure, we can honor John McCain's long service to his country. But, is his military experience relevant to his Presidential ambitions? Would it make him a strong Commander in Chief?

While it may give him a perspective on prisons and torture, I fail to see how getting shot down and spending years in captivity would make him a great Commander in Chief.

Besides, we lost the war in Vietnam.