Posted on 04/30/2008 5:38:36 PM PDT by ButThreeLeftsDo
Republican John McCain said Wednesday that the bridge collapse in Minnesota that killed 13 people last year would not have happened if Congress had not wasted so much money on pork-barrel spending.
Federal investigators cite undersize steel plates as the "critical factor" in the collapse of the bridge. Heavy loads of construction materials on the bridge also contributed to the disaster that injured 145 people on Aug. 1, according to preliminary findings by the National Transportation Safety Board.
"The bridge in Minneapolis didn't collapse because there wasn't enough money," McCain told reporters while campaigning in Pennsylvania. "The bridge in Minneapolis collapsed because so much money was spent on wasteful, unnecessary pork-barrel projects."
(Excerpt) Read more at startribune.com ...
It’s also a fact that Minneapolis deferred improvements on that bridge in favor of building Loot Rail, (Google “Hiawatha Line” for info...)
I just don't think anyone is going to change Human nature. Pork will be with us forever, albeit in a less identifiable form.
He got it half right
Yeah. It was to be Jesse’s legacy.
It just makes me want to weep. The president of the United States needs to bother to know what the facts are and then to operate from that basis.
Yes, it was a design flaw that caused that bridge to collapse, but John McCain never goes beyond what he hears in sound bites and headlines.
The other two candidates operate from ideology. He just doesn’t care to pay attention.
The Senator’s little buddy Tim should have filled him in on the facts before he made this statement.
Uff-DUH!
dont take Obama oot the headlines...again
if Congress had not wasted so much money on pork-barrel spending.
Agree with the premise too, isn’t there any money to maintain roads and bridges before they build another monument to Senator Byrd?
Hey, why not. Makes about as much sense as any of the other sh!t coming out of the mouths of these three @ssholes running for the White House.
So, no opinion, AC??
;-)
That's Alberta's Child, P.E. (civil engineer)!
Personally, I think it had more to do with Gravity.
But since our candidate says “money spent elsewhere” had more to do with it, I must defer. After all, he did straighten out those pesky North Carolina Republicans last week, didn’t he?
What a Maroon. It’s like the Rats saying the War In Iraq takes money away from their Socialist Welfare State.
Does this mean Pawlenty is out for VP? Seemed like his stock was falling anyway.
Tim has always said that he would serve out his term and was not a VP candidate.
He used to be a conservative, too.
All bets are off.
Same here in NM with Richardson's Railroad, a half-billion dollar boondoggle that is being built with state money due to the fact that the NMDOT didn't want it subject federal cost-benefit analysis ("would take too long" they said). Fare recovery for the couple of thousand who ride it per day is less than 15% and will drop to under 10% of the estimated $25 million dollar annual operating expense when the new 14-mile extension to Santa Fe is completed. In the meantime (and not mentioned by the envirowackos) is the huge ten-mile scar up 700 ft. high historic La Bajada escarpment where a huge cut and fill grade had to be constructed.
Wasn’t there a faked inspection or two that contributed to the collapse?
Light rail usually has fraudulent cost/benefit analysis.
Meant to finish by saying that necessary road projects were put on hold, including the addition of a third lane each way to I-25 north of ABQ that parallels the RR. This piece of highway has not been improved since original 1960’s interstate highway construction and serves 25 to 30 times the number of vehicles than the RR passenger load.
More savy politicians and citizens believe the RR was a way to enhance Richardson’s Green resume before his run for President. It didn’t help him any. At least no bridges have fallen down ... yet.
This is heavy rail in NM, commuter trains.
Didn’t MN just start building a commuter rail line from Minneapolis to the north backwoods?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.