Posted on 11/21/2005 5:03:54 AM PST by yoe
Congress limped out of town last week for its Thanksgiving recess, and just in the nick of time. With its Iraq duck-and-cover, the failure to extend expiring tax cuts, and the refusal to control spending, the Members were doing more damage to the republic every day they stayed around.
Amid the carnage, however, there was one small triumph last week: Senate Appropriations powerhouse Ted Stevens decided to pull funding for the infamous $320 million "Bridge to Nowhere" in his home state of Alaska. For those joining this story in progress, the proposed project would have connected Ketchikan, Alaska with remote Gravina Island (population 50).
[snip] The bridge had become the poster child for Republican fiscal extravagance and the object of justified ridicule across the political spectrum. Ron Utt, fiscal analyst at the Heritage Foundation, notes that the construction costs were so enormous that it would have been cheaper for taxpayers to purchase a yacht for every Gravina family than to build the bridge. One recent poll found that more Americans know about the Bridge to Nowhere than know who their local Congressman is. Which, given Congress's 30% approval rating, is probably the way most Members prefer it these days.
[snip] The one hero of this episode is Senator Tom Coburn (R., Okla.), who sponsored an amendment to block funding for the bridge and use the money to repair vital bridges on the Gulf Coast destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Mr. Stevens erupted on the Senate floor and threatened to quit if the measure passed. The vote failed. However, Mr. Stevens threw in the towel last Tuesday, announcing that he was taking this "drastic action" because his state had been "so unfairly maligned in the national press" in recent weeks.
(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...
good article...
Tom Coburn-sponsored by The Club for Growth
Ted Stevens- Not sponsored by The Club for Growth
Conclusion- Donate money to The Club for Growth and NOT to the RNC!
Anybody have the name of that website where I can get a password?
Well that does it! I am cancelling the purchase of my new condo on Gravina Island.
This is going to sound dumb but I'm going to say it anyway...
I'd bet Alaska pays in far more to the Fed than they get back in return (mostly due to oil taxes). So I tend to think what little they do get back should be theirs to do as they please. Even if it means building a bridge to nowhere.
'bugmenot' I think is it.
Too many mosquitos. I went with a condo in Gstaad instead.
bugmenot.com
Thanks everybody.
I'm not a fan of government waste, and I think the locals should pay for their own damn bridge. That said however, I think the ridicule this project is getting may be misplaced. I googled the map of Ketchican, and it looks to me that the area airport is on the island where the bridge will go to. There may be few people living there, but access to the airport sounds like a necessity for business development. Anybody live in Ketchican who can set me right if I'm reading the map wrong?
I like your reasoning and agree with you, but I fear that is not the case. Alaska has no sales or income tax AND pays out 1000 dollars a year to each person as part of their oil revenue. I doubt that they pay in more to the treasury as their total population is 650,000 not even equal to a large city in most states. still I agree that how people spend their money is why we elect people. Ask the folks serving tea in Boston.
You see what a liar Sen. Stevens is?
He promised us he would be taken out on a stretcher or something if they took away the funding for his dang bridges.
He is never to be trusted.
I am deeply saddened by his duplicity.
THIS STINKS EVEN WORSE!!! THERE ARE NO CUTS!!!! WHAT A BUNCH OF DIRTBAGS! THE SENATE IS CORRUPT BEYOND REDEMPTION!!!
Thank you for pointing that out.
But I am still deeply sadden that Stevens reneged on his threat/promise.
Ted Stevens is the Republican version of good old "Sheets" Byrd. Both Stevens and Byrd think they are living on a pig farm and can consume all the pork they want.
From the article:
"We readily admit to being one of the leading maligners, though of Congress, not of Alaskans. Mr. Stevens has been in an arms race with Democratic Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia to see whose state could win the distinction of pork capital of the nation.
Mr. Stevens has pulled way ahead, with Alaskans ranking first in the nation in pork at $985 per resident and receiving about $5 of federal highway money for every dollar they pay in gas taxes. So even without the Bridge to Nowhere, Alaskans will do just fine in the return-on-taxes-paid department. In any case, Mr. Stevens isn't redirecting the bridge's $320 million to New Orleans. The deal is that the money stays in Alaska but will be spent on other road projects."
There is perfectly reliable ferry service on the island now, there was no need for a bridge.
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.