Friday, August 03, 2007

Governor Pepsodent seeks redemption, or maybe deflection

Everything has to be re-evaluated.

Governor Pepsodent, Almanac, August 3, 2007.

He even allowed as how a gas tax might be on the table. According to Pepsodent, the Lege had rejected his transportation funding proposals; he had rejected the Lege's, and it was time to come together. Spot thinks that Pepsodent is trying to spread the blame around. You can understand why. But people aren't stupid: they recognize that it was Pepsodent and his veto-proofer Republican buddies in the legislature that have stood in the way of better transportation funding. It has been Pepsodent's way, all the way, and that means no highway. We've watched the roads crumble around us for years.

Pepsodent also said on Almanac tonight that the bridge was really a matter that had been up to the engineers at MnDOT.  And their decisions were going to be scrutinized, you betcha. But this is just another attempt to shift blame. But here's what an executive of a contractors' association had to say:

Some close observers of MnDOT continued to speculate Thursday that the decision to monitor instead of fix deficiencies in the bridge was driven by financial concerns. Dave Semerad, CEO of the Minnesota chapter of the Associated General Contractors, said everything MnDOT does is based on cost-benefit analysis.

"Let's face it. They don't have any money," Semerad said. "At the end of the day, that's the issue. This is indicative of a long-term pattern."

That is indeed the issue. We must not let Governor Pepsodent dance away from his responsibility for it.

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