Coburnt

From THINK PROGRESS ECONOMY:

Until late this afternoon, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) was single-handedly blocking the transportation bill that would temporarily reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration, keep 80,000 people in their jobs, and avoid another costly shutdown like the one that occurred in August. Coburn had said he was blocking the bill due to the “indefensible threat to public safety” caused by a provision in the bill meant to increase trees and bike paths alongside roadways.

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Bridges to Somewhere

From THINK PROGRESS ECONOMY:

President Obama’s plan to kickstart the economy and put the American people back to work includes investing in the nation’s rapidly deteriorating infrastructure, which, as studies have shown, is in need of as much as $2 trillion in immediate investment just to bring it up to date. In the past, Republicans have agreed that infrastructure improvements are needed, but in the context of economic stimulus and in their effort to remain opposed to anything Obama offers, they have chosen to ignore the nation’s infrastructure and jobs crises. Unfortunately, that approach doesn’t mean either crisis will go away.

Republican leadership has continually blocked efforts by Obama and Congressional Democrats to invest in infrastructure improvements, and as a result, bridges and roadways in their states are crumbling. According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, about 12 percent of the nation’s bridges are considered “structurally deficient,” the same rating given to the Minneapolis bridge that collapsed in 2007, killing 13 people.

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Prophetic? Naaahh, Pathetic!

Since one disastrous Texas governor was not enough, there are some in the Rethuglican party who are talking about Governor Little Ricky Goodhair entering the 2012 presidential race.  Like they say in Texas, Oy vey, y’all.

From the Houston Press HAIR BALLS Blog:

Governor Rick Perry appeared on the Fox News network for an interview with Neil Cavuto.

Cavuto made the somewhat dubious statement that Perry is “very popular outside your state, still popular but not nearly as popular within your state.”

…snip…

Asked why Texas wasn’t exactly in love with him, Perry said, “I say that a prophet is generally not loved in their hometown. That’s both Biblical and practical.”

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Tunnelvision

From The Trentonian:

TRENTON — Hamilton native and Port Authority of New York and New Jersey bigwig Bill Baroni, whose bistate agency pledged to pump $3 billion into an ambitious train tunnel project, refused to comment Thursday after Gov. Chris Christie killed the plan.

Baroni deferred to his Port Authority press flack, Ron Marsico, who also refused to comment on Christie’s sweeping action to pull the plug on a decades-in-the-making train tunnel connecting New Jersey and Manhattan.

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Captain Underpants to the Rescue!

From The Washington Post:

A Republican proposal to halt spending on federal stimulus projects has prompted a partisan dustup this week in Arizona, where defeated GOP presidential candidate John McCain has waded into the fight with his old Democratic rival, Barack Obama.

The conflict began after Arizona’s junior senator, Republican Jon Kyl, who has called President Obama’s economic recovery plan ineffective, wrote on his Senate website last week that the government should “cancel the rest of the stimulus spending.” Kyl repeated the suggestion during a talk show appearance Sunday.

And they keep on electing these people?

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California Reaming

This week, California’s Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed eliminating cash assistance for the poorest families.  The proposal to end the program, called CalWORKs, was a shock to legislators and just about everyone else.

If the proposal goes through, California would be the only state to reject Temporary Assistance to Needy Families block grants, a federal program.  The program pays states as long as they put limitations on job requirements of recipients.

Assemblyman Jim Beall, D-San Jose, said the draconian measure would result in “a lot of little kids begging on the streets.”

Even Maria is shocked!

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WaPo: Don’t Let Good Deeds Go Unrewarded

From The Washington Post (Editorial):

WHO IS the best candidate for Northern Virginia? Judge by appearances and there are two obvious possibilities in the Democratic primary for governor: Brian Moran, the former Alexandria prosecutor who served a dozen years in the House of Delegates, and Terry R. McAuliffe, the Richmond outsider who has lived in McLean for roughly 17 years. Not in the running would be R. Creigh Deeds, an unassuming state senator from a district closer to West Virginia than to Fairfax City.

However, delve a bit deeper, and the answer might surprise you. In 18 years in the General Assembly, Mr. Deeds has time and again supported measures that might be unpopular with his rural constituency but that are the right thing to do, for Northern Virginia and the state as a whole. He has demonstrated an understanding of the problems that matter most, the commitment to solve them and the capacity to get things done. Mr. Deeds may not be the obvious choice in the June 9 primary, but he’s the right one.

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Building Bridges

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The governor of America’s largest state and the mayor of its largest city called on the federal government on Sunday to dramatically boost its spending on bridges, sewers, high-speed rail and other infrastructure.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, along with Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” the United States needs to spend up to $1.6 trillion to make up for decades of neglect and stay globally competitive.

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