Thursday, March 26, 2009
Legislature / Woods If a Bridge Collapses, Ramsey Will Change His Mind About This
Posted by Jeff Woods on Thu, Mar 26, 2009 at 12:59 PM
"If there's anyplace that I disagree with [Bredesen], it is in the bonding. For years, we've been a pay-as-you-go state in Tennessee when it comes to roads and bridges. This breaks precedence. We've already broken precedence once this year when we bonded economic development projects. That's never been done in the history of the state of Tennessee. We borrowed $262 million to pay for those two projects. But I held my nose and did it. I understand why we did it because in these economic times cash is king. But that same analogy does not apply to the money we're borrowing for the bridges."Ramsey echoed the complaints of Tennessee's road builders who say they're worried there's so much work that some of it might have to go to out-of-state contractors. Another $572 million for bridge and road work is coming to Tennessee in the federal stimulus package. "We don't need to go into debt," Ramsey said. "We're acting like the federal government instead of the state government. ... Absolutely, bridges need to be replaced. If we hadn't gotten the federal stimulus package this year, the $572 million, I would have felt better about [issuing the bonds]. ... It is the nose under the tent. If we can do it on this, where do we go next?" Ramsey said he hasn't polled Republicans on the issue but knows Transportation Committee chair Jim Tracy and Finance chair Randy McNally are against the bonding. "That's a real good start," Ramsey joked.
Comments (6)
Showing 1-6 of 6
"Tennessee's road builders who say they're worried that some of the work might have to go to out-of-state contractors."
Ah, yes. Our roadbuilders. Better to have a bridge collapse than for them to lose a buck to an out-of-state contractor.
Even worse, those out-of-state contractors might use some better materials. You know, the kind that won't wear out five years or so earlier than necessary (preferred, so that the roadbuilders can get yet another big-dollar repair contract).
How long are we going to let these thieves known as roadbuilders and their stooges, like Ron Ramsey, rip us off?
like
dislike
Do you remember that new bridge over the Tennessee river in Clifton snapping back in 1995 and killing a construction worker? We are coming up on the 14th anniversary of it. It was a few weeks from completion if I remember correctly. It took them another four years to build a new one back. They probably would have never built it if it wasnt for John Wilder. Clifton is just a spot in the road in north Wayne County but Wilder at the time wanted to spread his pork around. So they built it. Oh they ended up naming it the John Wilder & Cotton Ivy Bridge. Thats two legendary democrats, Tennrod.
Last time I checked, neither John Wilder nor Cotton Ivy are holding any kind of office anymore.
Now, if the typical right-wing catch-all "Well what about..." (fill in the blank with some irrelevant red herring, this particular one from 14 years ago) is completed, let's discuss the CURRENT speaker and his pandering to the roadbuilders lobby.
"That's a real good start," Ramsey joked.
Jeff,
That quote was made by a member of the media, not the Lt. Governor. I believe it was the journalist from the Memphis Commercial Appeal. He was sitting beside you.
Lance
I'm guessing that there aren't too many Blantons or Butchers available for scandal stories right now. Still...fertile ground...
As a native Tennessean who lives in Ohio, understand my surprise when I encountered an EMT with a story about driving through Nashville. She was headed from Cleveland (football, not odometers) to Texarkana (hell in any lexicon). She was stopped by cops three times between Briley @ 65 and Briley @ 40. For a broken tail light. Three times, three hours. Put an ear against one of her pores and you'd hear "Jolene"--but everybody's a drug dealer, and let's deny that anybody would ever grow weed in Cheatham anyway. Except that if TennDOT had THC meters ready for deployment, chances are that Tennessee drivers could have the best roads in the country without anybody realizing they'd been illegally but functionally and fairly taxed. Probably pay for train service from Memphis to Bristol too, but why let the secret out?
