Like a Bridge into Troubled Waters

Here's a slogan the Democrats are welcome to use:

"We prevent. The other party reacts. Wrongly."

In Minnesota the Republican governor vetoes increased highway spending and the world comes crashing down. Meanwhile in the trade journals like Highway Contractor they say:

Most bridge engineers keep a stiff upper lip to deal with lack of funding and other mounting problems, but if they could have what they wanted to improve their bridges, it would mostly be money, money, and more money.

“We need increased funding for preventive maintenance,” says North Carolina Department of Transportation Bridge Maintenance Engineer John Emerson. “It’s easier to handle preventive maintenance than to react to problems.”

In Texas, Keith Ramsey says they need to increase emphasis on bridge maintenance. “Funds are limited to replacing bridges and the bridge inventory continues to age faster than funds are increased for rehab and replacement.”

Then there's the votes on the child healthcare extension--it's just too much for the Republicans to think kids might be healthy on the government's dime. (Oil companies, however, do need federal subsidies--they provide more suport when you're running for office than poor sick children do, after all.) President Bush's response was the poor could just go to emergency rooms, which takes the let them eat cake award.

It's time for government money to be spent shoring our nation up--its infrastrucutre, its health. It could be "simple" if it weren't for the $448 billion and running going to the Iraq fiasco. It's just one more way the Bush approach to fighting terror leads to terror--as our own country collapses all on its own without any kind of attack.