By ,
Published May 08, 2017
And now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:
Bridging the Gap
President Obama made his case for sustained infrastructure spending during a town hall today. He used the 2007 Interstate 35 bridge collapse in Minneapolis as an example:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: According to the Republican budget that was passed, for example, we would have to eliminate transportation funding by a third. We'd have to cut transporting funding by a third. You remember when that bridge in Minnesota collapsed with all those people on it? And there was a big hue and cry: How can this happen in America?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Well, however the National Transportation Safety Board determined the bridge failure was due to a design error. The report also said that on the day of the collapse, repair work was underway on that bridge and four of the eight travel lanes were closed to traffic because of those ongoing repairs.
Veto Pen
Arizona Republican Governor Jan Brewer surprised some in her party by vetoing a bill to allow guns onto college campuses and another requiring certain proof of U.S. citizenship for presidential candidates.
Brewer said the so-called "Birther Bill" was a bridge too far that did nothing constructive for her state. It was inspired, of course, by the controversy over President Obama's birth certificate.
Brewer says she vetoed the concealed weapons measure because it was so poorly written -- quote -- "Bills impacting our second amendment rights have to be crystal clear so that gun owners don't become law breakers by accident."
Caped Cru$aders
State officials are investigating why a central Florida unemployment agency wants to spend more than 15,000 taxpayer dollars to provide superhero capes to the jobless.
The Orlando Sentinel reports the $73,000 PR campaign called Cape-a-Bility Challenge features foam cutouts named Doctor Evil Unemployment at a cost of $2,300 as well as 6,000 red capes costing $14,000.
https://www.foxnews.com/transcript/obama-bridging-the-gap