"I'll be taken out of here on a stretcher" Ted Stevens, "Bridge to Nowhere

[RedEarth]

Ted is getting all worked up over the Coburn amendment that would cancel the Bridge to Nowhere and the Don Young Way and use the money for New Orleans reconstruction....lol....poor Ted you're going to lose your pork.

....

Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska is now on the Senate floor defending the bridges. He’s cranky and he’s slinging mud.

UPDATE (4:27pm): Mary Katharine Ham offers an excerpt from Stevens’ rant (I think I saw spit come out of his mouth):

“This is not the way to treat a state. We are a sovereign state.”

“The amendment before us now will affect only Alaska…this is something that I think is—every Senator must examine his own conscience.”

“This is not the way to meet a disaster need.”

“We have the smallest allocation per area of any state in the union.”

“We must build bridges so we can bring together areas that are inaccessible otherwise.” (uh, he’s yelling now…)

“I have never seen this suggested, to single out a state and say, ‘You pay! You pay for a disaster 5,000 miles away. You shoulder the burden!’”

“We need bridges so we can get from one private area to anoth private area.”

“It’s not taxpayer money. It’s highway-user money.”

“We came here to have the same rights, same priveleges counted to the people in every other state.”

“It’s wrong to put us into a position where we have to explain why — why! — this is being done, something that has never been done before — NEVER!”

“This amendment will not pass. If it does, the bill will not pass. If it does, I’ll be taken out of here on a stretcher.”

here's a link to Kos that also deals with this....

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/10/20/172146/11

[rodeodance]

1. they are voting on the Coburn amendment right now.

[rodeodance]

3. i do not have a tally as I just tuned in.

[ewagner]

2. He speaks the truth (sort of)

look at this quote:

“We have the smallest allocation per area of any state in the union.” That's probably true but....

Most of that "AREA" is uninhabited. Check out the "allocation per capita" figure and it's a whole different story.

Or, just for giggles divide the cost of the "bridge to nowhere" by the number of people on the island.....now divide that same amount of money by the number of people displaced by the hurricane in NO.

BIG F-ING DIFFERENCE.

[rodeodance]

4. amazing what one can do with stats!

[rodeodance]

5. I have heard 4 no's in a row so far.

[rodeodance]

6. the Repug panel just cut health care-now they have trouble with a bridge

to nowhere!!!!

[rodeodance]

7. Jeffers NO

[rodeodance]

9. Dayton NO, Coburn AYE, Harkin NO

[rodeodance]

10. Cantwell ? Burns NO

[rodeodance]

11. Lugar NO, Leahy NO

[ticapnews]

51. "Acreage don't vote"

--- David Owen, the New Yorker.


I would add that acreage doesn't pay taxes, either...

[stopbush]

8. The stretcher to nowhere? nt

[rodeodance]

12. Proyer and Kennedy and Nelson of FL all NO

[rodeodance]

14. why are so many Dems saying NO?

[rodeodance]

15. Conrad Yes

[rodeodance]

Smith NO Vitter YES

[rodeodance]

17. landreu YEs, Rockerfeller No, Dorkin NO

[rodeodance]

19. Sanono YEs

[rodeodance]

20. Grassley NO

[rodeodance]

22. Burr Yes, Snowe NO, shellby NO

[rodeodance]

23. nelson of NK NO, stabenow NO

[rodeodance]

25. Chambless NO , Clinton No, Boxer NO, Mclowsky No, Lincoln No,

Lieberman No, Wyden no, Colman no,

[RedEarth]

21. Here's an explanation by Kos

Update: FYI, the reason senators would vote against these amendments is because if any of them pass, it puts every single pork project in their own states in danger. What Coburn has done is allowed a challenge to every single pork line item. As well as it should be. Let each project stand on its own.

Update: Roll call in progress, and the amendment is well on its way to failure. This is becoming a gross failure by both parties and the institution of government.

Voting Yes:



Coburn (R)
DeMint (R)
Feingold (D)
Kyle (R)



Update II: It was easier to keep tally of the few "yes" votes than write in the tons of senators which put the politics of personal pork above the national interest. A $252 million bridge serving 50 people was more important to these people than rebuilding storm-battered New Orleans.

Simply unconscionable.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/10/20/172146/11

[rodeodance]

28. Bydon and karper NO

[rodeodance]

32. bunch of chickens!! and they talk of cutting deficites

[RedEarth]

36. Isn't that the truth....just the kind of people we want running

the country...pathetic.

[RoyGBiv]

13. Bizarre ...

Starting a appeal in which you're trying to convince the federal government to hand over money with something like, "We are a sovereign state. . . ." is not the smartest thing in the world to do. Want to play the sovereignty of the states game? Fine. Support yourself.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

16. STFU, Ted.

Your state gets back an extra 150% in pork every year.

[0007]

18. A real porky pig, can't believe there are folks like that representing

the American voters. Then too, look at Jeff Sessions or John Cornyn of Texas. Whew!!

[Justitia]

24. Stevens always fakes melodramatic melt-downs. What a priss.

Remember when Conrad found the nifty little provision sneaked into the appropriations bill that would allow Big Brother to pull anyone's IRS info for no reason? The Dems threatened to hold it up and Stevens literally came unglued and - I swear - started crying!

Boy, Stevens is a serious Drama Queen (and very, very manipulative).

"You'll kill me, an old man!"

[rodeodance]

26. Sarbains NO, (Lots of Dems saying NO), Thune NO, Hutchenson No

[rodeodance]

27. Kerry and Edson both NO.

[rodeodance]

29. Collins, No, Alyard YES, Fienstien NO, Sessions Yes,

[rodeodance]

30. Hatch NO, Johnson, NO, Warner, no,

[rodeodance]

31. Levin NO

[rodeodance]

33. mary landreau is going to be very disagppointed. Spector NO

[rodeodance]

34. Dodd

[Sub Atomic]

50. Feinstein: NO

That's no surprise.

[ochazuke]

35. I hate Ted Stevens

Remember when he made a vote on ANWR something like a you-vote-against-me-and-I-will-kill-your-whole-family thing?

What a piece-of-shit excuse for a senator.

Carry him out not on a stretcher...an ash tray I think.

[ochazuke]

37. Shame on the Democrats!!

Our party is crap.

[depakid]

40. This is why the Dems have become irrelevant

and why they're probably going down in yet again 2006.

They've done NOTHING to deserve becoming the majority party- Absolutely nothing- and I don't see any evidence of that changing.

And they wonder why the Repubs are outfundraising them 2-1. It's because even with the Repubs imploding, the Dems still stand for nothing- and no one wants to back a bunch losers.

[Broken_Hero]

38. ha my HOMETOWN!!!!

YAY, i'm so proud of my hometown. The bridge to no where...from Ketchikan Alaska, the 4th biggest city in Alaksa....to a little island named Gravia, which has the airport on it. if my memory serves right, Gravina is about three or four miles around....they wnat to build this bridge to the airport, so people can drive across teh Tongass Narrows to get to the airport. I think this bridge is ridiculous, and i actually got into with my mom over this last night Her main arguement was, they charge to much to take the ferry over to the airport, plus its our money, and why are southeners trying to tell us how to use our money?

my resonse was this, the bridge is a waste of time, if you want to build a bridge, connect Ketchikan to the mainland, so Ketchikan isn't held hostage by the Alaska Ferry System, or Alaska Airlines...check this out, its cheaper, cheaper to buy a plane ticket from Anchorage Alaska to Seattle, which is about a three hour, four hour flight, than it is to fly from Ketchikan to Seattle, ketchikan is only one hour and twenty minutes away...the monopoloy on my hometwon is freaking out of control...a very select few people are in control of the island, and they get their way usually...

Forget the bridge fellow Ketchikan citizens, its a waste...to spend that much money on a worthless bridge, and make bigger ferries to scurry across the narrows to the airport, and please, start charging a decent price for that little ferry, i shit you not, they charge like 25-30 dollars for a car, to go on a five minute boat ride...no shit. and by the Way, go Kings...:) I'm a Kayhi Alumni from 1995.

[ochazuke]

57. instead of spending the money on a bridge

just set up a trust fund to pay the ferry charge for every resident in Ketchikan in perpetuity.

Just the interest alone would take care of you guys.

[Roland99]

60. And send the money here so we can get our much-needed bridge

Louisville's needed a new bridge over the Ohio River for YEARS.

We're supposed to finally get it but construction isn't supposed to start for another 5 years.

[shance]

39. Can we get that in writing Ted?

n/t

[snowbear]

41. He said said tonight on our local news, he'd RESIGN !!!!

He's WHINING like crazy; the old bastard ---- READ HERE FROM OUR LOCAL NEWS IN ANCHORAGE TONIGHT !!!!



...“I will put the Senate on notice, and I don't kid people. If the Senate decides to discriminate against our state and take money only from our state, I’ll resign from this body,” said Stevens."


http://www.ktuu.com/cms/templates/master.asp?articleid=872&zoneid=1

[Blue_In_AK]

46. We should all be so lucky, huh, Larissa?

Ted should have quit 10 or 15 years ago while he still had a semblance of respectability. He is an embarrassment to our state, and he's so old, blind and foolish that he can't even entertain the thought that he could be wrong. Not to even mention his ethical challenges re Ben, etc. Alaskans are DEFINITELY due for a change.

[blindpig]

42. I should perfer to see him leave in a basket

after encountering some wildlife that he is fucking over.

[yellowcanine]

43. "smallest allocation per area" ???? How about per capita, dipshit? This

is kind of like the Freepers ranting about how much land area votes for Republicans in presidential elections. Its number of PEOPLE, not LAND AREA that matters, dipshits.

[emald]

44. I've lived in Alaska for twenty five years

all the while watching this silly pol run amuck on the national stage. Many up here consider "Uncle Ted" next to god but my estimation is that this jerk is mostly for himself and some old line establishment business (corporate welfare) types who are not necesarrily located in Alaska. I wish the seargent at arms would take Ted out of the senate on a stretcher; we need new thought up north.
Some background: Teddies hard fought for bridge provides access to Ketchicans international airport, as well as for some fifty residents whom you hear of in the news. Right now access is by ferry boat. This has worked fine for the last twenty or more years. Now, I'm not from Ketchican but have been there a couple of times and always found the ferry ride from airport to downtown intersting and different. Shock of shocks I even envisioned a tourist slant to ferry boating, maybe even an asset for Ketchican. So,I can see no reason for this bridge other than monument building, which is something "Uncle Ted" seems to work hard on. In fact he even has an international airport named after him, long before he retires or dies. That seemed strange enough to me to e-mail him my regrets that he represents me in Washington. As to the apple not falling far from the tree the reader should investigate this idiots offspring. Jeeeeezzzhh, we get both generations of this sordid family here in Alaska.

[0007]

45. How long does it take by ferry? Is air service available?

I've watched Ted Stevens for years on c-span. He has a temper with poor speaking abilities. He's a hard nut to take seriously.

[Broken_Hero]

48. about five minutes total...

it doesn't take long at all, i was born and raised in Ketchikan Alaska, graduated in 95, stuck in Missouri now, i was surprised to see my hometown on the news for this. The bridge is a bridge to freaking no where. The ferry ride, is about five minutes to the aiport...its run by the city, then there is the Alaska Marine Highway System...which ferries people to different islands thought southeast alaska, and down to Bellingham Washington. This bridge is a joke, most Ketchikan citizens think its a joke, the bridge is a waste of effort. I would like to see them build a bridge that connected Ketchikan to the mainland so we can drive off by ourselves, and not be held captive to the Alaska Marine Highway, or get robbed by outragous airfares by Alaska Airlines....

[Broken_Hero]

49. Its actually not downtown.

the ferry boat ride, is not to downtown, if you were in ketchikan, say 5 or more years ago, the ferry ride was from teh aiport on Gravina Island to a little docking port next to the Shipyard. Then they moved the docking site, a tad furthher north, now it has its own docking port, and there is a texaco and minor construction sites around it. Downtown is where the HUGE Cruise Ships go to dock, and where our Tourism is located. Another note on tourism. They money doens't effect Ketchikans normal folk, the people who open shops are MOST from the lower 48, and they bring there own work force with them, the only people who benefit from tourism are the city/state officlas who get money from the docking fee's, adn the owners of the docks who charge outrageous amounts of cash for rent. My hometown doesn't have much going for it...Tourism is their number one money maker, cold storages, fishing next...some logging, but the logging is done on other surronding islands...

[formernaderite]

55. every long term career politician is the same...

doesn't matter which party. I can't stand any of the lifers regardless of their politics. None of them really believe in anything beyond holding on to power.

[warrens]

47. hahaha, lowest money by SQUARE MILE

Ted, we don't make decisions based on how many freakin' BEARS you have.

[ticapnews]

52. I would be happy to help carry the stretcher...

Of course, I might drop it. Accidentally. Several times.

[peekaloo]

53. A desperate plea for a Waaaaaaambulance.

how about a strait jacket, too.

[Doctor_J]

54. "Smallest allocation per area"

Yeah, and largest per capita. Ted, come in from whatever orbit you're in and remember what you're there for.

[hoffmanmotors]

56. I tried to imagine what that bridge would look like....

So I made this:

[ochazuke]

58. Will it ever be built?

I suppose they'll have to meet the regs for studies and public input. They have to justify the "purpose and need" for it.

If it gets past that stage, then the regs obviously have not teeth or meaning.

[Broken_Hero]

61. maybe...

It would have to be super high, or be one of those types of bridges that would have to have the capablity to fold up, to let the cruise ships pass through the Tongass Narrows....

[spanone]

59. Hey Ted, go fuck yourself.

[mitchum]

62. Big ol' drama queen