28 May 2008 Senator John Warner: Do As He Says, Not As He Does

Would someone please figure out the carbon foot-stomp that Senator John Warner (R-VA) helped make on May 15 just so he could turn a wrench?

A ceremony in which Senator Warner was given the honor of tightening the “last bolt” on the almost-completed I-95 Woodrow Wilson Bridge across the Potomac River created a traffic nightmare in the Washington, D.C. area. According to reports, the ceremony, held at 11:00 am on a Thursday, caused traffic back-ups of up to eight miles over a stretch of more than five hours.

During times of major construction on the bridge, events predicted to have a severe impact on traffic normally were planned for weekends in order to prevent jams. It obviously can’t be expected for important people such as Senator Warner, Virginia Governor Tim Kaine (D), Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley (D), D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty (D) and U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters to give up their weekends, however, for what was ostensibly a private event held on the bridgespan.

It is particularly insulting that Senator Warner, the chief sponsor of a bill about to be debated in the Senate that will raise energy and consumer prices to allegedly cap “greenhouse gas” emissions, was the star of the show. He was beaming at the honor bestowed upon him in photos taken of the ceremony, but one has to wonder if it weighed on his conscience in the slightest that all those miles of cars and trucks were out there idling – spewing emissions – so he could play Bob the Builder.

It’s sickening, but that’s politics.

To read more about the event, click here.