This coming Monday in St. Cloud we will see the re-opening of the De-Soto Bridge and as such there will be elected officials on site to get their photo taken and take some level of credit for its creation:
The event starts at 8 a.m. Attendees are encouraged to gather at the Kelly Inn parking lot.
U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, DFL-Minn., and U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., will attend with other local officials.
The DeSoto Bridge closed March 20, 2008, after the discovery of bends in the gusset plates. Construction of the Granite City Crossing bridge that replaces it is near completion.
While I don't begrudge most politicians their photo op, there is a certain level of outrageous hypocrisy for Michele Bachmann to be anywhere near this bridge or ANY transportation project for that matter.
Way back in 2007, I detailed a case in which Bachmann appeared to give the Clear Lake Fire Department a check after having voted against the bill in which the funds were authorized. Prior to that, there was the incident in which she voted to adjourn just before the House of Representatives was to take up the emergency funding measure for the I35W Bridge. Add in the fact that Bachmann voted against the transportation bill from last year and you begin to see how showing up to take a photo next to a bridge you had no role in funding or building is the essence of hypocrisy.
Yet, it doesn't end there because we also have to remember that when the City of St. Cloud and the Chamber of Commerce came calling for help in building a new bridge, Bachmann told them she would not help to obtain the necessary funds. So, with all of her other media appearances we really must come to the conclusion that the 6th District has nothing more than photo op representation.
