Mn/DOT Discipline

Now that three Mn/DOT supervisors have been disciplined for inadequate oversight of Sonia Pitt, the fired Homeland Security and Emergency Management director, the Dems still want more according to the Press here and here. It doesn’t make any difference how many layers of management there was between Pitt and Commissioner Molnau, the Dems will not be satisfied until they remove the Commissioner.

To the Dems, it won’t make any difference that Pitt was a difficult employee according to the report—belligerent, aggressive and "difficult to work with." It won’t make any difference that the report says many Mn/DOT managers "did not want to have her under their supervision." Somehow this is all Molnau’s fault.

To the Dems, like Murphy, Clark and Kalin, it won’t make any difference that an investigation into Pitt had already commenced before the I-35W bridge collapsed. This investigation may very well have lead to discipline or dismissal of Pitt that would have gone unnoticed by DFL legislators. Of course in that case, Molnau would never have received praise for the good work in her department.

But the collapsing bridge exposed Pitt before that ongoing investigation could be completed. And now Molnau is charged with guilt. If Molnau is to be that involved in the daily activities of each of the 4,700 Mn/DOT employees and supervisors, she would never have time for running the department. But for too many Dems, any excuse will do to get at Pawlenty by attacking Molnau.

Sad to say, if all this had happened under a Democrat administration, none of the Dems would have made any complaint about their Commissioner of Transportation. The issue isn’t about Mn/DOT spending tax dollars wisely; it is about increasing taxation. The issue isn’t about misconduct; it’s about getting rid of Molnau for any excuse. At the same time any Democrat excuse will excuse Mark Richie.

Democrat Chutzpah

DFLers balk at approving stopgap I-35W bridge money
Panel's members want answers to host of MnDOT questions
BY BILL SALISBURY

"Democrats on a Minnesota legislative panel are balking at giving Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty the $195 million he says is needed to avoid delaying other highway projects because of a funding snag for rebuilding the Interstate 35W bridge."

Read the whole article...

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Anyone capable of understanding fund accounting knows that Carol Molnau and the Department of Transportation cannot be blamed for a shortage of money to rebuild the collapsed bridge. The department receives its money from the legislature. It’s budget is allocated to projects.

When a failed bridge must be replaced, either its whole funding must be infused into the Mn/DOT’s budget or other projects must be delayed to free up dollars to pay for the top priority. It’s rather simple.

It’s not Molnau’s fault that the promised $195 million from the feds is being threatened with a veto by President Bush because the transportation bill is stuffed with pork.

Given the potential delay of receiving this money, it is understandable that legislators and the Governor are cautious about how to fund this temporarily out of state reserves, which should be reimbursed by the feds. That should be regarded as a non-political accounting matter.

In the end, the Donkeys will quit their stiff-legged resistance just in time to avoid actually delaying bridge reconstruction because they do not want to be accused of that. In the meantime, they grandstand to set the stage to remove Molnau as Commissioner.

Prior to the bridge collapse, where was this chorus of Dem falsettos over Molnau and DOT’s use of funds? These Dems shamelessly use a tragedy as an occasion to manufacture fear that other projects won’t be built when it is in their power to provide the temporary funding that will be reimbursed just to attack Molnau. They brazenly use a federal pork-barrel funding fiasco to manufacture a crisis in the state DOT and specifically with Molnau’s leadership.

Mike Nifong found it’s easy to manufacture charges. It certainly appears these Dems are doing the same in Minnesota. The public is not stupid. We are capable of differentiating between manufactured and genuine charges.

The public also expects Democrat legislators to ask Mn/DOT tough questions. After all, both the DOT and legislators work for us. But we also know when they are asking the questions with ulterior motives. It’s getting disgusting–very disgusting.

Check out this commentary as well.

Senatorial Partisanship

On August 21, Senator Rick Olseen (D-17) wrote a news release entitled Time to Invest in Transportation Infrastructure. With the need to rebuild the I-35W bridge is mind, he wrote:

The time is now to come together in the spirit of compromise and bipartisanship to reach a solution that properly addresses the funding deficiencies that have been plaguing our transportation system for many years.

On September 12, he wrote about the one day special session to provide disaster relief, saying:

I’m pleased that the governor and Legislature were able to work together and deliver this much-needed relief to those who have been affected by this disaster. Although I am disappointed that this special session did not address the broad safety concerns facing our state’s roads and bridges, I’m hopeful that this spirit of compromise will continue and an agreement on a comprehensive transportation package will be reached in time for the 2008 Legislative Session.

While we may not agree with all of Senator Olseen’s solutions, his tone is much appreciated. He expresses that the Governor, Senate and House must work together for Minnesota, laying partisanship aside.

After this seeming good start, however, Olseen is now lining up with his DFL buddies against the Pawlenty administration, calling for the resignation of Transportation Commissioner Carol Molnau. T.W. Budig reports about Olseen:

"The best possible thing for her (Molnau) is to gracefully resign and pass the torch to someone else," said Sen. Rick Olseen, DFL-Harris, speaking at a Wednesday (Sept. 26) press conference in the shadow of the Lafayette Bridge on the Mississippi River in St. Paul.

What happened to the spirit of compromise and bipartisanship? He has joined the attack dogs. Without adequately stating publicly any actual causes or reasons, the wolf pack just wants to take her down. The dogs smell blood and will not be satisfied until they get it.

With this latest declaration, we now should return to his two press releases. Perhaps we need to read them as a statement that the Republican Governor needs to demonstrate a spirit of compromise and bipartisanship and that Olseen was not personally adopting a spirit of compromise and bipartisanship. If that is not the case, he has changed his attitude from August to September.

Once this attitude is adopted, Molnau will not be able to do anything right in the eyes of the attack dogs. Anything that goes wrong (and there is plenty of that), will be her fault even if it is not her fault. We had hoped for a statesman; we are getting a partisan politician.

More Democrat Rhetoric

Molnau should leave MnDOT post, legislator urges governor

Pawlenty says he won't fire MnDOT commissioner Carol Molnau in response to charges by the chair of the Senate Transportation Committee that she is incompetent.
Article by Mark Brunswick

"In an escalating war of words, the chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee on Wednesday said Gov. Tim Pawlenty should fire Transportation Commissioner Carol Molnau -- who is also lieutenant governor -- for what he said were numerous examples of incompetence.

A Pawlenty spokesman said the governor's office would not fire Molnau, who has faced criticism and renewed calls for her ouster since the collapse of the Interstate-35W bridge in Minneapolis on Aug. 1.

While he did not directly blame Molnau's stewardship for the collapse of the bridge, Sen. Steve Murphy, D-Red Wing, criticized Molnau and other MnDOT leaders for their actions following the collapse. He pointed to MnDOT's choice of the highest bidder for the replacement bridge, lawsuits and complaints filed by losing bidders, and the agency's emergency manager failing to return from a business trip to the East Coast for 10 days after the collapse as evidence of a need for change.

"The public has completely lost confidence in the leadership at MnDOT and so has the Legislature," Murphy said, standing near the LaFayette Bridge over the Mississippi River in St. Paul. The bridge is one of about 100 in the state with nonredundant, fracture-critical components like the I-35W bridge, and which are rated "structurally deficient."We have a serious problem in the state of Minnesota and we need serious people with serious answers. We need someone in there who is a professional, that knows engineering, that knows transportation and that is not Carol Molnau," said Murphy, with several other legislators standing nearby.

Murphy said the full Senate would likely consider refusing to confirm Molnau as transportation commissioner as one of its first duties when the legislature convenes in February and that the Senate has the votes to reject her confirmation. A commissioner may serve without confirmation, but if rejected, Molnau could be forced from the MnDOT post but she would retain her elected position as lieutenant governor.

The request for Molnau's termination comes in the midst of a larger debate over transportation funding and questions about a cash flow problem in the department, with the possibility raised of postponed projects to fund the I-35W bridge reconstruction.

Pawlenty spokesman Brian McClung dismissed Murphy's remarks as personal name calling and said the governor is interested in moving ahead on a comprehensive transportation plan when the Legislature convenes in February. McClung said Molnau has been working through significant issues in a department that has historically generated controversy.

"From our perspective, Senator Murphy has been holding out this confirmation issue. We hope that legislators are going to take a fair approach to looking at her confirmation. We believe she should be confirmed," McClung said.

McClung said Pawlenty continues to express support for Molnau and that Pawlenty has had no reservations about Molnau serving a dual role as lieutenant governor and transportation commissioner."

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Senator Murphy’s call for Molnau’s termination is obviously the voice that Rep. Kalin (17B) wants. Kalin’s press releases (links previously noted) demonstrate the itch to be rid of her.

Rather than pull together to overcome the crisis caused by the bridge collapse, the Dems play political games. Someone must be blamed. That is especially convenient when the other party is in administration. You can bet your last dollar that the libs would not be making this call if they were holding administrative power.

Why is the Chair of the Senate Transportation Committee now faulting Molnau for "...about 100 [bridges] in the state with nonredundant, fracture-critical components like the I-35W bridge..." when that is his jurisdiction as well? How is it that the sudden collapse of one bridge brings all these other bridges on his radar screen? Doesn’t he read Mn/DOT reports? Isn’t it his specific job to keep tabs on the condition of bridges and the schedule for repair or replacement? The very fact that he can identify bridges with "...nonredundant, fracture-critical components..." implies he has read reports. Did he just now read the reports? If he read them earlier, where was his and his committee’s plan for repair or replacement? After all, the average citizen has known for years that the backlog of bridge repair/replacement has been growing. It doesn’t require being a senator to know this. And the Dems could have been in power when this bridge collapsed. Oh wait! He is in power.

While pointing out Molnau’s failures, he points out his own. If Molnau should go, then so should he. If there can be no confidence in Molnau, then how can we have confidence in Chair Murphy? He must accept responsibility for all bridges in Minnesota as part of the Transportation Committee.

Blaming is a childish game that the Dems have mastered. It diverts attention from one’s own failures to another. It appears to address the problem, satisfying the party base, but does little or nothing to correct the problem. It disheartens the very team that must solve the problem, while the jackals gnaw their political bones and the hyenas laugh with glee over the sacked teammate. Blamers don’t remember that what goes around, comes around.

Suddenly all the backlog of potential calamity is hyped because of one crisis. Dems make a crisis of a crisis in order to dig deeper into the taxpayer’s pockets. The next months will be filled with Democrats moaning about the need for billions in transportation dollars to get voters convinced to open their pocketbooks. Talk about creating a culture of fear!

We voters get disgusted that so many of our elected leaders are so childish and such fear-mongers. Quit pointing fingers. Get back to work. Do the job. Solve the problems and get the bridge replaced as a team. The new bridge will not be a Democrat bridge if it falls down. You can be sure of that!