Walker's Road Delay Disaster proves Republicans can't govern!!!

If you thought the Verona Road interchange was a nightmare, just wait till snow plows try to find a place to put the white stuff piling up between the cement barriers. I gotta say it; this is friggin' crazy. Scott Walker's "no tax" pledge to Grover Norquist was fun to watch for awhile, but now?

My god the balls:

Yes, strengthen is the word I was looking for.

Not so much. WKOW:

You’ll notice Walker’s planned delays push our biggest and most expensive road projects off into another gubernatorial term, where this becomes someone else’s problem…very likely a Democratic governor.

Kicking the can down the gravel road, I guess this is what Walker meant when he talked about his "bold" agenda, borrowing $500 million more. JSonline:

Gov. Scott Walker’s transportation budget proposal: cut $447.4 million from state highway programs; provide nearly $70 million more for maintenance; $65 million more for local governments; authorize $500 million in new borrowing; significant delays for some major projects including Milwaukee's Zoo Interchange and reconstructing Interstate 94 south of Milwaukee. Significant delays for major projects:

1. 2 year delay completing work on the Zoo Interchange in Milwaukee, extending the work until 2022.

2. No funding for $1.6 billion plan to reconstruct the leg of I-94 south of Milwaukee … a new set of delays for a project that has already been relegated to the back burner.

3. Work on Highways 18 and 151 on Madison’s south side would be delayed for two more years, with completion pushed off from 2019 to 2021.

4. Highway 15 in the Fox Valley would face a one-year delay, meaning it would not be finished until 2022.

5. Highway 23 between Fond du Lac and Plymouth would be delayed for three more years. That project is already on hold because of litigation.

Walker's refusal to fix Roads is scaring everyone now, as we all head into the repair shops.

Like almost every societal problem we’re seeing now, from health care and clean drinking water, to transportation, Republicans have either caused the problem or made them worse by refusing to spend money to fix things.

The deplorable road conditions in Wisconsin focused our attention on just how bad Scott Walker and the Republicans are at governing. They're ideologically driven machines, with winning as the only desired outcome. If we can't fix this easy one, god help us. 

Even the Walker cheer leading squad at Right Wisconsin have come to the realization that spending cuts can even affect them. It's not so much fun being on the receiving end, is it? Time to rewrite a few mindless talking points guys?

As reported earlier this week by the Wisconsin State Journal, Governor Scott Walker’s transportation secretary had this to say regarding the impact of not increasing the gas tax or vehicle registration fees:

"That non-backbone system, which is about 90 percent of the state highway system, is going to continue to deteriorate in condition.”

Got that? Ninety percent of the state’s roads comprise the “non-backbone system.” Give Secretary Mark Gottlieb credit for not mincing words in explaining the impact of Walker’s directive that Gottlieb not request higher taxes or fees in his 2017-19 budget request.

When your own party gives up trying to fix things, you know you've got a massive problem.

I found the following story in a tweet by Rep. Robin Vos, from the right wing site Daily Takes:

It’s time to get serious about the Wisconsin road, bridge and highway crisis, and it’s time for conservatives to lead the way toward resolving it.

No, really, ya think?

And everybody knows that not fixing our roads simply shifts the responsibility and cost from the state to you and me:

Bad roads are a hidden tax, which may be convenient for politicians, but not so much for the rest of us. A recent nonpartisan report indicates vehicle maintenance, avoidable accidents and congestion delays ding Wisconsin drivers for more than $2,000 a year. 

Which brings me to the following possible solution posted in the mailbag section of the Wisconsin state Journal by Jim Sparks:

My 5-year-old vehicle has had the front end suspension replaced two times at a cost of well over $2,000. Gov. Scott Walker’s fear of adding a small gasoline user tax, because doing so may upset his no-new-taxes supporters, requires me to pay a personal auto maintenance fee to support his misguided ideology.

I know roads and bridges are very expensive. But I have a plan that will let the governor and short-sighted Legislature save money by not fixing the roads. I propose Gov. Walker establish a special fund called “The Wisconsin Road-related Disabled Vehicle Fund.” This will allow those of us who have front-end breakdowns to send our bills to the governor for reimbursement. It sure would be a lot cheaper for the state than fixing the roads.

I'll close with this insightful final thought:

If we just continue to hold tight under the misguided notion of what is conservative and therefore don’t invest in resolving the curret crisis, over the next decade there will be 250 fewer new road projects, 800 fewer miles of roads will be rehabilitated or improved (thus increasing the miles of poor roads by 81 percent). This means 26 percent of all highways in Wisconsin will be in poor condition by 2027.

Let’s be clear. These numbers are not some hype from the special interests, these numbers are the sober, honest analysis of Governor Walker’s Department of Transportation.

Walker puts Wisconsin near top of the list for Worst Roads in the Nation.

If you’re going crazy figuring out how to spend your $5 property tax savings bestowed upon us by Scott Walker, I've got an idea. Fix your car.

It’s the old, “save a little, spend a lot/penny wise, pound foolish" dilemma republicans gave into long ago. It's not just unworkable, but it's also an inconvenience they're not willing to reconcile. Wisconsin Rapids Tribune: 

Wisconsin's roads are the third-worst in the nation and the potholes and other problems that plague them cost drivers in some cities almost twice the national average in repairs and associated costs, according to a new study of the state's highway system.

To make matters worse, republicans can’t increase taxes because they've taken a pledge to uphold an idea created by a 12 year old many years ago. Sadly, that 12 year old never grownup, but he is older. He's Grover Norquist.

The party of big business has some explaining to do:

The study found that if the state's roads aren't brought back into good condition, it could harm Wisconsin's struggling economy, which is rebounding from the Great Recession more slowly than other states in the Midwest. Companies that are considering moving to Wisconsin could choose to relocate in states with better infrastructure that doesn't cost them as much in annual repairs.

Currently, the state is budgeting 27 percent of the transportation funds … In 1993, the state dedicated 36.2 percent of road revenue for local governments.

Of course, we could also pretend things could be worse, and save lots of money by putting off unpopular ideologically tough decisions:

State Sen. Jerry Petrowski, R-Marathon, is chairman of the Committee on Transportation and he thinks Wisconsin's roads still are in better condition than those of its neighbors.

I thought this tweet said it all: