Blame and Fading Memories

Last week the Red Wing Republican Eagle ran an editorial cartoon that took their State Senator to task for some rather intemperate comments that he has made in recent months.

Aparently Senator Murphy took umbrage with the cartoon (HT Jason Lewis) and he fired off the following letter to the editor of the Republican Eagle.

Your recent cartoon depicting me in a Nazi uniform crossed the line of basic decency. Even to a politician, this is unacceptable. As a Marine, I saw no humor in it. As the chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, I can only say you are doing your readers a terrible disservice by continuously towing the Republican line and viciously attacking anyone with a different opinion. To set the record straight, I have never explicitly or indirectly blamed the governor, Lt. Gov./Commissioner Carol Molnau or any MnDOT employee for the I-35W bridge collapse. Have I called for Molnau’s resignation? Yes, I have been for over a year. But I have done so for a host of reasons, none of which is blame for the bridge tragedy.

SCREEEEEECH!!!!! What - you have never explicitly or indirectly blamed the Lt. Governor/MNDOT Commissioner???? Perhaps you should re-read the editorial that you wrote for the Star Tribune last November....

When asked who chose not to reinforce the I-35W bridge with steel plates, Molnau said "of course I'm not the one making the decision" and said engineers and "bridge people" had worked with the firm that recommended the reinforcement. McFarlin went so far as to call out the state bridge engineer by name as the one ultimately responsible for this decision. This attempt to push accountability from the top of the agency down demonstrates the clear lack of respect these individuals have for MnDOT employees.

So by his own words, the head of MNDOT (that would be Lt. Governor Molnau for those of you from St. Paul) should be responsible for the failing of the engineers to appropriately reinforce the gusset plates on the I-35W Bridge!

Please Senator Murphy - do not insult the intelligence of the electorate in this manner. In this age of You Tube and Google, it is too easy for any schlub with internet access to find this information. Kinda like I just did!