From the Right Corner: The transportation budget and the 15-cent gas tax increase.

I’ve written about this briefly before, but I have a few more questions.

There are a variety of issues my sources tell me are under consideration as a result of this budget. One of them includes a plan for the rebuild/replacement of the I-5 Bridge, primarily to make that part of the light rail route that many in Vancouver can’t seem to let go.

Rep. Whome? would be a “no” on this budget for that reason alone, but all of that continues to beg the greater question: What do Republicans get out of this in return for their support?

The only answer I’ve been able to find is “nothing.”

Where are the efficiencies? Where are the design-build requirements? Where is the referendum clause? Where is the removal of prevailing wage requirements? Where is the ending of the idiotic practice of contractors paying sales tax on state construction projects?

I would be the first to agree that there are transportation projects and repairs that need funding.

But we do not need a replacement for the I-5 Bridge as a subterfuge to further the discredited idea of light rail. We do not need a newer, stronger I-5 bridge that leads to the Delta Park bottleneck. We need ADDITIONAL capacity over the Columbia River, a bridge out of the Camas area as well as one out of Ridgefield.

But painting a pig means that in the end, all you’ve got is a painted pig. And a new I-5 bridge that adds light rail while doing nothing to the Delta Park bottleneck is a total waste of time and money.

There are, I’m given to understand, Republicans in the Legislature will actually vote for this budget. But each vote taken for the budget that fails to address those areas important to fiscal conservatives is not only a wasted opportunity, but also a betrayal of the majority of people who supported their candidacy.

This gas tax increase, making Washington State’s gas tax the largest in the country by far; this tax increase, the largest gas tax increase in the history of the United States, presents opportunities that can actually make a positive impact. But for Republicans who vote for this WITHOUT DEMANDING AND IMPLEMENTING REFORMS, this represents yet another episode where the people of this state will suffer because, once again, Republicans attempt to out-democrat democrats.

How can we ever hope to regain control of the Legislature if we fail to offer any alternative to the democrats?

We can’t. So… we won’t. And that’s a damned shame.