There are few things clearer in local politics than these:
1. The people of Clark County do not want the I-5 Bridge replaced.
2. The legislators allegedly representing us don't care what the people want.
3. The only way Oregon would ever agree to this bridge issue is if these same legislators sold us out on loot rail, which the people of this county also do not want.
4. Replacing the I-5 Bridge will be the biggest, most colossal waste of money in the history of the Northwestern United States.
Now, it's not surprising the democrats would throw the people of this county under the nearest bus, so to speak. They want what they want, the people be damned.
And when one reviews the list of alleged "Republicans" who allegedly "represent" us, it's not surprising that they would join with their fellow democrats to sell us out.
The infamous list of those who would cheerfully blow a $100,000,000 per year hole in our local economy on top of the hundreds of millions already wasted on the gas tax/tab fee/property tax increases of Sen. Ann "Gas Tax" Rivers and Sen. Lynda "Property Tax" Wilson, who helped force our property taxes up for no legitimate reason to pay off teacher extortion; Rep. Brandon Vick and now, Rep. Ed Orcutt... have all turned a deaf ear to the people who would be forced to pick up the tab for this perfidy.
There's no excuse for this, of course. Nor is there a reason: Clark County needs ADDITIONAL bridges over the Columbia River to Multnomah County, preferably from 192nd Ave to Troutdale and preferably one WEST of the I-5 Bridge to Hillsboro.
The latter option would dramatically reduce traffic through the I-5 corridor given the tens of thousands of people who live here but work there in the Hillsboro area.
That's neither here nor there, however: all of the SW Washington legislators involved are willing to bend us over so Portland can start to infest us with their hated crime train so we can bail THEM out of their massive billion dollar plus debt and so they can suck up the limited money available that actually WOULD result in lower congestion, higher freight mobility and increased safety options.
MOST of these legislators rightfully opposed this scheme 5 years ago. Ann Rivers earned the title "Bridge Killer" when her work resulted in the temporary death of that massive ripoff.
But something has happened to the formerly populist Senator and her politics now are unrecognizable from the variety she practiced when she was first elected. Her decision to betray us with her gas tax/tab fee vote that cost the taxpayers of Clark County $700 million; her hiring by a democrat campaign firm (Strategies 360) while selling us out on massive property tax increases to pay off the teachers... and now a complete reversal from the stance that earned her the respect and admiration of the people of this community, show that the Rivers we elected initially is no longer with us.
She is "Bridge Killer" no more.
Oregon's governor has made it clear its loot rail or no deal, just like her predecessor (Kitzhaber) and our clueless moron of a governor (Inslee) told us when opposition to the insanity of that system might have made the difference.
Our Republicans clearly don't care and will happily bury us with this rip off.
Why?
Simple: because NONE of the people from SW Washington pushing this idiocy will have to pay for it.
None of them will be required to cough up the estimated $2000 per year in tolls... each... to start with... to go to work every day... a cost they fully intend to ram down our throats.
They won't ask us. We will have no say. And none of these people care, since they no longer represent us; instead, representing the downtown Vancouver special interests who clearly own them like many pieces of meat.
Of COURSE they'll ram this down our throats. Why wouldn't they? THEY wouldn't have to pay for it: the 70,000 or so commuters are the ones who'll get screwed here.
And like our massive, unneeded, inexplicable property tax increase, it will be our Republican legislators who did it to us.
1. The people of Clark County do not want the I-5 Bridge replaced.
2. The legislators allegedly representing us don't care what the people want.
3. The only way Oregon would ever agree to this bridge issue is if these same legislators sold us out on loot rail, which the people of this county also do not want.
4. Replacing the I-5 Bridge will be the biggest, most colossal waste of money in the history of the Northwestern United States.
Now, it's not surprising the democrats would throw the people of this county under the nearest bus, so to speak. They want what they want, the people be damned.
And when one reviews the list of alleged "Republicans" who allegedly "represent" us, it's not surprising that they would join with their fellow democrats to sell us out.
The infamous list of those who would cheerfully blow a $100,000,000 per year hole in our local economy on top of the hundreds of millions already wasted on the gas tax/tab fee/property tax increases of Sen. Ann "Gas Tax" Rivers and Sen. Lynda "Property Tax" Wilson, who helped force our property taxes up for no legitimate reason to pay off teacher extortion; Rep. Brandon Vick and now, Rep. Ed Orcutt... have all turned a deaf ear to the people who would be forced to pick up the tab for this perfidy.
There's no excuse for this, of course. Nor is there a reason: Clark County needs ADDITIONAL bridges over the Columbia River to Multnomah County, preferably from 192nd Ave to Troutdale and preferably one WEST of the I-5 Bridge to Hillsboro.
The latter option would dramatically reduce traffic through the I-5 corridor given the tens of thousands of people who live here but work there in the Hillsboro area.
That's neither here nor there, however: all of the SW Washington legislators involved are willing to bend us over so Portland can start to infest us with their hated crime train so we can bail THEM out of their massive billion dollar plus debt and so they can suck up the limited money available that actually WOULD result in lower congestion, higher freight mobility and increased safety options.
MOST of these legislators rightfully opposed this scheme 5 years ago. Ann Rivers earned the title "Bridge Killer" when her work resulted in the temporary death of that massive ripoff.
But something has happened to the formerly populist Senator and her politics now are unrecognizable from the variety she practiced when she was first elected. Her decision to betray us with her gas tax/tab fee vote that cost the taxpayers of Clark County $700 million; her hiring by a democrat campaign firm (Strategies 360) while selling us out on massive property tax increases to pay off the teachers... and now a complete reversal from the stance that earned her the respect and admiration of the people of this community, show that the Rivers we elected initially is no longer with us.
She is "Bridge Killer" no more.
Oregon's governor has made it clear its loot rail or no deal, just like her predecessor (Kitzhaber) and our clueless moron of a governor (Inslee) told us when opposition to the insanity of that system might have made the difference.
Our Republicans clearly don't care and will happily bury us with this rip off.
Why?
Simple: because NONE of the people from SW Washington pushing this idiocy will have to pay for it.
None of them will be required to cough up the estimated $2000 per year in tolls... each... to start with... to go to work every day... a cost they fully intend to ram down our throats.
They won't ask us. We will have no say. And none of these people care, since they no longer represent us; instead, representing the downtown Vancouver special interests who clearly own them like many pieces of meat.
Of COURSE they'll ram this down our throats. Why wouldn't they? THEY wouldn't have to pay for it: the 70,000 or so commuters are the ones who'll get screwed here.
And like our massive, unneeded, inexplicable property tax increase, it will be our Republican legislators who did it to us.
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