Commentor Miss Bianca suggested we use the Hank Williams classic as our theme for the 2024 races. I’m partial to this version from Hank Jr., with assists from Reba McIntire, Willie Nelson, and Tom Petty.
And on the topic of business and good Democratic governance… Michigan Governor Whitmer’s campaign slogan in 2018 was Fix the Damn Roads — a bipartisan favorite in a very car-dependent state whose climate is hell on manmade construction. Gov. Gretch has kept her promises, and she’s not ashamed to share the news:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 12, 2023LANSING, Mich. — Today, Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced that the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) will begin multiple road and bridge repair projects next week including repaving work on M-227 and rebuilding a ramp on the I-94/I-69 interchange in Calhoun County, resurfacing and other improvement work on M-50 in Jackson County, resurfacing work on M-123 in Luce County, repairs and upgrades to the US-31 bascule bridge over the Manistee River in Manistee County, and chipsealing on M-88 in Antrim County, M-93 in Crawford County, and M-18 in Roscommon and Crawford counties. Based on economic modeling, these investments are expected to support 2,876 jobs.
“Across Michigan, we are moving dirt and fixing the damn roads to drive economic activity, help Michiganders go to work, drop their kids off at school, and run errands safely,” said Governor Whitmer. “Through the end of this construction season, we will have fixed, repaired, or replaced nearly 20,000 lane miles of state-owned roads and 1,400 bridges since I took office, supporting 89,000 jobs without raising taxes by a dime. Let’s roll up our sleeves and keep getting things done.” …
More like this, everybody!
War for Ukraine Day 509: The Kerch Bridge
SpaceUnit
But she’s doing socializms!!
Omnes Omnibus
@SpaceUnit:
Okay.
japa21
She great, but than most Spartans are (he said modestly).
Odie Hugh Manatee
I like a Democratic success story and I hope that they keep building on it. I’m sure the billionaire media will do their best to play up anything that is negative while downplaying everything that the Democrats are accomplishing. Conservatives like to talk about what shitholes cities like Baltimore and Chicago are because of democratic policies while ignoring the fact that they have whole states that are shitholes because of conservative policies, such as Mississippi, Idaho, Florida and ….
Geminid
Trump kept promising Infrastructure Week, but he and Congressional Republicans could never deliver. Now Biden, Whitmer and the Democratic Party are delivering on Infrastructure Decade.
Ihop
Only semi-snarky, but I like a song by slayer called “payback”.
prostratedragon
@japa21: Nevertheless …! — Eleanor Roosevelt
Baud
“Roads are as smooth as a baby’s bottom, but at what cost.” — NYT
Burnspbesq
If Guv Gretch runs for President in 2028, I will be an enthusiastic supporter.
Hoodie
One good thing about road spending is that it pretty quickly makes it more apparent how much things had been left to go to pot over the last few decades. The thing I worry about is whether, once the roads are paved, the bridges fixed and the train service expanded, people will forget who did this for them. Dems need to figure out a way to permanently increase consciousness about this issue by making it part of the “regular people vs. billionaires” narrative. Perhaps earmark some sort of financial transactions tax for funding an infrastructure bank instead of for softer human services, such that transportation takes on less of a user-fee model.
SpaceUnit
These roads are woke. There’s no radioactive waste in them.
HumboldtBlue
@Geminid:
And the asshole GOPers who all voted against the infrastructure bill are now taking credit for it as projects and funding come through.
Eolirin
@Baud: They’re absolutely going to run some kind of story about how road and bridge funding shows how Democrats are hypocrites about climate change because of the CO2 emissions involved in the production of asphalt and concrete at some point.
Wapiti
@Hoodie: Yeah, wish I had been more aware of this when I was younger. Then every time my Republican dad started going on about the WPA coming in to his Nebraska town and building sidewalks and a water tower and a water treatment plant so people could have indoor plumbing, I could have been saying, “The WPA? That was under Roosevelt and the Democrats, right?”
Dan B
@Wapiti: Your dad thought the WPA was a private company or a GOP program from parsimonious Hoover?
something fabulous
This reminds me of a video that went viral a few years back, by the brilliant comedian Cat Adell. Fellow white people! Mind your own Fucking business!
Jackie
@HumboldtBlue: Time to show the voting record for the BBB bill by said republicans attempting to claim credit. Perfect campaign ads for those districts/states – they need to be shown often as the money starts showing up in Red districts.
Martin
I mean, he’s got a point.
Doc Sardonic
The ads write themselves. Base them on the old Lee Atwater scare formula. 30 second ad with infrastructure project, note Republican taking credit, insert their vote against it, follow up with call your Republican shit bag and ask them why they are lying to you.
Omnes Omnibus
@Martin: No, he doesn’t.
What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?
@japa21: Go Green!
MomSense
What a difference a Democratic state government makes. Expanding and protecting access to health care, abortion, high speed internet, jobs, education, gender affirming care and universal free school lunch. In our state we are expandng free community college education for more students.
How is the economy responding? Unemployment is 2.4%. Our economy is booming.
Jackie
@Doc Sardonic: We think alike!😊 I love your added idea of calling your Congressperson or Senator to call them out for lying.
Biden is scheduled to visit AL (rural internet) and MTG’s district ( for micro chip plant ground breaking?) soon… Tuberville is already lying about how he’s delivering “much needed” internet services to his constituents.
Jackie
Hank Jr’s song should be background music for all pro social political ads.
Geminid
@HumboldtBlue: Well they did not all vote against the Infrastructure Bill. Twenty or so voted “Aye.”
But Democrats should punch back hard against the ones stealing credit. Call them liars and thieves as well as cheapskates. If I had the money, I’d rent billboard space near the projects.
sdhays
You can’t claim to be a successful governor unless your state is experiencing much higher inflation than the national average, crops are rotting in your fields, your state educational system is collapsing with educators and students fleeing, tourists are avoiding your state like it’s filled with plague, and you’ve started a very stupid and very public spat with the largest, most famous employer in your state.
Whitmer clearly needs to up her game.
ETA: Oh, it’s also critical for that “success” rating for home insurers to be fleeing your state, which typically experiences at least one modest natural disaster per year.
NutmegAgain
I gotta vote for the classic classic, Hank Williams, Sr. version. Jr makes my hair stand on end. Great song though.
Miss Bianca
I been singing that song to myself in the car for days now, AL!
Just finished reading that New Yorker profile of Gretchen Whitmer, and I must say I like the cut of her jib!
Jackie
@Miss Bianca: Me, too! It’s a great attitude-y song that I agree with wholeheartedly!
twbrandt
I am a Michigan native and huge Gretchen Whitmer fan, but in addition to fixing the damn roads, I wish the state would devote much more resources to improving public transportation and the intercity passenger rail network, both of which are currently abysmal here in the mitten state.
Misterpuff
@NutmegAgain: But Junior kinda fits in the headspace of the MAGAt, NASCAR and rural redneck freedom lover, if you know what I mean.
It’s like a Trojan Horse for their psyche.
Matt McIrvin
Well, if Republicans continue to insist on using songs from liberals like Bruce Springsteen and John Cougar Mellencamp to promote their political campaigns, I guess it’s fair game for us to exploit Hank Jr.
brantl
@Matt McIrvin: Except we honor the artists wishes; although “artist” is a stretch for HWJr.
TL
@NutmegAgain: Amen to Hank Williams Sr.
Hank Jr. is living proof that sometimes talent skips a generation.
What a hack. Here’s a link to the real deal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZH2bmbUTl4