If freshman Rep. Scott Tipton thought he was doing himself any favors politically by refusing to support the Roaring Fork Transit Authority’s request for federal funding for upgrades, today’s retort from editorial pages in his district ought to convince him otherwise.
In the Aspen and Glenwood Springs Swift Communications papers today, editorial boards attack Tipton’s “shortsighted and misguided” “nitpicking and grandstanding” (respectively) over a tiny fraction of the total grant, some $9,000 in federal funds partially matched by local dollars to provide Wi-Fi service on the upgraded buses. Both editorial boards warn that this project has been negotiated in painstaking detail by the RFTA and the Federal Transit Administration. And as we did the day before yesterday, both papers argue strongly in favor the WiFi service as a revenue enhancing and important attraction for commuters.
Look, we understand what Rep. Tipton went into this situation hoping to achieve: to assert his authority, and make ‘an example’ of the RFTA’s grant as a place where some of his much-ballyhooed waste can be found and cut. After all, he ran for his office on a pledge to “cut the federal government in half,” so he’s got to start somewhere.
But Tipton picked the wrong project to concern troll–“shovel ready,” already negotiated and scrutinized by actual experts down to the last detail. We submit to you, summarizing the polite view of these editorial boards, that Cortez’s most successful pottery dealer has no useful role here whatsoever. And if Tipton was hoping to look like a leader, he’s failed dramatically.
Tipton is emerging as a problem for his constituents, not a leader. And politicians who become a problem for the people who vote them into office have short careers…
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just think about the uproar to come over Congress’ expected cuts of hundreds of billions from agriculture, even more so for Gardner.
For every lib who gets fired up for buses, there are five conservatives who can’t stand being stuck behind one on a two lane road. This won’t be the straw that breaks the Western Slope’s back, in fact Tipton is doing exactly what he promised. Conservatives have no problem with him double checking the math!
Aspen limo libs don’t ride buses either, but it’s nice to see they expect me to pay for their servants’ transportation into town…
how someone can say such silly stuff like you without feeling the least bit embarrassed.
Get out of your leftie bubble sometime and ask around. Your neighbors are not all cookie cutter Obamabots like you, sorry to notify you of this.
like the bus.
And I’m indie, but thanks for making an ASS of U (but not ME) .
Conservatives aren’t going to be on the roads for long because they won’t be able to afford the price of gas for their big diesel trucks. They are too stupid to change their ways therefore they will go the way of the dinosaur. Bye-bye gas hog conservatives.
Some folks would consider it job creation infrastructure to allow folks to share the cost of Wi-Fi access and pay for it with their pass fees. We give big oil billions of dollars in subsidies because we believe it will create jobs in the US so why not look at this as something to benefit the Colorado economy? This is a long term benefit and the immediate cost is miniscule but enhances the product. What’s wrong with a little capitalism and subsidizing of a job creating service?
Have you ever ridden the RFTA buses around Aspen? They’re full of “limo libs” who just also happen to be eco-conscious or just don’t like RF traffic.
Coloradans pay roughly $250 million a year in oil subsidies to an industry that continually posts record profits. This is a federal grant that totals about $25 million that will cost RFTA about $9,000, and that is a bad thing? Little back of the napkin math, and we find that the local cost will be .036% of the total coast.
It will reduce the demand for foreign oil, will increase worker productivity as they can now start their work day on the bus rather than sitting in a car, and take more cars off the road which means less congestion. All those things sound like pluses to me.
I guess if you really want to get up in arms about the federal government subsidizing something you could start with that $250 million I mentioned, which we pay to oil and gas companies. Especially since I paid $3.76 a gallon this morning. Even the former CEO of Shell said the subsidies are unnecessary.
To recap, we have a federal grant that is “shovel ready” (that means jobs in government speak), that will cost a local agency $9 grand, has ancillary benefits improving congestion, work productivity and get us off of foreign oil and you and Scott Tipton want to do away with it because you don’t like being stuck behind a bus.
There are five cons who hate being stuck behind the bus for every bus riding lib!
Game over, man.
and assumed that this was his/her fifth sock-puppet.
Tipton is NOT doing what he “promised” because he “promised” to never allow pork in the district. Signed a pledge even! What a guy…
Tipton is frantic because his tea party folks are screaming at him about this but the Aspen GOP hoy-poloy (SP???) opened their checkbooks for him big time. What’s a politician to do?
The truth is the 3CD got exactly what they wanted and what they – especially Mesa County and the WSCA – deserve: a spineless political puppet who doesn’t know which end is up.
You seemed to be asking for clarification on the spelling.
Guess they don’t call you Aristotle for nuthin’
“I won’t support this because I think it is not a function of the federal government to sponsor bus lines”, then people might be pissed, but at least they would understand about prinicples.
But, complaining about an amount smaller than 1/10% of the total just makes him look stupid and mean. It signals: I am too chickenshit to stand up for my principles.
Scott wiffed on this one.
What he’s doing makes no sense. Either oppose it out of principal. Or support because his district needs the jobs and system. But don’t screw the pooch over an amount that’s a rounding error.
Tipton doesn’t know what a principle is. He has none.
He only knows what he reads on Huffington Post.
People like you, however, talk to actual people in the grocery store. That’s important.
New big distressing news for folks in the southern part of the 3rd CD. A subcommittee lifted the ban on spending, potentially allowing the Army to expand and buy up their ranches. Wow, are they mad.
Get this, I’m hearing rumblings of a RECALL ELECTION for Tipton.
There are 7 or 8 states that allow the recall of federal officials and CO is one of them. Now you’re right – it’s never happened and it would likely end up in the Supreme Court with those state laws invalidated but to folks who cannot bear Scott “Tiptoe” anymore, it might be worth the shot.
It’s a waste of taxpayer money to even try it when the whole thing will be tied up in court long past the date for the next election. Let the conservatives in New Jersey pursue their recall case and figure it out, assuming SCOTUS decides to hear it.