The Brent Spence Bridge was the top story on MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show on Tuesday night, a few days after Senator Mitch McConnell and his Democratic opponent in November’s election, Alison Lundergan Grimes, floated rival plans to fund $2.6 billion project to fix its corridor.
Calling it “an unusual corner of American politics”, the liberal pundit said that bringing home funding for the bridge used to be something that McConnell specialized in.
In recent years, the Senate Minority Leader has stated that there would be no such earmark available. When Kentucky legislators blocked a bill that would have enabled the use of tolling to finance the project, they forced McConnell to reevaluate his position. Speaking at the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce on Friday, McConnell unveiled his plan to introduce legislation that would repeal the 83-year old Davis-Bacon Act, a prevailing wage law, a move that he said would generate $13 billion over ten years, some of which the Brent Spence Bridge project could compete for.
Local leaders were underwhelmed by the senator’s plan. Grimes’s plan, meanwhile, calls for the closing of tax loopholes utilized by wealthy individuals and corporations, a plan that also did not impress local leaders.
“You could basically walk across the state of Kentucky and not stand on something not named for Senator McConnell,” McConnell said. “But you know what, under the new ever-evolving principles of the Republican Party, Republicans aren’t allowed to do that anymore.”
“And unfortunately that bridge still needs building and without an earmark, no one knows how that’s going to get done.”
Watch the full segment:
