I know most people's attention is on the elections a week away. But I wanted to share a quick story with you.
Today was the official dedication ceremony for the recently-completed but long-overdue Milton (KY) - Madison (IN) Ohio River bridge. It was an innovative project, the longest "truss slide" project in the country and likely the world. I previously wrote about it here.
The bridge transports 3,500 people a day and had been rated 33 out of 100 on a sufficiency scale. It had gotten so bad that we had to shut down semi traffic, which was a major hassle as it cutoff our nearest access to I-71 and several major factories in Kentucky. The nearest bridges were either 26 miles upstream or 45 miles downstream.
Indiana and Kentucky had been negotiating funding for a new bridge for 2 years. It wasn't until the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (aka "the stimulus") was passed over Republican opposition that the project materialized. The stimulus provided $20 million in funding and the two states were able to find a mix of state and federal funding to green light the project. Follow me below the orange croissant for the story of today's dedication ceremony.
The dedication ceremony was attended by both Governor Steve Beshear (yeah!) of Kentucky and Governor Mike Pence (boo!) of Indiana. As we all know Mike Pence was the #3 Republican in the House in 2009. He strongly advocated against the stimulus, saying:
“[The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act] won’t work to put Americans back to work. It won’t create jobs. The only thing it will stimulate is more government and more debt. It will probably do more harm than good.”
The
official project website disagrees:
In February 2010, the project was awarded $20 million in funding under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act. Indiana and Kentucky have identified state and federal funding for the remaining cost of the project, which will be evenly split by both states. Construction is projected to create or preserve 1,400 jobs.
Madison is a mostly conservative area and I wanted to remind them as they listened to Governor Pence speak that our new bridge that they love so much and that we had waited on for so long would not have happened had Mike Pence gotten his way.
I hesitated going. My Mom was afraid I would embarrass my mostly Republican family. My cousin's husband is running for county commissioner on the Republican ticket. I also haven't lived in Madison for most of the last 20 years and am only here temporarily. Plus I knew I wouldn't get much community support except for maybe some of the liberal professors from Hanover College. But in the end I felt compelled to do something, no matter how minor or how ineffective. I made a half-hearted attempt to rally some support from any Kossacks living in this area but knew I would probably be on my own. I was.
Because of rain the ceremony was held in city-owned Brown Gym. It was open to the public. I took a poster board sign that simply read:
This bridge was brought to us by the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (aka "the stimulus"). Mike Pence and every other House Republican voted NO!
It was factual. It wasn't vulgar. I held it quietly, moving occasionally from one side of the stage to the other (I was on the floor in the VIP area and facing the crowd). My sign wasn't very well made as I literally made it in the Dollar Tree checkout lane on my way to the ceremony. So I could tell some people were having a hard time reading it but it was being read. All the Louisville TV stations and several photographers were there and took pictures of me and my sign so maybe it will get some more exposure. I got a handful of smiles and maybe a thumbs up or two. But I got a lot more frowns.
One man in a suit and tie came over and asked me, "After you hold your sign for a few minutes, do you plan to sit down?" I said, "Sure, I'll sit down." He said, "Could we maybe suggest a time when it would be appropriate for you to sit down?" I politely said, "No." He said, "When the dignitaries arrive, we'll need to clear this area." I said, "When the dignitaries arrive, I will sit down." He walked away.
A few minutes later I was approached by two officers from the Madison Police Department. One of them was a high school classmate. They told me I had to leave because there was a "designated protest zone" outside the gym. I told them it was a public ceremony in a city-owned building and that I had a first amendment right to be there.
Then my aunt, not an overtly political person but definitely Republican, was suddenly in my face. She said, "Brad, there's a time and place for everything and this isn't it." Then she grabbed the sign out of my hands and turned away from me. I grabbed her arm and took my sign back. One of the officers grabbed me and said, "Sir, you are going to be arrested if you don't walk out with us right now."
As I was escorted outside several dozen people cheered. I'm sure they were agreeing with my removal and not with my protest. I went outside and they made me walk 10-15 feet away from the building entrance. They said, "You're okay there, sir." I said, "I'm okay as long as you don't believe in the first amendment." One lady who I had seen inside came out and told me, "I want you to know I support your right to be here and your right to hold a sign." She didn't say whether or not she agreed with me politically but either way I appreciated her gesture.
Mike Pence's SUV was parked directly in front of the entrance. As he exited to walk into the building I yelled at him, "Why did you vote against the stimulus, Governor? This bridge was built by the stimulus governor!" Neither he nor anybody in his entourage showed any reaction.
A few minutes later Steve Beshear walked up the sidewalk on the opposite side of the entrance. I turned and held my sign towards him but he didn't even look in my direction. I left after that.