Super Double Corrupt

When the quid pro quo in your corrupt dealings is so obvious that reporters feel compelled to remark that "Rarely, though, are the tradeoffs quite as obvious as in the twisted case of Coconut Road" you know you have a problem. A little discretion never killed anyone, though I suppose it remains to be seen if Representative Don Young's (R-Alaska) lack of it will kill his career.

Pretty hilariously, even though he got the cash appropriated to build this road in Florida "County authorities have twice voted not to use it, until Mr. Young and the district congressman wrote letters warning that a refusal could jeopardize future federal money for the county." It seems, however, that the money is a boon "to Daniel J. Aronoff, a real estate developer who helped raise $40,000 for Mr. Young at the nearby Hyatt Coconut Point hotel days before he introduced the measure."

Comments

Can it be possible that Yon Dung will finally receive his comeuppance? I used to live in Alaska and know first-hand the stupidity, cupidity, and rancidity of this yahoo (apologies to the website).

SEND HIM BACK TO FORT YUKON WITH AN ANKLE BRACELET!

Posted by Anandakos | June 8, 2007 9:55 AM

Don Young is a corrupt idiot who has the distinction of being the only incumbent Alaskan congressman to nearly lose an election (typically, politicians in Alaska either retire or die in plane crashes. getting an incumbent out of office in Alaska is a lot like removing a tick, in almost every way).
He managed this because he rarely visits the state, only shows up a couple of times a year for bear hunts and such, and at the time his "residence" was a shelled out trailer husk out on a lot somewhere. He also managed to miss a lot of votes critical to Alaska that year, which irked a few people. A few decades of that and Alaskans start to get to the point where they almost won't put up with it, and issue a stern warning to shape up or get another stern warning.
The "Bridge to Nowhere" is just another example of how out of touch he is with his "constituency". Although I haven't lived in Alaska for years, I grew up there and would bet serious money that even the people this bridge "services" don't want it. The island supposedly has 50 residents. Just a note about Alaskans: They don't require you to live in remote regions without road access or electricity. Everyone who wants to is free to live in Anchorage, Fairbanks, or any other city or town. As a general rule, the people who live in remote, rural locations in the middle of nowhere in Alaska do so because they don't like living near multi-million dollar construction projects. They do not, in fact, live there because they hope that "civilization" will eventually make its way to them.
Don Young is a self-serving twit with no business in any position of leadership or responsibility. He is a walking pocket-lining machine, and is for sale to anyone with a big checkbook. His sole skill as a congressman is delivering pay for play legislation for money.

Posted by CrankyLib | June 8, 2007 11:46 AM

There were two bridges. The bridge to Gravina Island is not a bridge to nowhere. Gravina Island is where Ketchikan airport is located. Why the federal government should pay for this improvement to Alaska is a good question, but it's no worse than a number of other stupid projects.

The other bridge to nowhere is between Anchorage and Port Mackenzie across the Knik Arm. That is the real meaningless pork barrel project. If you did a study of the ten thousand places in America that needed to be connected by road, you wouldn't be within ten thousand of getting to this bridge.

Posted by Breadbaker | June 9, 2007 4:21 AM