Norm Coleman and his rare display of bipartisanship

Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN) crowed about non-partisanship in the Minneapolis Star Tribune today. He explained how amazing things can get done when politicians work together. He used the I35W bridge as his example.

What a crock. And what a crock for two specific reasons.

First, Republicans desperately want any discussion of the I-35W bridge collapse disaster to be apolitical and non-partisan, because the cause of the collapse is intensely partisan. The Republicans at the national level have failed to fund the maintenance and repair of our nation's infrastructure. Republicans in the state legislature and Governor Pawlenty have starved MNDOT and Carol Molnau has been been incompetent at MNDOT's helm.

Secondly, Norm has been intensely partisan until he was frightened by the 2006 elections. Since that darkest Tuesday of deepest November, Norm has been performing incredibly complex political gymnastics to prove he's more moderate than his voting record.

Let's examine what he had to say in the Strib.

Visiting the site in the aftermath of the dramatic collapse, it was difficult to absorb the magnitude of the disaster. As Minnesotans, we prayed for the victims and their families. As public officials, we sought answers to how such a tragedy could have occurred in our country. And we vowed to rebuild, and to do it quickly.

It's easy to talk about working together across the aisle to get things done. Following through on those promises is usually another story -- especially in the politically charged season of presidential politics. While it's not realistic to agree on every issue, it's a fact that the bipartisan efforts on the bridge have led to the largest and fastest federal response to a transportation emergency in the history of this country.
[emphasis mine]
(Strib)

Ain't that the truth, Norm? It's so easy to talk about bipartisanship, but when the Republicans in the Senate set out to block every bill from the Democrats, you stood solidly with them and set the record for most filibusters. Thankfully, Minnesota's pain wasn't a Republican disaster like New Orleans still is 2 1/2 years later.

Looking back at the six months since the bridge fell, it's amazing to see how much can be accomplished when no one cares who gets the credit. Congress authorized federal emergency funding for the project and pushed the U.S. Department of Transportation to get money out the door as quickly as possible. Our delegation worked with our colleagues in Congress to appropriate the final $195 million to cover the full cost of reconstruction with federal dollars -- $373 million in all. We urged quick turnarounds for local transit solutions resulting in a $133 million Urban Partnerships project for Minneapolis and the final approval of the Northstar Commuter Rail Line. We initiated a review of the federal bridge program by the Government Accountability Office and won Senate approval of a National Infrastructure Commission. In short, we put aside partisan differences and acted in the best interest of Minnesotans.
[emphasis mine]
(Strib)

While it is amazing when politicians come together, I think you would like us to remember in November how you played your part in the rebuilding of the bridge. To your credit, you and Sen. Klobuchar ably did your jobs.

If only you'd represented Minnesotans' wishes on all the other important issues of the day. You are wrong on Iraq. Your support of Bush's credit card fiscal policies combined with your support of blank checks for Iraq have led to a recession. Where was the oversight of the Bush Administration when you chaired the incredibly powerful Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations? Your shuck and jive trying to deflect the blame and redirect the discussion fails. You have failed Minnesota on these two issues.

You are wrong on healthcare. You are only interested in healthcare reform because you are interested in getting reelected. You got scared after the 2006 elections. Consequently, you've held a dozen or more forums during the day in rural Minnesota in the last six months. You've only had a few forums in cities, but they were during the day. You've worked hard at holding forums where only Republicans have been invited or would likely attend.

Why haven't you held a single forum in the Twin Cities in the evening where average Minnesotans could attend?

Are you scared of facing the music for cheerleading the worst administration in the history of the United States? Are you worried that people might confront you about your support of Medicare Part D? Are you worried that people might confront you about your lengthy list of flip flops?

While your conclusion (and the opinion piece overall) is true and factual, you pretend that you believe in real bipartisanship. The Republican definition of bipartisanship is that the Democrats cave to Republican demands. This is the definition you subscribe to. You have rarely worked in a bipartisan manner until recently. Until you got scared.

And it worked. The federal dollars are in the bank and ready to be spent. For the skeptics and critics, these six months of cooperation should serve as a model of what government can achieve when all of us work together for the same goal.

The bridge collapse was a terrible tragedy, one of the most difficult days in our memory. But now, six months later, despite the bitter weather that's hit us this winter, construction of the new I-35W bridge is reportedly on schedule for completion by Christmas. When the ribbon is cut on the new bridge, with so many folks having come together to make this happen, it will be one of our proudest days.
[emphasis mine]
(Strib)

Yes, you should proudly point to this one single instance in which you forgot the partisanship for which you are so famous and did what's best for Minnesota. If only this behavior weren't so rare.