Few mentions of bridge at convention

Posted at 10:37 AM on September 3, 2008 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)

Given the way Republicans embraced 9/11 and the stories of heroism at the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York, it was mildly surprising that they wouldn't do the same with the stories of the I-35W bridge disaster in Minneapolis.

That changed -- at least a little bit -- on Tuesday when Shanna Hansen spoke (above).

Many of us know her from a different profile:

She played it straight, however. No politics.

But looking back after a year, what strikes me most about that tragic day is how in-between the chunks of broken concrete we got to see the best of the human spirit in action. I have never been more proud to serve as a Minneapolis firefighter; to work as part of a team with the paramedics and police that showed up to serve our community.

Comments (1)

While 9-11 and the bridge collapse do have heroic actions in common, the fact that the bridge collapse was due at least in part to lack of infrastructure investment -- underlined by our Republican governor's taxophobia and the incompetent management of DOT by our Republican lieutenant governor -- the fact that the Republicans didn't highlight it strikes me as a smart move.

Posted by Bob | September 3, 2008 11:20 AM

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