Apparently unfamiliar with the concept of irony, Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) has drafted an angry letter to the chief of Washington D.C.'s Metro, complaining that protesters at last weekend's 9/12 "tea party" had difficulty traveling by transit -- the very transit system that Brady voted against aiding, and the epitome of government spending that the tea partiers claim to oppose.
Tea partiers protesting Big Government's intrusion -- and its failure to adequately support transit, of course. (Photo: WaPo)Brady's monumental audacity has awakened a welcome chorus of boos from the liberal blogosphere.
Steve Benen asked how the Texas conservative could demand that the government provide "a basic level of transit service" for tea partiers but not a basic level of health insurance. Atrios observed that the episode exposes non-urbanites' conception of cities: as "big urban theme parks."
But the most interesting response to Brady's hilarious lament came from Metro itself, which took the episode with the utmost seriousness. A spokeswoman from the transit system says the "circumstances surrounding the large crowds will be researched and a response will be sent to Brady."
Here's a suggestion for that response: Let us spend money on operating costs, congressman!
Check out Brady's full -- and uncivil -- letter to Metro chief John Catoe after the jump.
To Mr. Catoe: Iwrite this letter on behalf of my constituents of the 8th CongressionalDistrict of Texas – many of whom traveled at great expense and time toour nation’s capital to exercise their right of free speech in theTaxpayer March on D.C. which was held on Saturday, September 12. Theseindividuals came all the way from Southeast Texas to protest theexcessive spending and growing government intrusion by the 111thCongress and the new Obama Administration.
Based uponnumerous eye-witness reports by participants in the march, it is clearMETRO did not adequately prepare for the influx of Americans travelingto D.C. for this historic event. I want an explanation why.
Duringthe march, I heard complaints from elderly veterans in wheel chairs whowere denied use of the subway because not enough METRO cars wereavailable and the METRO cars that did arrive were full to overflowingcapacity.
An 80 year old woman and her 60 year old daughterwere forced to walk – and eventually pay for a cab – due to overcrowdedconditions on the METRO. I heard many such complaints. Theseparticipants, whose tax dollars were used to create and maintain thispublic transit system, were frustrated and disappointed that ournation’s capital did not make a greater effort to simply provide abasic level of transit service for them.
METRO was certainlyaware of the march due to widespread media attention ahead of time. While the turnout was certainly much larger than predicted, it appearsthat METRO added no additional capacity to its regular weekend schedule.
Irequest that METRO promptly provide my office with a full summary ofall preparations and actions taken by the agency ahead of and duringthe gathering, especially related to additional capacity, service, andsecurity.
Sincerely,Kevin Brady
