Lying and Lying Boldly

The Cap Times printed an AP story yesterday on the 2005 federal legislation, which is set to go into effect this week, to extend the allowable length of trucks from 75 to 97 feet.

Plain old logic would tell most people that this move wasn't done with safety in mind. Money, of course, is the true culprit: bigger profits for the trucking companies and bigger campaign donations for the politicians.

But here's the section of the article on Rep. Jim Oberstar's (D-Minn) decision to back the legislation in his role as ranking member of the House Transportation Committee:

A spokesman for Oberstar, who is now chairman of the House Transportation Committee, said that the congressman supported the amendment after looking into it and determining the new rules would be safe.

"Jim has traditionally been concerned about longer vehicles," said the spokesman, John Schadl. "He took a long look at this and had to be reassured before he would allow it."

So Oberstar looked into it before voting and determined that safety wouldn't be harmed by allowing trucks one-third the size of a football field on the road in spite of the fact that his initial reaction told him otherwise. *I'd say* that's a lie.

Now observe the section of the article on Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-Janesville) decision to back the legislation:

[Ryan] said that he and several colleagues decided to write the letter to the committee in 2005 because they believed the change would be good public policy. Ryan argued that it will improve safety and reduce fuel consumption.

So not only would the legislation not harm safety, Ryan claimed that increasing the length of trucks by 30 percent would improve safety on the roads. *I'd say* that, my friends, is a bold lie.

Come on, Oberstar. You gotta own your deceit if you want to roll with the big boys.

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UPDATE: See the comments for an explanation of the *I'd say* additions.