I was thinking about Jim Bunning because I am a huge fan of Tom Paine.

 The Kentucky senator has created all sort sof  upheaval by virtually single-handedly blocking an extension to the highway bill. States are facing a shutdown of work and possibly even compromised  safety situations. Government workers are furloughed.  Congress is scrambling to clean up a mess that should never have been created in the first place. There has to be another way. If there isn’t we’re not governed the way we think we are.

And to think that for many of us the founding document of this nation was a pamphlet entitled “Common Sense.”

Here’s AASHTO’s latest take on the boondoggle.

Following an emergency meeting today to discuss the impact of the current shutdown of federal highway and transit programs, state transportation officials called the action “a bad situation and it’s only going to get worse.”

At a news conference held in conjunction with the annual Washington Briefing of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), leaders from across the country spoke out on the issue.

“If you do the math, we’re talking about more than $153 million a day in lost reimbursement payments for highway projects to the states,” said Larry L. “Butch” Brown, executive director of the Mississippi Department of Transportation and AASHTO president. “Congress has to move quickly to correct this by passing legislation and getting it signed into law. This is a bad situation and it’s only going to get worse.”