A Bridge Collapses in Baltimore

And Trumpists respond with idiocy, bigotry, and partisanship

The 985-foot-long container ship Dali, beginning a voyage from Baltimore to Sri Lanka, veers off course as it approaches the Francis Scott Key Bridge. A mayday call is broadcast to police who quickly block traffic. Despite furious efforts to steer the massive ship away from the bridge, it strikes a pier near the center of the span. As several sections of the bridge collapse onto the the Patapsco River, eight workers who were repairing potholes on the bridge deck fall into the water. Just two will survive.     

What caused the accident and the collapse? Was it the fact that the massive ship suddenly lost power? Some Trumpists admit that engine failure was a factor but they also blame a state of Maryland policy that considers diversity, equality, and inclusiveness  (DEI), in its hiring decisions.  And also terrorism. And also Covid lockdowns.

 “…this is what happens when you have Governors who prioritize diversity over the wellbeing and security of citizens,” said a social media post by Phil Lyman, a Republican running for governor of Utah. “DEI = DIE,” he added.

Republican Anthony Sabatini, who is running for Congress in Florida as a member of the GOP,  posted a video clip of the collapse accompanied by the words, “DEI did this.”  

Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican member of Congress and conspiracy theory nut, suggested without evidence that the collision was a terrorist attack. (Authorities have already counted out this possibility   

Maria Bartiromo used her Fox Business TV show to speculate that the disaster had something to do with illegal immigration. “But of course, you’ve been talking a lot about the potential for wrongdoing or the potential for foul play given the wide open border,” she said.

And on NewsMax TV, Matt Schlapp, former head of the Conservative Political Action Committee raised the possibility that “drug-addled” workers or Covid lockdowns, a bugbear among Trump voters, somehow contributed to the accident. This would put some of the blame on Dr. Anthony Fauci who, as the expert who guided America’s Covid response, became a figure of evil among the most fervent Trump supporters.

It is ridiculous -- sigh – that I should have to rebut the claims made by such extremists. But fortunately, much of this can be done in short order because: A.) The ship’s engines lost power. B.) Pilots aboard the Dali radioed authorities in hopes of saving lives. C.) Authorities have ruled our terrorism unequivocally. D.) Covid and a tragic ship accident? Gimme a break.

The claims about DEI deserve special attention. The purpose of DEI programs is to help groups of Americans who have previously suffered from discrimination – racial minorities, women, and sexual minorities such as gay and lesbian people – establish themselves in workplaces and organizations. The merits of DEI are worth a debate. (I think it has been overdone in many circumstances and can be a negative element of the movement toward political correctness.) However, it’s more than likely that the way critics are citing DEI smacks of the kind of prejudice that has no place in our politics.

Meanwhile, as the idiots on the Right spew their bizarre ideas about the bridge collapse, others are getting their backs up about President Biden’s pledge to use federal funds to rebuild it. The collapsed span currently prevents ships from entering and leaving the Port of Baltimore, which is among the busiest in the country. The closure of the port will create supply chain nightmares and could contribute to shortages and rising prices.  The collapse has also closed an essential North-South highway, which had carried tens of thousands of vehicles per day.

The loss of the bridge seems, to me, to be equivalent to the I-35 bridge collapse that occurred in Minneapolis in 2007, when Republican George W. Bush was president. In that case, Congress immediately approved $250 million for reconstruction. This covered virtually all the costs of rebuilding a crossing that like the Key Bridge, carries an interstate highway. The Baltimore bridge is five times as long as the one in Minneapolis, which means it will take much more money --certainly more than $1 billion --  to rebuild. It’s real money, but no one can doubt the project must be done.

The real reason for House opposition is that the current president is a Democrat and with an election coming up, GOP members of Congress want to go home and declare that they are tough on federal spending. I could see it if they were cracking down on waste in certain bloated federal departments. That is fair politics. This response to the bridge disaster is categorically unfair and a matter of spite.