Hots on for Nowhere

TPMMuckracker's Laura McGann catches Alaska's congressional delegation trying to resurrect the "Bridge to Nowhere" that Tom Coburn, King Arthur-like, has been vainly hacking away at for almost two years.

Why bother to invest in infrastructure to nowhere?

Well, it could make the remote area, called "Knik Arm," a major suburb, but more importantly, folks with familial and political ties to Republican Rep. Don Young and Sens. Ted Stevens and Lisa Murkowski would profit [from Roll Call]:

If the area is successfully developed, that could mean a significant windfall for a number of people close to the Congressional delegation — including Young's daughter, Joni, Stevens' chief of staff and campaign manager and Murkowski's state director — some of whom purchased land in the area just a few months before then-Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Young began substantive work on a massive highway bill in early 2003.

Katherine Mangu-Ward wrote a small profile of Coburn in November (and I've got a longer one in the next reason.) In September she summed up the successful—we thought!—battle to thwart the Alaskans' plot to bring bridges to the void.