Back when he was Mayor Cornett’s Chief of Staff, David Holt got the idea to name an alley in Bricktown after The Flaming Lips. It was a fitting tribute. Bricktown and The Flaming Lips are both kind of cool, both over commercialized and both receive too much media coverage by the local media, resulting in under-coverage of other neighborhoods and musicians.
Well, I guess since Oklahoma has some of the worst roads and bridges in the United States, David Holt got the idea to name a bridge that crosses the Red River after President George W. Bush. From a newspaper out of Connecticut:
A bill to name a bridge over Oklahoma's Red River border with Texas after former President George W. Bush is heading to the governor's desk.
The Oklahoma House on Monday gave final approval to the bill that renames the southbound Interstate 44 bridge in Cotton County in southwest Oklahoma after the 43rd U.S. president. The House approved the bill on a 66-25 vote. It previously passed the Senate 40-5.
The measure also directs the Department of Transportation to create signs to be placed on the highway.
Haha! That's freakin’ hysterical!
Seriously, you have to give it up to David Holt and our state legislature for this extremely clever, yet subtle, dig at Texas. You see, not only did they name a bridge going into Texas after one of the worst US Presidents to take office in the past 100 years, but they named it after a unlikable and very unpopular Texan.
Wait. From David Holt's website.
“This is a big day in Oklahoma for President Bush. He’s always had tremendous support in our state, and I believe our respect for the former President and his family will only grow stronger through the years,” Holt said. “As a member of the Board of Trustees for the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum Foundation, I was also very pleased that the former President and his family will be honored here next month.”
Co-authors of SB 304 include Sen. Don Barrington, R-Lawton, who represents the area where the bridge is located, and Rep. Mike Sanders, R-Kingfisher. Both Holt and Sanders were [sic] White House staffers during the Bush Administration.
“Since Oklahoma maintains the southbound bridge going into Texas, President Bush’s home state, I think it is geographically appropriate to name it in his honor,” Holt said. “Oklahomans are a patriotic people, and I have received strong bipartisan support for this recognition of our former President’s service to our nation.”
Wow, so they named the bridge in honor of George Bush and not to make fun of Texas? What’s next? Naming an airport after a guy who died in a plane crash? The Randy Terrill Multicultural Center in Capitol Hill? The John Blake Excellence in Coaching Award?
Who knows.
