WASHINGTON (CN) – Republicans heaped ridicule on Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood at a Wednesday hearing after LaHood suggested that bicycling and walking are just as good ways to get around as cars. To laughter, Republican House members suggested LaHood was taking drugs, dismissed the very idea of bike lanes and derided any change to a car-dependent society. “What job is going to be created by having a bike lane?” asked Ohio Republican Steven LaTourette.
LaTourette in 1910: What jobs are created by having roads? Encouraging bike riding could save billions -- from increasing bike sales to savings from the health benefits. And what about the increase in savings and disposable income from not having to burn cash on gasoline? LaTourette and the congressional Republicans are phenomenal morons.