Will power politics sink the Delta Queen?

While major issues may find the public divided, there are on occasion relatively small issues that can show us the real underlying stink of politics, especially by those legislators who have been around long enough to capture real political power. Here's one of those examples, and it smells bad enough to gag a maggot.

The Delta Queen is a grand old steam-powered paddlewheeler on the Mississippi. She's been around since 1926, served in WWII, and has been delighting cruise passengers with grace and safety for many decades. She has, in fact, hosted 3 American Presidents. The Delta Queen is a registered historic treasure of the Department of the Interior and the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and she is a National Historic Landmark and a member of the National Maritime Hall of Fame. She is U.S. owned, with an American crew. She cruises between New Orleans and St. Paul.

Because the Delta Queen has a wooden superstructure, she became in violation of legislation passed for seagoing vessels, but Congress has, 9 times, created an exemption for her, because the legislation was never intended for river vessels. There is legislation (H.R. 3852) that would continue that exemption, and this is where the smell begins wafting through the halls of Congress.

Take note that the Mississippi begins in Minnesota and flows through Minnesota's capitol city, St. Paul. Paddlewheelers are a big part of the history of St. Paul and all the towns and cities along the Mississippi.

Minnesota's own 8th district Congressman James Oberstar is Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and he won't let the legislation out of committee for a House vote. Nine times the exemption has been granted, and Oberstar is blocking it from happening again, unwilling to even allow the House to vote on it again. Oberstar has been in Congress since 1975.

Now... this is the same chairman of the same committee with overall responsibility for the 35W freeway bridge that collapsed into that same Mississippi river in his home state. Take that into consideration when you decide whether to believe Oberstar is in any way qualified to single-handedly decide about the safety of a paddlewheeler that carries a maximum of 176 guests and a crew of 80.

This is not a safety issue. The Delta Queen's 81-year safety record is excellent, and she is never far from shoreline in her river travels. Her hull is steel and many other safety regulations govern her. She is far safer than driving in your car (even if you avoid freeway bridges). Then why on earth would Oberstar block the legislation and force the Delta Queen to stop operation? Why indeed?

The cruise line that owns the Delta Queen operates without a union. The line has offered to allow the union to operate on the Delta Queen, but the union wants the whole cruise line. By the rarest of coincidences, Democrat Oberstar receives lots of support from unions. Are you beginning to identify that smell?

Yeah... it's the rotten smell of power politics... the power of money, and endorsement. This one powerful Democrat could sink this piece of American history, no matter how many people disagree.

Thousands are working, on their own time, using their own money, to combat stinky power politics and save the Delta Queen. A river-loving friend of mine, Forrest Wilkinson, spent his own hard-earned money to have me create Minnesotans for the Delta Queen. Check out the great photos of this grand ship, sign the petition, and please contribute to help win this battle before it's too late.

More than 100 cities and towns, mostly in Middle America, already have passed resolutions calling on Congress to extend the boat's long-standing exemption. The cruise line is campaigning too, but there are volunteer websites all over the internet (see below).

This a pathetic fight to have to wage... volunteer citizens against power politics... but it's a direct result of the corruption that occurs in politics, especially when one man has been in office so damned long that his accumulated power can be used to destroy with no more effort than saying NO.

I'm sick of government trashing our history and controlling every little aspect of our lives. I'm sick of individuals having to spend their own time and money to halt destruction by government, and the Delta Queen issue is as extreme as such battles get. Thousands of people who know more about the Delta Queen and safety are being stopped by one Congressman. Oh, by the way, here are Oberstar's qualifications:

Oberstar graduated from the College of St. Thomas in St. Paul in 1956, with a double major degree in French and Political Science. He went on to earn a Masters degree in European Studies at the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium,1957. Following graduation, he taught English to Haitian military personnel, and French and Creole to members of the U.S. Marine Corps military advisory group in Port-au-Prince. Ever since then, he's worked in government. Doesn't seem that he's ever held anything close to a normal job, does it?

If you have any love of American history... if you care about 120 American jobs being destroyed... or if you are just tired of power politics...JUMP INTO THE FRAY. Talk about the Delta Queen to your friends, write to your Congressman, contribute to the fight. I would suggest writing to Oberstar, but he won't accept emails from anyone outside his district. Working together, we need to raise a stink of our own, to balance against the rotten smell coming from Oberstar's office.

Links:
Minnesotans for the Delta Queen
Majestic America Line's Save the Delta Queen site
Save The Delta Queen
Steamboats.org
News articles about the fight to save the Delta Queen
Videos of the Delta Queen