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Today, the highway system has about 48,000 miles of roads, 10 transcontinental routes, 70 primary interstate highways, 590,000 highway bridges, countless supporting infrastructure, and an annual budget of $20 billion. Unfortunately, this great feat of engineering — perhaps, worthy enough to be a Wonder of the World — is now in a state of disrepair. Earlier this year, the American Society of Civil Engineers issued it’s annual report on the nation’s infrastructure, giving it a C-. Among other things, the report found that 42% of the 617,000 bridges in the U.S. are more than 50 years old, and more than 46,000 of them are rated as structurally deficient.

This bleak report was accentuated by the recent emergency closure of the Hernando de Soto Bridge, which was built in 1973 and spans the Mississippi River between West Memphis, Arkansas and Memphis, Tennessee. The bridge was hastily closed last month when a major crack was discovered in a

tie girder. The closure resulted in an estimated $70 million in losses for the trucking industry, and a major inconvenience for motorists who use the bridge as a main artery. The bridge reopened with a temporary repair. But like so many other parts of our nation’s infrastructure, its future remains uncertain with an agreement on Capitol Hill in doubt. Unfortunately, this great feat of It took presidential engineering — perhaps, worthy leadership to bring all enough to be a Wonder of the interested parties together to build the national highway World — is now in a state of system in the 1950s, and it will disrepair. take presidential leadership to bring all parties together to rebuild and modernize this system today. Fortunately, in Dwight Eisenhower, Joe Biden has the perfect example to follow in that regard. RF U.S. Army Lt. Col. (Ret.), Lee Lacy is a teacher and historian in Kansas City, Mo. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect any official organization.

From 1956, a U.S. Department of Transportation map of the “National System of Interstate and Defense Highways” (as it was referred to at the time.)

Goeas Discusses GOP’s Future & Offers Up a Bit of Advice for Republicans on the Ballot Next Year

WASHINGTON, DC — With Democrats controlling all levers of government in Washington and Republicans looking ahead to the next midterm election, The Ripon Society held a luncheon discussion on July 13 focusing on the current mindset of voters across the country, the performance of the Biden Administration thus far, and the future of the Republican Party.

The discussion was led by veteran pollster Ed Goeas, President & CEO of The Tarrance Group. He began his remarks by talking about the internal struggles of the Democratic Party and the current Republican base of support.

“The progressive wing is behaving for the Democrats just like the Tea Party did for us in 2010 and 2012,” Goeas stated. “They have discovered in the last two elections that it’s better to beat an old time Democrat in a Democratic district and keep it than win in a Republican district that will be taken away in the next election. They are going to be doing more and more of that inside of the Democratic Party and I think you’re going to see it in this next cycle. “And when you look at rural voters, older men, white men, those with less than a college education, and those that claim to be conservative Christians, we are holding our strength with all those groups. I see some softening among the women that are married to the men that are conservative Christians, for example. They are beginning to slightly soften their hardcore of positions against us that formed during the Trump years. Their demographic cohorts will be fruitful for us, I believe.”

According to Goeas, expanding the tent of the GOP should not only be a top priority today, but it is critical to maintain a competitive Republican Party going forward.

“We have to go back to trying to

regain support from suburban women, older women, and college graduates…. The real advantage for us will be going back and getting some of those voters back.” “Having a hardcore 60% of Republicans with very few independents and no Democrats is not something to build a party back on,” Goeas explained. “We have to start reaching out to these various groups. Unfortunately, that’s where Trump keeps sticking his nose in. He is not doing what a president usually does, which is go away for a period of time, let things quiet down, and not seem critical of his replacement in the White House. It’s making it very difficult for us to rebuild. But, one of the things I think “Voters need to hear what we’re for, Republicans need to understand that I wish not what we’re against.” Trump, or at least Ed Goeas - Remarks to the people around him, understood is if The Ripon Society Trump ran again in July 13, 2021 two years, he would win the Republican nomination. He would win the Republican nomination, but it would be almost impossible to win the general election.” The veteran strategist also had some advice for Republicans who are running to be on the ballot next year. “Don’t get caught in the trap of going after what the Democrats are doing,” he counseled. “Voters need to