Oct
17
Congressman McHenry’s “19th Century Technology”
By Rich Kelly, Filed Under Advocacy, Cycling, Industry News, Interbike
This is old news having happened back in August, but better late than never. I remember hearing about this, but in the lead up to Interbike, I didn’t have time to read more and comment on it. Lance here emailed me a link to a blog post on it and it relates to my previous post on IBTimes.
Preceding Madam Secretary Mary Peters’ statements about the bicycle as a legitimate form of transportation, Congressman Patrick McHenry (R-North Carolina) spent some time on the floor of the Capitol presenting his opinions on the matter. Now, I have to admit that I have a pretty low opinion of all politicians to begin with, but when they go out of their way to make ludicrous statements, like McHenry does here, to promote their points of view, it’s just sad and embarrassing for them. In this case, his disparaging words really are an insult to our entire industry.
DeFeet (who btw made our awesome Interbike socks this year - thanks!), posted a link on their blog to a YouTube clip of McHenry speaking on the floor of Congress about the Democrats’ plans to offer cyclists a tax incentive to commute by bike in one their bills. He’s very dramatic in his presentation, and even has a big poster of an ancient high wheeled bike from, I’m guessing, the 1800’s next to his podium. The riding couple on the bike are Victorian outfits, and clearly he is trying to emphasize and reinforce his statement that the bike is a 19th century technology. How laughable is it, he is in effect saying, that the Democrats are proposing that such an antiquated technology is being promoted as the solution to all our energy problems? (In a funny retort, Paul at DeFeet wrote that the car that he is defending as the ideal mode of transport was invented in the same century.)
I’d just like to know why he, and seemingly so many others like him, feel so much anger towards bikes. I mean, how is a $20 a month tax incentive for people who commute by bike going to so severely and negatively affect his campaign donor special interests? That’s what all politics comes down to, isn’t it? The obvious big oil/car company interests would seem like an obvious foe of bikes, but are we really even on their radar screen enough to motivate McHenry to get so worked up? What’s behind this hatred of bikes as transportation?
What am I missing, here?
Thanks to DeFeet for finding and putting this important clip out there.
Comments
Leave a Reply