Blunt's Bus -- Not A Wise Choice For Traveling

Earlier, we documented how Roy came to town.

Roy's didn't know that the projects he was praising were funded by stimulus money. I did. And it wasn't that hard to find the documentation showing how the projects were funded.

If I found it out, why couldn't Roy's staff? News reports said Roy's staff was unaware of the funding source when the tour arrangements were made.

Kit Bond seems to have had the same problem up in Columbia last Thursday. Bond's staff ever so gently, I am sure, reminded Kit that he DIDN'T vote for the bill that provided the funding for the autism center.

An expectation, perhaps unrealistic, is that we want our U.S. congressmen and senators to know how and why they voted the way they did on a particular bill. The facts they must digest in the discharge of their duties is tremendous. Perhaps it is a bid unrealistic to expect them to remember every little detail, such as how they voted.

That is why a congressional staff is so critical to the operation of a congressman's office. The incident in Columbia earlier this week pretty well gives us the heads up that Bond's staff is on top of things, even more so than the Senator. That's plane to see from the recapture of the article. Bond's staff appears to be level headed.

Roy's staff, on the other hand, has suffered through some mis-cues. The Springfield photo op being one of them.

Another is the Roy Blunt Bus Tour of Missouri currently underway. In this event Roy is touring I think 19 Missouri cities in an 1100 mile tour in a, as he calls it, "bus". Someone on the bus tour is twittering the tour.

Now, believe me bus riders, I know buses and what Roy is traveling in ain't no bus.

It's an RV plastered over with graphics. And it is a Ford (sorry horsefarmer). I wonder if it came from the same place as Matt's bus?

This is the RV that Roy Blunt is traveling 1100 miles in to impress upon the voters of Missouri that he has the temperament, the capability and the common sense needed to be our next senator.

And it has slide-outs.

What?

Slide-outs. The RV is designed for parking in campgrounds and electric motors slide the rooms out on tracks and make the RV larger. When traveling down the highway, the rooms "slide in" and the vehicle is legal width for traveling on roads and highways.

I can see two slide-outs in the photo of the RV, one in the back bedroom, the other in front side of the RV. I can't tell if the left side has any slide-outs and I ain't about to drive to Nixa Hardware to find out.

While slide outs are great when parked in the campground, they are not so great for taking an 1100 mile tour of Missouri, especially in an RV full of politicos, staff and hangers-on.

Whoever made the decision to use a motor home with slide-outs for the Roy Blunt Bus Tour apparently never took a trip of any length in a motorhome with "slide-outs". 2 people--not a problem. But a bus full? Dang uncomfortable and it shows a remarkable lack of understanding and lack of planning. When the slide-outs are slid in, all the interior space in the RV, except for a narrow aisle, is taken up by the slide-outs. Most RVers find that slide-outs "tend to cramp the interior space of your RV quite a bit while you're driving."

Is his staff to blame? Is it legit to conject that if Blunt's staff makes these kind of errors (photo op, motorhome) that we can so obviously see, what kind of errors are made that we can't see?

Is it legit to suggest that Blunt's remarkable choice of staff is reflective on his ability to lead? If he can't chose a good staff, pick a travel friendly RV or do his homework for a photo op, -- what kind of job will he for us in Washington?

Fasten those seatbelts bus riders, it looks like we are in for a bumpy ride!

The StL Post-Dispatch weighs in on the same subject