You know who else—-besides angry drivers—-hates bicyclists? Republicans! Writes Washington City Paper alum Stephanie Mencimer at Mother Jones:

The federal government spends about $40 billion a year on transportation projects. Of that, about $928 million has been devoted to what’s known as a “transportation enhancement” program, which provides funding for projects—including rails-to-trails conversions, bike lanes and bridges—that make cycling safer, and thus more viable as a commuting option. But as Congress gears up to reauthorize the massive transportation funding bill this year, Republicans are arguing that states shouldn’t be forced to use scarce transportation funds to encourage bike commuting when bridges for cars are falling down.

“We’re doing all these things that, if we had extra money, if we were running a surplus, sure, nobody would really be complaining about it,” Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) told the Washington Post. But, Coburn added, “We can no longer have silly priorities get in the way of real needs.”

Oh yeah, being able to get to work safely without having to pollute the environment or get packed into a Metrobus or train is so, so silly.

Photo by nevermindtheend via Flickr/Creative Commons Attribution Generic 2.0 License