Both Rep. Jim Oberstar, D – Minn., and Rep. Keith Ellison, D – Minn., strongly criticized Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain for his remarks today that pork-barrel spending was to blame for the 35W bridge collapse .

As previously reported by Minnesota Monitor, McCain declared that “the bridge in Minneapolis didn’t collapse because there wasn’t enough money. The bridge in Minneapolis collapsed because so much money was spent on wasteful, unnecessary pork-barrel projects.”

Oberstar, who is Chairman of the House Transportation Committee and has a reputation for securing funds for his district, took exception to the claim:

The state was actually spending money on the I-35W bridge at the time of the collapse, but instead of fixing the weakened superstructure of the bridge, MN/Dot was resurfacing the roadway on top.  It’s clear now that the money was being spent in the wrong place, but it is not helpful to point fingers or assign blame until the investigation into the cause of the collapse is complete.”

“McCain either didn’t bother to check his facts, or he knew the facts and ignored them to make a political point. Neither explanation is very flattering. This is the kind of manipulation of the truth that led this nation to war in Iraq; it is a troubling look at what a McCain presidency would be like,” said Oberstar.

Ellison was even more forceful in his condemnation of McCain’s remarks:

Senator McCain, who thinks we should stay in Iraq ‘for 100 years,’ and who despite his 30 years in Congress ‘knows little about the economy,’ has now displayed a startling ignorance of our nation’s infrastructure.  He should sit down with his aspiring Vice President (Governor Pawlenty) and talk about the neglect of infrastructure needs during (Pawlenty’s) tenure as Governor.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty was also asked to weigh in on the comments. The AP reports that “Pawlenty told reporters that McCain’s theory is the senator’s opinion and everyone should reserve judgment until federal investigators release findings later this year.”