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Rep Massie shares comical video of Dem’s Transportation nominee trying to park. Is this the best Dems can do?

January 18, 2022 | | Print Article

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U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., responded to a comical old video of U.S. Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-DC, trying to park a vehicle to call attention to the fact that Norton recently launched a bid to head up the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

In effect, the GOP lawmaker appears to be wondering if this is the best the Democratic Party has to oversee transportation?

The current chair of the Transportation Committee, U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., announced his plans to retire and 84-year-old Norton will be the next most senior Democrats on the 66-member committee, with U.S. Rep. Eddie Johnson, D-Texas, also planning to retire, according to Roll Call.

As for the video, Norton is seen trying to park with an aide getting out of the vehicle to assist, although the congresswoman is hopelessly misdirected in her efforts.

In sharing the Mar 15, 2015 footage on YouTube, Roll Call quipped: “Abandon all hope, ye who happen to park anywhere near geometrically challenged-motorist Eleanor Holmes Norton.”

Massey tweeted the footage, while commenting: “@SpeakerPelosi is seriously considering this person to serve as the chairwoman of the Transportation Committee.”

Turns out, The Washington Post actually ran a story at the time offering Norton’s explanation for the “botched parking job” near the U.S. Capitol.

“After she was caught on camera for what some have called a botched parking job near the U.S. Capitol, D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) has an explanation,” the newspaper said, citing an interview the DC delegate did with FOX5.

Norton told the Fox affiliate that she “was running behind for a TV interview and that she doesn’t normally park in that area. Construction, she said, also caused her to make an unfamiliar move,” the Post reported.

“Don’t worry! I have signed up for parking lessons, and I’m even thinking about upgrading to one of those self-parking cars,” Norton added.

Her communications director at the time, Benjamin Fritsch, said they assessed the cars on either side of Norton’s sedan and while they did not see any damage, they “left a business card and a note so the congresswoman could be reached.”

Massey followed up on his first tweet with a link to Roll Call reporting on Norton’s efforts to take control of the Transportation committee, as shared by MSN.

Norton currently chairs the Highways and Transit Subcommittee and she has competition from U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., who sent a “Dear Colleague” letter Thursday making his ambitions known, the article noted.

“Serving on this Committee was my day one priority as a Member of Congress,” Larsen wrote. “As a former local elected official, I saw firsthand the importance of robust infrastructure to the quality of life of my constituents. That commitment and my interest in improving infrastructure has never wavered.”

Here’s a quick sampling of responses to the story from Twitter:

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