A number of Republican Gubernatorial candidates claim to be opposed to construction of high-speed rail networks in their states. The reality is it’s going to get built anyway and these candidates are simply using it as an election issue to show their opposition to President Obama than any actual opposition to building high-speed rail. To understand why the lines will get built, look no further than:
1) The money set aside in the stimulus is strictly for high-speed rail construction and if it’s not used for that purpose it must be returned to the federal government.
2) The article cites many Republicans supporting high-speed rail construction projects, such as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA), Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood (R-IL), and former Medirian, MS mayor and Reconnecting America President John Robert Smith (R-MS).
3) Alaska’s At-Large Member of the House, Don Young (R-AK) wrote an op-ed piece that I blogged about on the need for high-speed rail.
So long story short, this is just election posturing and nothing more. And sadly, Democrats voting against these candidates will call them hypocrites while the Republicans voting for these candidates will forget they ever opposed the projects in the first place. Hopefully the country will not lose out from all of this superficial bickering.
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