It’s a construction project, not a political platform

by Alan LaGreen – Senior Editor Super Speed Train

High Speed Rail is mired in the politics of stimulus, debt reduction, earmarks, pork barrels — you name it.  That said, the only way to get HIGH SPEED RAIL  off the ground (well actually moving 200 mph on the ground) is to extract the political factor from it.

At present, the general public is starting to put HIGH SPEED RAIL  in the same category as other components of the stimulus — bailouts to Wall Street, $50 million grants to green energy companies that produce 4 new jobs, Cash for Clunkers and the Chevrolet Volt.  HIGH SPEED RAIL  needs to be sold as something different — a long range investment in the future.  There can be some short term economic benefits as well — a few thousand construction workers back on the job is no small potatoes  — but HIGH SPEED RAIL ’s biggest benefits will be down the road and probably cannot even be predicted today. 

Let’s rebrand the whole HIGH SPEED RAIL  effort.  Let’s give it a catchy name everyone will get.  Let’s call it Apollo 2.  It’s kind of like the space program of the 60’s — we do it for national pride (how dare those Frenchmen and Chinese out do us?) we do it to stay at the cutting edge of technology, we do it because it’s THERE!  And let’s put a timetable on it — an impossible timetable — put a man on the moon by 1970 when all we can do is put a tin can 50 miles up for 5 hours?  Who are we kidding? But we did it.

Whatever it is called, if we want to see true HIGH SPEED RAIL  anywhere beyond the Northeast Corridor in our lifetimes, the politics have to be taken out of the equation. As we all know, the nature of politics is that it follows two and four year cycles.  With HIGH SPEED RAIL  politicized to the extent it currently is where Republican congressmen vote to cut any and all funds for HIGH SPEED RAIL  and GOP governors refuse to accept Federal grant money for projects in their states, it will NEVER be built.  The time line is just too long.  Even if the Democrats regain a veto-proof majority in Congress, and retain a Democrat in the White House to sign the bill, you still can’t get the project designed, built, and up and running fast enough before the political tide shifts.

It’s time to infuse the “Baseball, Hot Dogs and Mom’s Apple Pie” factor into the HIGH SPEED RAIL  debate.  Unless it is something valued and accepted by both sides in the present politically polarized climate, it will not happen.  It needs to be in a similar category as defense.  One side may venerate the Army more than the other, but in the end the money is always there. 

Yes, Republicans are on a slash-and-burn mission through the Federal budget, BUT at the same time, they have been known to embrace government spending for roads, dams, fighter planes and fire stations.  You can’t change the underlying philosophy of the GOP, (and, as of this writing, at least, it appears there will be more conservative congressmen, senators, governors and possibly a Republican president next year) but move it into that select club of “good government projects” and maybe the logjam is broken. 

Let the politicians nit pick the details so that they can feel useful, Republicans will cut the cost by 10-15% and demand that all the equipment is made in the U.S.A. and Democrats will make sure that the project uses union contractors and is Green, Green, Green.  Bring on the amendments, as long as the bill gets through.

Now, while any rebranding effort has to bring conservatives back into the fold, there should be no reason it would, at the same time, alienate Progressives.  As much as they would look at wrapping HIGH SPEED RAIL  up in the flag as schmaltzy at best and disingenuous at worst, they still want good public transit, so they’ll go along with having flag decals on the sides of the cars if that’s what it takes.

As long as HIGH SPEED RAIL  is solely a Progressive dream, well, dream on…