Rail Riders for Obama
On June 4, 2008, this blog officially endorsed Sen. Barack Obama for President of the United States. I have formed "Rail Riders for Obama" and invite you to join.
Barack Obama is a strong supporter of Amtrak and understands the need for a balanced transportation network that includes passenger rail. He has laid out his plan for revitalizing America's transportation infrastructure, which includes "a National Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank to expand and enhance, not supplant, existing federal transportation investments." The bank will fund transportation projects, including rail, creating up to two million new jobs a year.
On Amtrak, Obama states, "As president, Barack Obama will continue to fight for Amtrak funding and reform so that individuals, families and businesses throughout the country have safe and reliable transportation options."
The alternative: Sen. McCain has long been an Amtrak foe. His election will lead to four more years of neglect and hostility toward our transportation needs.
It is worth remembering that Bill Clinton arrived in office an avowed Amtrak supporter, complete with the requisite photograph of himself in a conductor’s cap, but he rapidly found that Amtrak did not offer him sufficient political rewards to bother to help it. Under Clinton’s watch did the Amtrak Reform Council and George Warrington delude the nation about a glidepath to self-sufficiency while mortgaging the company nigh unto death. I realize McCain is no friend of Amtrak, but Obama will find the cupboard bare when he looks for dollars for all of his domestic plans, and then we’ll see his promises ring as hollow as Clinton’s.
Posted by: Ran Barton | July 21, 2008 at 07:03 PM
RB makes points that are well taken. And in politics, it's almost axiomatic that your friends are not always who you think they are.
Obama might give lip service to more money for Amtrak, but I don't think he'd go much out of his way to make it happen. OTOH, McCain has made closing Amtrak a "non-negotiable task" of his, which is just plain silly. Amtrak's budget is so tiny in the context of a $3 trillion budget that it's practically a rounding error. So I think McCain is blowing smoke, telling fiscal conservatives something he thinks will excite them, since the rest of his issues have conservatives unenthusiastic or even hostile to him (count me as one of the latter). In politics, it's often better to have someone in your face with their middle finger extended, so you can deal with them head-on, rather than have a wishy-washy "friend" or worse yet, someone who will smile and say what you want to hear just before stabbing you in the back.
Anyway, since Democrats are going to control Congress for at least the next 2 years, Amtrak's near-term future is probably OK, even if McCain is elected. There are other issues that McCain is much more personally invested in (Iraq and immigration, to name two) and I am sure he'd go along with more money for Amtrak if he was presented with a quid pro quo on, let's say, immigration.
Posted by: C.O. Jones | July 25, 2008 at 12:31 PM