Party of No Says “NO” to High Speed Rail
The newly elected congressional teabaggers are creaming all over themselves in their frenzy to delete funding for job creation and infrastructure projects. Their top priority: yanking away $2 billion (it was part of that commie stimulus package) from California’s high speed rail project. Job creation and mass transit — the two things Republicans hate most.
It’s part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Rescission Act, introduced last week by Rep. Jerry Lewis (R—Troglodyte). This bill would return $12 billion — the amount of the federal stimulus that hasn’t been spent yet — to the treasury. And this includes $2 billion that California’s high speed rail project — the first in the country — depends on.
Who cares about some sissy mass transit project when there are billionaires out there who need another tax cut. Those whiny liberals just don’t get it. Learjet payments, vacation homes, yacht club dues — the rich are suffering too.
The United States is still the only industrialized country in the world that doesn’t have a high speed rail system, and the Reactionary Party wants to keep it that way.
The U.S. does have what they call a high speed train that runs between Boston and Washington, D.C. But technically the train isn’t fast enough to qualify as high speed rail.
This article has a list of all the countries that have a high speed rail system. Turkey, of all countries, has high speed rail and we don’t.
And speaking of clean energy and rightwing cluelessness: Rush Limbaugh threw a tantrum because Motor Trend Magazine named the Chevrolet Volt the “Car of the Year.”
Bloatfuck said:
“Of all the cars in the world, the Chevrolet Volt is the Car of the Year? Motor Trend magazine, that’s the end of them. How in the world do they have any credibility? Not one has been sold, and the Volt is the Car of the Year.”
Earth to OxyContin: The reason nobody has purchased a Chevy Volt is — the Volt is not on sale yet.
DUUUHHH!!!
Labels: American Recovery and Reinvestment Rescission Act, California high speed rail, Jerry Lewis, Rush Limbaugh Chevy Volt, Rush Limbaugh Motor Trend
posted by Tom Harper @ 7:58 PM
21 Comments:
The inbred criminal scumbag Kasich is going to kill it here, too.
And people still vote for these walking fecal matter.
Thanks for the Limpbaugh update!
You know the only way he has to seem important is to erect straw men and then demolish them.
And if you think he didn't know it wasn't for sale yet . . . .
Love ya,
S
HI SPEED RAYLE IS FOR FAGOTS
When a conservative friend cheered because Pelosi was no longer speaker I told him "just remember, that everytime the Republicans are in charge California gets less federal money and gets used more as a ATM for the rest of the country, especially their districts - remember that when you find out how much public works money has all of a sudden dried up".
In other words Republicans hate California and our Republicans just sit and watch it happen - and they get reelected why?
Erik
Rails are for the little people. They're lucky to to be allowed to freely travel. This will end soon enough.
I actually don't believe in the high speed rail in CA as a resident.
I believe we should spend the money, but on improving metro transit. In the greater San Diego area where I live. LA County, OC, The Bay Area, etc..
I can fly from here (San Diego) to San Francisco in an hour and often for 100 bucks round trip.
But I can't fucking get around our own county worth a damn on metro transit.
Just my take..
JR: I saw that story too, about Ohio. I guess only sissies and treehuggers care about mass transit.
Suzan: What would rightwing demagogues do without straw men?
Randal: ssshhhh, easy now, I'll bring you your Bible.
Erik: I think a lot of conservatives are happy to let themselves get fucked over, as long as they think their heroes are socking it to those socialists and welfare hippies. I guess that's their "reasoning."
Dave: I wouldn't doubt it. Someday "national security" alerts will keep people from doing any "unnecessary" traveling. And our freedom-loving teabaggers will be perfectly happy about it; they'll just channel all their frustration toward "the enemy."
Mike: I don't think it should be either-or. Transit in general is very important. High speed rail, regular trains and buses -- anything that allows people to get places quickly without driving. I can't imagine how many billions of dollars our economy loses because of all the idle time we spend in traffic jams. And it's a security issue too. If there was an invasion or terrorist attack during the commute gridlock, the entire country would be a sitting duck.
Motor Trend came back with a scathing retort to old bluber butt. They can't do anything till they are sworn in in January. So if they get to it this session, it will be voted down and Lewis can go and screw himself. It amazes me as progressive as this state sometimes is, we still have morons being elected to national office that don't care about the people.
Forgot to give the best parts of the blowback from Motortrend mag.
"Last time you ranted about the Volt, you got confused about the 'range,' and said on the air that the car could be driven no more than 40 miles at a time, period," Lassa said. (In fact, the Volt can go 40 miles on its electric engine and then travel longer distances using gasoline.) "At least you stayed away from that issue this time, but you continue to attack it as the car only a tree hugging, Obama-supporting Government Motors customer would want. As radio loudmouths like you would note, none of those potential customers were to be found after November 2."
*****
Then Lassa went for the jugular.
"If you can stop shilling for your favorite political party long enough to go for a drive, you might really enjoy the Chevy Volt," Lassa concluded. "I’m sure GM would be happy to lend you one for the weekend. Just remember: driving and Oxycontin don’t mix."
Jess: There are a lot of conservative areas in California. Generally, the farmland and desert regions might as well be a red state, and that's where a lot of the population lives. They hate those Elitists on the coast. People like Jerry Lewis aren't a bit uncommon, unfortunately.
I loved that retort from Motor Trend. It needed to be said.
Mass transit is so . . . oh, let's just say it: low class. It's for the little people who work in retail and such, plus a few eco freaks. High class goes in the Lexus or Mercedes and doesn't worry about the cost of fuel because high class owns lots of Big Oil stock.
To the right-wing crowd, the Chevy Volt is tainted goods because, 1, it's bad for the oil business, using electricity instead of gas; and 2, it's made by GM, which was saved from extinction by the Obama administration and Democrats in Congress.
This last is really an incredible twist, because as a major U.S. corporation for nearly a century, GM should be something Republican conservatives would be all for saving. Its executives have leaned heavily Republican over the years. But with today's Republicans loyalty means nothing. It's all about money, power and political gain.
BTW, Tom and all here, have a fine Thanksgiving.
We've had talk of a Washington DC high speed rail for...hell, 30 years? It's actually a good place for one - running from Richmond VA to NYC would be nice, but I don't see it happening.
As for the Chevy Volt...good for Chevy - I've heard good things about that car. Except the price tag. OUCH. I liked that Motor Trend retort, too!
High-speed rail facilitates transportation between regions of the country.
Transportation between regions of the country could facilitate a free flow of information.
A free flow of information could be dangerous to the Republicans currently "serving" in office.
Thus, the train must be derailed.
Only a LITTLE bit of an exaggeration, and only a LITTLE bit like something they'd do in say, North Korea.
Why DO the Republicans hate facts so much?
SW: It's true what you say about mass transit and why the Right disdains it. But I think it goes deeper; it comes down to archetypes. A single occupant vehicle represents Freedom, Individualism; John Wayne riding off into the sunset. Mass transit is the group, the collective -- Socialism! And any suggestion of raising gasoline taxes to pay for mass transit, or charging higher tolls for solo drivers than for carpools -- it's the equivalent of Karl Marx beating the shit out of George Washington.
These arguments and images have been raging for decades in the San Francisco Bay Area, where I used to live.
Happy Thanksgiving to you too, SW, and to everyone here.
Bee: I think most of the train ridership in the U.S. is in that Northeast Corridor between Boston and D.C. That's probably the only part of the country where trains are the regular commute method for thousands of people. That would be the place for high speed rail, if this country ever decides to join the 21st century.
Anonymous: Free flow of information? Can't have that now, can we. Yes, Republicans certainly do hate facts. Simplistic soundbites are more fun and easier to understand.
Oxycontin Blowfuck and Karl Rove are twin brothers from anotha motha who was schizoid. Talking points without facts.
Happy Thanksgiving to ya Tom. Great piece.
Tom, what you said about mass transit and archetypes is exactly right. It fills a hole in my response, especially, "Mass transit is the group, the collective -- Socialism!"
I'll also add that mass transit is critically important for many urban dwellers, the ones who can't pay $1,000 a month or more for parking.
I remember years ago reading on Usenet the ravings of a Portland area wingnut. He did multiple rants daily opposing a light-rail extension southward, predicting inner-city poor and gang bangers would soon be invading the suburbs, bringing crime, squalor and turning innocent suburban teenage girls into addicts and ho's. Seriously.
That light-rail project went through, and I've yet to hear of the invasion of evildoers this nutbag predicted. But he was an extreme (unhinged, racist paranoiac, really) example of the kind of thing you mentioned.
Papamoka: Excellent description. Happy Thanksgiving to you too.
SW: It's amazing that something as logical and non-threatening as mass transit can push so many buttons and dredge up such scary archetypes. The San Francisco area has a few wingnuts comparable to the Portland wacko you're referring to.
I'm not too familiar with Portland; just driven through it a few times. From everything I've heard and read, it's probably the most user-friendly, human-scale city in America. There used to be a rightwing blogger from Portland (maybe it's the same person you're talking about) who used to call Portland "Moscow on the Willamet."
Tom, that must be the same guys, LOL.
What Randal said!
Also, I think Tom and SW are both right about the rightwing disdain for mass transit. I don't know if America can ever get past the John Wayne Rugged Individualist thing.
And how would we pay for this wussy stuff like... LOL... high speed rail? By redistributing MY wealth? Then... forget it!! 8-)
That kind of attitude kills stuff like light rail or high-speed rail projects, and it is the kind of attitude right-wing leaders encourage.
Perhaps this is still part of the Oil Company Conspiracy to keep people out of cars like they did in Southern California in the 30's
Erik
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