Republican Florida Already Missed the Boat on Rail Money: A Boon for California?

[yapp1850]

to do  110mp-150mp   one will have  elevated  the tracks or  build bridges at all railroade crossing for local traffic cross the tracks

[yapp1850]

i do not care for  elevated  track i wood like the road over the track at the rail crossing maybee it will cost more but it will be worth it

[FayeforCure]

Regressive Rick Scott just created 71,000 jobs in CA!!

Great going Florida!!!!

And a BIG THANK YOU from this fomer Californian to all those who voted for Rick Scott!!!

[FayeforCure]

 Well that didn't take long.......Cali is already welcoming the funds!!!

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-high-speed-funding-20110217,0,174833.story

The state is "in a great position to be … competitive for federal dollars," said Jeffrey Barker, deputy executive director of the California High-Speed Rail Authority. California has the nation's only truly high-speed train project in advanced stages of planning, he added.

Work on a $5.5.-billion, 120-mile section of Central Valley track is expected to begin next year. If new funds are received, the segment could be extended west toward San Jose or south toward Palmdale.

[BridgeTroll]

California has the nation's only truly high-speed train project in advanced stages of planning

Looks like a better fit for California...

[dougskiles]

California has the nation's only truly high-speed train project in advanced stages of planning

Looks like a better fit for California...

I agree.  California already has a functional passenger rail network and HSR is the next step.  We don't have a functional passenger rail network.  That is step one.

[Garden guy]

of course florida republicans turned it down...they think that satan comes with trains...they are very afraid of them...

[Ocklawaha]

I can attest that Satan does NOT come with trains, though I'll take an oath that he WAS at the throttle of one, near Wisconsin Dells on a long ago February morning.

OCKLAWAHA

[Jaxson]

We sure taught the feds a lesson, didn't we?  The governor assumes that this pot of money is going to go back into federal coffers to reduce the national debt.  Hardly!  It's going to be someone else's gravy train - pardon the expression.   And guess who still has to pay for it?  Yup.  Us.  We are going to go back to being one of those states that pay more than their fair share in taxes in relation to what they receive from Washington.

[BridgeTroll]

It's going to be someone else's gravy train - pardon the expression.

Judging by certain reactions... I think the expression is entirely appropriate...

[Ocklawaha]

Maybe so, but this gravy was so tainted it could easily kill every HSR project on the drawing boards. It was like saying we'll build a High Speed Train from JIA - to - Gainesville, so it will relieve traffic on I-95. I almost forgot, the station for Baldwin, Lawtey and Starke should be at least half way to Macclenny, Raiford and Brooker, respectively.

OCKLAWAHA

[FayeforCure]

of course florida republicans turned it down...they think that satan comes with trains...they are very afraid of them...

Well you know how it is........we're not supposed to make it a partisan issue, but it's ok if the Republican guber does:

It didn't matter that the federal government was willing to pay nearly all the cost nor that private companies were willing to cover any additional costs.

It was Obama's idea.  And for this crook, that was enough.

Rick Scott couldn't just out and out say NO, although he wanted to.  He had to go through the motions and say he was giving it "serious" consideration, although the ones who were paying attention knew all along that he was looking for excuses to kill it without having it look blatantly ideological and partisan.

So he started to do what he does best.  What all crooks do.  LIE.

He would wait until the FDOT updated ridership and revenue projections -- scheduled for completion within two weeks.

No dice.   He couldn't be bothered to wait for the report he said he was waiting on.

Tricky Ricky is basing all of these "facts" on information provided by a Glenn Beckian Libertarian think tank--the "Reason Foundation", which is known for being anti-rail.  This along with information given to him by the ever-so-slightly right-wing Heritage Foundation.  (I get my own "facts" from Fox News, thank you very much.)

So to recap, he dismissed the entire project with NO ridership study, NO contruction bids, and not even consultation with the FL Senate or House!  Yes they are wingnut, but they are none too pleased.

quotes courtesy of SemDem

Oh and the Republican MO has always been: "Be afraid, be very afraid" to justify their very regressive policies.

[mtraininjax]

Do you know what this MEANS? It means all the liberarls who wanted HSR can finally live in peaceful harmony together with HSR in California. I'll help you pack.

[RiversideLoki]

Do you know what this MEANS? It means all the liberarls who wanted HSR can finally live in peaceful harmony together with HSR in California. I'll help you pack.

Ahh, the old "If you don't like it, MOVE!" tactic.

[Doctor_K]

Do you know what this MEANS? It means all the liberarls who wanted HSR can finally live in peaceful harmony together with HSR in California. I'll help you pack.

Ahh, the old "If you don't like it, MOVE!" tactic.

Goes along nicely with the "If you think differently than I do, you're an idiot" tactic.