Way Outside the Box
As long as everyone and his bother is bandying about possible Republican cabinet appointments for an Obama administration, why not note my sentimental favorite — Paul Weyrich for Transportation Secretary. Unlike a lot of other folks you hear named, Weyrich is a certified, Grade-A rightwinger. Nobody can call his bona fides into question or accuse him of RINOism. Indeed, his thinking on any number of issues is what I would consider beyond the pale.
But on transportation policy he has, as you can see here and elsewhere totally sound views. He’s an advocate for more balance between highways and intercity rail, and for substantial investments in mass transit. Having those arguments made not by some “fake America” liberal but instead by a hard-core wingnut might expand the audience for this kind of thinking. There are, obviously, a thousand reasons this won’t happen, but I think the awesome factor is pretty high.
60 Responses to “Way Outside the Box”
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November 6th, 2008 at 11:53 am
Wow, learn something new everyday…
November 6th, 2008 at 11:59 am
Matt, I like your “co-opt Republican pragmatists” idea. And I don’t see how Weyrich fits into that.
November 6th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
This one is not so funny.
November 6th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
“President Clinton paid Amtrak lip service but gave it a starvation diet.” — Weyrich
President Obama is likely to do the same thing. Even if he were really committed to Amtrak, he won’t have any money.
November 6th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
Republicans Leaders just started wearing “Hit Me” signs:
———
“Republicans, [RNC Chairman] Duncan said, “are going to take a deep breath and listen to the American people.” The party is creating a new online forum that will allow people to explain “how we let them down” and “what we can do to restore confidence in our party,” he said.
———-
How does one spell “You godddamm motherfuckers” ??
Ref: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081105/ap_on_el_pr/republicans_future
November 6th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
Hey, speaking of transportation, why no posts about … SUPERTRAIN (prop 1A)
November 6th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
Excuse me. I guess the correct saluation is “DEAR Goddamm Motherfuckers ”
Need to observe formal standards and good manners, after all.
November 6th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
wow, you learn something new every day.
November 6th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
Matt, I love ya, but this is the Stupidest Post EVAR.
Sheesh.
November 6th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
mavericky
November 6th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
Why is Matt so wildly in favor of high population density? He loves it, thinks it improves the quality of life, makes living less expensive, etc. And intercity rail is so exciting!
Did Matt not have a train set to play with when he was growing up? Is sure looks like it.
November 6th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
“President Obama is likely to do the same thing. Even if he were really committed to Amtrak, he won’t have any money.”
You may be unclear on how the federal government works, but even if Amtrak cost more than a rounding error in the budget, the money would be there – we can actually print and/or borrow money when we choose to spend more than we take in.
But again, Amtrak really does cost nothing more than a rounding error in the budget. The annual budget line is less than we spend in Iraq every 72 hours. George Bush somehow “found” the money he wanted for the Iraq war, y’know…
November 6th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
Correction. I think my response to the RNC web site — where they ask us to explain where they went wrong — should begin with the saluation ” Dear Goddammed REPUBLICAN Motherfuckers”
Don’t want them to think they’re getting Goldman Sachs email by mistake.
Damm. Broke the lead in my pencil. Hold on guys while I sharpen it…
November 6th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
hmmmm…I’m open to the idea.
And it does fit in with an Obama trait, which is he’ll work with any Republican if that Republican has a view point that fits Obama’s agenda (regardless of how horribly evil said Republican is otherwise) – just look at Google for Government. Without the odious Tom Coburn, that may have gone nowhere.
Transportation is much less dangerous overall to put in the hands of a Republican (any Republican) than some of the appointments that have been bandied about.
And, with Joe Biden as Veep, the two of them may be able to help push along some new funding for Amtrak, maybe even a SUPERTRAIN program.
I’m open to the idea. I can’t remember why I hate weyrich right now though.
November 6th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
I assume this is more of thought experiment than a real suggestion.
Even if Weyrich’s views on transportation fit perfectly into the plans of an Obama administration, you cannot just plug in an adviser as a self-contained module. He’d be in a position to undermine other areas of the administration where his views run counter to Obama’s, and he’d also also be able to use the position to gain credibility that would appear to add weight to his public statements in other areas. It’s an interesting idea, but I don’t see how anyone could propose it seriously. I also kind of doubt he’d accept, because it would have consequences in the other direction as well, hurting him with those who agree with him on everything other than transportation.
In short, loyalty actually matters. The mistake of the Bush administration was to act as if it is the only thing that matters. You need to start with the intersection of qualified and loyal candidates before choosing an adviser. I hope (and am certain) that Obama is a lot more pragmatic about these decisions than Matt is.
November 6th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
nevermind. weyrich’s an asshole.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Weyrich
November 6th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
What if Obama appointed all Republicans to his Cabinet? That would surely prove his bipartisan bona fides!
November 6th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
Have you forgotten Janette so quickly?
November 6th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
Petey,
You may be unclear on how the federal government works, but even if Amtrak cost more than a rounding error in the budget, the money would be there – we can actually print and/or borrow money when we choose to spend more than we take in.
This is nonsensical. The money for Amtrak “would be there” only if it were borrowed or taken from some other part of the budget. Since Obama will be facing unprecedented amounts of borrowing for far higher priority spending commitments, he’s not likely to do much for Amtrak.
November 6th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
What kind of person would support Bush’s profligate spending on the wholesale murder of Iraqis but think that there isn’t enough money to spend on infrastructure?
November 6th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
Put an advocate of voter suppression on a progressive cabinet?? muddafukka
November 6th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
“The money for Amtrak “would be there” only if it were borrowed or taken from some other part of the budget.”
It’s fun to watch Mixner disqualify himself yet again from serious consideration. Next up: Mixner claims that compound interest proves the viability of time travel.
November 6th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
What kind of person would support Clinton’s genocidal sanctions against the Iraqi people?
November 6th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
I would prefer if the hard-core wingnuts would crawl back under the rock they crawled out of. Don’t fucking Hockey Moms have some games to go watch?
November 6th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
How has no one made the requisite inappropriate joke about a guy with no legs supporting mass transit? You guys disappoint me sometimes.
November 6th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
PAUL WEYRICH: They [the Democrats] want everybody to vote. I don’t want everybody to vote. Elections are not won by a majority of people. They never have been, from the beginning of our country, and they are not now. As a matter of fact, our leverage in the elections, quite candidly, goes up as the voting populace goes down.
I will assume this post is a joke. There are other people who have expertise in mass transit who have not dedicated their lives to obstructing the democratic process. President-elect Obama does not need to give any more “juice” to THE FOUNDING PRESIDENT OF THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION who would no doubt abuse his cabinet position to advance his pet project of voter supression. Why make it easier for the bad guys?
November 6th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
This is nonsensical. The money for Amtrak “would be there” only if it were borrowed or taken from some other part of the budget. Since Obama will be facing unprecedented amounts of borrowing for far higher priority spending commitments, he’s not likely to do much for Amtrak.
I hate to agree with Mixner, but he’s right. Obama may decide to run more or less of a deficit and try and do various things as stimulus programs. He might even increase rail funding as such a stimulus. We’ll see.
But even in a deficit spending stimulus mode, you have to target how much of a deficit you are willing to run and decide on what your spending priorities are. Unless you think massive inflation is a good idea, you can’t act as if the federal government has infinite resources. (Indeed, I would argue that one of the reasons Bush is such a disaster is because he acted exactly that way, especially when it came to war funding, tax cuts, and the bailout. Everything was an off-the-books “emergency”, and thus there was no fiscal restraint whatsoever.)
November 6th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
I see Mixner has no answer to why he supported the murder of the Iraqi people with our tax dollars but cannot possibly imagine using a fraction of those monies to move people around (yep, that’s Mixner creating straw men with a sock puppet – damn that’s a lot of fake people even for a troll).
November 6th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
I see Evil Twin has no answer to why he’s a boot-licking apologist for the genocidal Clinton Administration.
November 6th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
I wanted to do a quick follow up. The, obviously insane, Mixner has used a sock puppet to equate the opposition to Bush’s invasion with support for Clinton’s policies in Iraq. This is more than a little crazy. It is not hard for a rational person to both oppose the horrible sanctions and the war. In fact, such a position is the default for anyone who cares about human life.e
November 6th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
What is Evil Twin doing to bring Bill Clinton to justice for his war crimes and genocidal policies in Iraq?
November 6th, 2008 at 3:02 pm
Weyrich has also supported military reform guru Bill LIND. Yeah, Weyrich and Lind have some wierd views. But, they also have some serious depth on particular matters that will not yield to politically correct euphemisms and superficial evasions.
November 6th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
What is Evil Twin doing to bring Bill Clinton to justice for his war crimes and genocidal policies in Iraq?
Trying to improve rail service between Cliinton’s home in New York and the FBI offices in Washington, DC.
Next stupid question, please.
November 6th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
Amtrak is cheap. You could fund it *big* by cancelling one wasteful military contractor boondoogle (take your pick, there are ships the Navy doesn’t want, airplanes the Air Force has no use for, and missile defense that doesn’t work), and have money left over.
November 6th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
Amtrak is cheap.
Amtrak is cheap only as long as Amtrak is small. The unit cost is high, but the total cost is low because so few people use it. That’s why it’s been able to hang on for so long.
November 6th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
Yeah, it can’t be stressed enough how insane it is that we have waged a multi-trillion dollar campaign to “improve” Iraq but then tiny brained twits tell us we don’t have the money for improving the United States.
The best thing Obama can do is to use the treasury to improve our nation’s infrastructure.
November 6th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
The best thing Obama can do is to use the treasury to improve our nation’s infrastructure.
I don’t know about “the best thing,” but much more investment in road and highway infrastructure is definitely a priority. I like Obama’s $7,000 tax credit for car buyers too.
November 6th, 2008 at 7:28 pm
Screw that. Earl Blumenauer, please!
Now, back on my bike.
November 6th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
It’s true, despite his uber-rightwing credentials, Weyrich is a principled and dedicated proponent of inter- and intra-city rail, especially light rail. But there are several reasons why he will never be secretary of DOT, especially under a Democrat. Chief among them is the fact that he’s a very, very ill man (ravaged by diabetes, spinal issues, and various other ailments).
As for Amtrak, the problem is its entire funding structure. For one, it’s required to maintain the northeast corridor infrastructure. That’d be like forcing the airlines to maintain the airports or the Big Three to maintain all roads, without regard to those companies’ already gigantic overhead. Also, train ridership will not EVER reach levels which might enable Amtrak to run without subsidies, at least not as Amtrak is currently configured. Right now, routes are kept open purely and only because of political pressure from Congress. Let the government (federal, state, or some combination thereof) take over infrastructure upkeep where appropriate, and franchise out existing routes to private parties willing to risk capital. Let the market determine whether or not demand for inter-city passenger rail actually exists. If there is demand, keep those lines open and expand them. In areas where demand dies off, shut those lines down. Sorry, but you’re not going to build and maintain a successful passenger rail line with Chicago to Phoenix, or Seattle to Denver routes. You just aren’t. Right now, Congress just annually throws money down a rat hole with Amtrak.
November 6th, 2008 at 11:34 pm
I guess I’m in the minority, but I think this is a pretty great idea. Even offering the position and having Weyrich reject it would be in Obama’s favor as it would show the Republicans that he was willing to try to work with them, and wasn’t interested in demonizing them. (I mean, commenters here seem interested in demonizing them, and I understand the impulse, but it’s not a helpful attitude to have if you actually want to govern.)
November 7th, 2008 at 7:44 am
hope that you keep reporting and following up on this issue. I signed the petition because I can’t think of anything that is more important to the long-term health of our country, our environment, and our economy than a smart transportation policy, and especially
November 7th, 2008 at 10:37 am
If he’d agree to just work on transportation and keep his trap shut about the need for women to be barefoot and/or pregnant, why not?
To paraphrase “Clerks II” you can’t feel wingnuttery through the rails.
November 7th, 2008 at 10:57 am
HH, how come we don’t use the market when it comes to roads, but we should use the market when it comes to rail? Demand for rail will appear when we stop subsidizing roads and cars so heavily, or when we subsidize rail as much as roads. One’s got to play fair.
Also, it’s a matter of critical mass. Build something fast, cheap, and convenient enough to get people out of their cars, and they’ll do it. But you have to make a choice- either privatize the road infrastructure (no subsidies for oil companies or automakers, funds for road repair only through tolls or gas taxes, etc) or subsidize passenger rail at the same rate per person as roads and cars.
November 7th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
Add me to the small minority that thinks this is a really good idea. Weyrich’s views in general are abhorrent, but a cabinet official isn’t hired for general views, but for specific managerial expertise. Weyrich has it, and he’s one of the best advocates for good transportation policy anywhere. He’s an anti-tax conservative who believes trains and roads are worth taxing people for. His appointment and resulting advocacy and management could transform the national debate on infrastructure and transcend partisan gridlock, all for the benefit of progressive change.
What’s more, I’d rather have a right-wing appointee at Transportation, which should not be a partisan agency in any case, than at Defense, which just undermines the idea that Democrats are good on national security. There’s a reason that the Bush administration put its token Democrat at Transportation.
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