One of which is when they actually debate the budget, which does not happen until Summer. This was political grandstanding, nothing more.rmadisonwi said:
There will be one more democrat today. I am going down to the courthouse and have my name removed from the Republican Party. I don't like the prospects of being a Democrat, but we have two senators in Kansas who would let our state go to hell in a minute if George Bush said it could save the country a little money while we continue to look for WMDs in Iraq. The issue for us out here is we have no political voice. no one in DC cares about what basically amounts to the old Louisiana Purchase because they don't have to worry about the votes. When your own senators could care less except for standing up for an occasional "family values issue" so the folks back home think they are decent human beings, your powerless. Some may think it is a boondogle, but Amtrak is all there is for many. You kill it and its gone. Bush and Mineta's smokescreen about matching funds won't happen period. States don't have any money. Besides, I think the freight RRs will have something to say if Amtrak goes, like "No Tresspassing". They are not going to let a new entity or private, non-amtrak company run trains on their congested right of way. If they see the chance to get rid of Passenger trains, their gone. Bush knows it too.Guest said:
This is what I'm starting to see. As rmadisonwi mentioned, many of the politicians, especially the pro-Amtrak Republicans, didn't feel that this was the proper time and place for this discussion. Killing this amendment doesn't mean that they've "flip-flopped" against Amtrak, but they just want to maintain some semblance of order (what little's left) in the Senate. IMHO, I think we'll see Amtak get the votes once the budget is up for debate, just now wasn't the time.rosenth said:
Exactly.rile42 said:
Sadly, Minetta is nothing more than a pupet for the White House.Midland Valley said:
Just to be clear here, you do know that Mineta's a Democrat.rile42 said:
The Demoractic record on Amtrak hasn't always been impressive either. And it's not all Republicans that want Amtrak dead. After all two of Amtrak's biggest cheerleaders in recent memory were Tommy Thompson & John Robert Smith, both Republicans. Not to mention that many Republicans have voted for Amtrak funding in the past few years.sutton said:
Well if Amtrak is indeed a boondoggle, then it's a far better boondoggle than some of the other Billions of dollars that Congress spent last year on pork barrel spending. Things like 500,000 to Anaheim Resort Transit to run buses to Disneyland. Or the $500,000 spent 3 years ago to fix up a statue of a little known Confederate general in a little town down south. Last year's pork (2004) was estimated at $22.9B and Amtrak is not included in that number.Guest said:
They also quantified the loss in dollars to the state and they note that the numbers below are conservative.
The full report from Montana can be found here. It makes for a very interesting read and even includes some demographics about ridership.
Does the name Judas come to mind?AlanB said:
How about $300 billion and counting. 80 billion was just the last installment. Of note is the fact that the $300 billion listed above is money that so far has been appropriated toward the war. The money goes pretty fast when you are hemmoraging $2,000 a second
