Could apathy work in our favor?

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The apathy unfotunately is more on the side of those whose votes we need than on the side whose votes we don't. So, no, apathy is going to hurt and hurt big time in the id terms. There is significant likelihood that the changes in electoral arithmetic will make Amtrak, at least on the LD side of things more or less non-viable. So don't kid yourself.
 
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"likely voters" certainly lean in a direction that's unfavorable to passenger rail.

But Charlie has a good point, because of the lower numbers, it's easier to make a difference, you don't have to reach quite so many people.

There is definitely opportunity there, but it's hard to break through that apathy.
 
In fact, I'll put my money where my mouth is. I will donate $1000 to any AUer regular who registers to run in the midterm for Congress on a platform of improved urban and suburban mobility and mounts a serious effort.
 
Great offervLion! Perhaps with AU having retired members living in Florida one of them will challenge that infamous Rail and Food Expert Rep. Mica who is from the Orlando Area???

Not mentioning any names but the ones I know are honest, intelligent, caring and strong rail advocates! Id send them a little money also although being a retired Senior on a fixed income it couldn't be as generous as your offer!
 
GML,

The only issue (as I see it) with your promise is that we're past filing deadlines in most states. Even where the deadlines haven't passed yet, it's really too late for a viable candidate to jump in any race this year.

Notwithstanding that, I do applaud the sentiment. It might be worth trying to find an open seat somewhere where one of us lives to look at a race in...preferably somewhere we wouldn't be dealing with a tea party challenge on the "other" side if we're looking at a GOP seat.
 
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Here in the Peoples Democratic Republic of Austin ( a Blue Dot surrounded by a Sea of Red) we will be electing a New Mayor(City Wide) and an entire City Council of 10. (by Ward). All will be New under the 10-1 System, we used to have a City Wide 7-1 System! 70+ people are running so there will be runoffs!

The problem in the past has been a turnout rate of less than 10% but now that All elections are held in November this hopefully will improve!

Also on the ballot is a Billion Dollar + Bond Issue for Light Rail and Highways but a Coaltion of Environmentalists and T-Party Activists are opposing it due to a non- sensical routing plan for the rail and the inclusion of more toll roads!!

Speaker Tip O'Neil always said "All Politics is Local!" And I've come to believe he is right!

Hopefully more people will become involved!, informed! and vote! Then we can practice what we preach which is that the Majority Rules!
 
Sometimes with all races in the November election some or most of the local issues and candidates get lost in the noise of the major races and people do nearly random picks, so having all races in November may improve the turnout but do nothing for intelligent voting on the issues. Also worth remembering that there can be issues regarded as more important than those rail related, so people will appear to be voting against their own interests due to other concerns.

Non-sensical routing: I could talk a long while on that one. Trying to make everybody happy causes this sort of idiocy, and usually ends up making nobody happy, and frequently hurting the ridership and overall usefulness of the system because the potential functionality tends to get lost while trying to make all the major and minor pressure groups and "squeaky wheels" happy, or at the least placate them.
 
George Harris said:
Sometimes with all races in the November election some or most of the local issues and candidates get lost in the noise of the major races and people do nearly random picks, so having all races in November may improve the turnout but do nothing for intelligent voting on the issues. Also worth remembering that there can be issues regarded as more important than those rail related, so people will appear to be voting against their own interests due to other concerns.

Non-sensical routing: I could talk a long while on that one. Trying to make everybody happy causes this sort of idiocy, and usually ends up making nobody happy, and frequently hurting the ridership and overall usefulness of the system because the potential functionality tends to get lost while trying to make all the major and minor pressure groups and "squeaky wheels" happy, or at the least placate them.
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Sounds like how I vote :(

I vote for one particular issue (sorry, it's more important to me than trains) and then I randomly split the rest (usually the lower level positions) between the two parties).
 
Excellent post George! Exactly what happened here in Austin, the politicians and movers and shakers made such a mess of the plan trying to please everyone that even strong rail advocates like me are going to vote against the Bond issue!

The worst of this mess is the cost for what wed get,( they have a way of doubling)mostly toll roads, and a crazy routing that runs close to the existing Red Line Route downtown and stops four miles short of the Airport where it needs to go first!!(the Grand Prix Track and Entertainment Center is also out that way and traffic is a real mess even for gridlocked Austin!!)

It basically is a plan for the benefit of developers,real estate speculators and businesses and useless for commuters and the neighborhoods where people actually live!
 
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George Harris said:
Sometimes with all races in the November election some or most of the local issues and candidates get lost in the noise of the major races and people do nearly random picks, so having all races in November may improve the turnout but do nothing for intelligent voting on the issues. Also worth remembering that there can be issues regarded as more important than those rail related, so people will appear to be voting against their own interests due to other concerns.

Non-sensical routing: I could talk a long while on that one. Trying to make everybody happy causes this sort of idiocy, and usually ends up making nobody happy, and frequently hurting the ridership and overall usefulness of the system because the potential functionality tends to get lost while trying to make all the major and minor pressure groups and "squeaky wheels" happy, or at the least placate them.
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I definitely agree with you. The candidates I tend to support are not necessarily big rail advocates, but IMO, there are bigger fish to fry. Don't get me wrong, I'll call them on it if they try to damage Amtrak, or mess with public transit spending, but on my list of political issues, I cannot honestly say that rail is that high on the list.

I'm sure that's sacrilege around here, but that's how I feel.
 
Many candidates have no strong opinions about passenger rail. So I suggest that you approach candidates you agree with on other issues, and try to get them to commit to pro-rail positions. Since the issue is, admittedly, not high on many people's priority lists, if you and a few friends ask for such a commitment, they may well be willing to agree.
 
That's one of the nice things about being in Virginia. Passenger rail is popular here, and is expanding. The politicians here aren't hostile, but the voters do need to make it clear that it is an issue that matters to them, and that it is worth the politicians' attention. VA is more likely than most other states outside of the NE corridor to be willing to fund and build some sort of high-speed rail system (whether it be true high-speed, or "higher-speed). I'm bullish when it comes to rail service in my state, but bearish when it comes to states that don't have frequent service statewide. Sure, most states have LD trains, but they usually only service a few stops within each individual state, and are something of an afterthought to state policy makers. The attitude of "we haven't had to support the LD trains before, why should we start now?" is quite prevalent within many parts of the country.
 
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FWIW, I've looked at the Austin rail proposal several times. It's not the best proposal (Guadalupe is better). But it's *worlds* better than the Red Line, which damaged Austin public transit for a generation; the route through the campus is actually a viable route, unlike the Red Line.
 
William W. said:
George Harris said:
Sometimes with all races in the November election some or most of the local issues and candidates get lost in the noise of the major races and people do nearly random picks, so having all races in November may improve the turnout but do nothing for intelligent voting on the issues. Also worth remembering that there can be issues regarded as more important than those rail related, so people will appear to be voting against their own interests due to other concerns.

Non-sensical routing: I could talk a long while on that one. Trying to make everybody happy causes this sort of idiocy, and usually ends up making nobody happy, and frequently hurting the ridership and overall usefulness of the system because the potential functionality tends to get lost while trying to make all the major and minor pressure groups and "squeaky wheels" happy, or at the least placate them.
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I definitely agree with you. The candidates I tend to support are not necessarily big rail advocates, but IMO, there are bigger fish to fry. Don't get me wrong, I'll call them on it if they try to damage Amtrak, or mess with public transit spending, but on my list of political issues, I cannot honestly say that rail is that high on the list.
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Ditto to most of William's post.

CHamilton said:
Many candidates have no strong opinions about passenger rail. So I suggest that you approach candidates you agree with on other issues, and try to get them to commit to pro-rail positions. Since the issue is, admittedly, not high on many people's priority lists, if you and a few friends ask for such a commitment, they may well be willing to agree.
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Ditto to this one, too. Passenger rail is just not a big issue where I live.
 

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