This is just a quick note of gratitude from a Northerner to the dim bulbs that have captured the Republican Party in Florida. Your loss is our gain, and the Federal money that you have refused to implement for high speed rail is now being allocated to more deserving areas (i.e. areas that actually recognize its value).
Several months ago, Florida had hit a home run in the public transit department, securing significant Federal money for the construction of a cutting edge high speed rail line; the first segment extending from Tampa to Orlando. They were the envy of train-lovers throughout America, although the envy was mingled with bemusement as it was granted to an area with no recent history of significant rail use. Never smart enough to recognize a good thing when they see it, the crazy ass right wingers in the Florida GOP axed the program. I'm sure they thought they were pulling a swift one on Uncle Sam, and that they could somehow reallocate the money to more "valuable" programs like abstinence-based sex ed. But it turns out there were strings attached, and the Federal government retracted the funding, vowing to redistribute it elsewhere.
Today, Pennsylvania starts to reap the benefits of the Tea Party / GOP ignorance:
The U.S. Department of Transportation on Monday awarded Pennsylvania $40 million for additional improvements to passenger rail service between Harrisburg and Philadelphia. The money, part of $2.4 billion that was returned to the federal government when Florida's governor canceled a high-speed rail project, will pay for improving a switch-and-signal network in Harrisburg.... U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., said the project will create about 400 construction jobs.
And of course, a huge portion of the Florida money will go to an area that has long valued passenger rail; that scaaaary librul Eastern Seaboard.
The biggest share of the funding announced by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood on Monday will go to Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, which runs from Washington, D.C., to Boston. It will get $795 million to upgrade some of its busiest sections. Mr. LaHood said the improvements will increase train speeds from the current 135 mph to 160 mph, improve on-time performance and add seats
And California got a nice boost from all of this as well;
...$300 million for a 20-mile extension along the Central Valley Corridor. This will continue to advance one of the highest priority projects in the nation that will ultimately provide 220 mph high-speed rail service from Los Angeles to San Francisco.
A full list of the projects can be found on the US Dept of Transportation's website here.
So from me to you, Governor Rick Scott, thank you. Thank you for not allowing my tax dollars to be wasted, and instead allowing them to be spent in a more practical manner. Your loss is our gain.