Try to imagine Destiny’s Child without Beyonce or, for the boomers out there, Peter, Paul and Mary without Mary. It sort of dooms the whole project, right? The federal government’s proposed high-speed rail intended to connect Minneapolis/St. Paul to Chicago needed the governors of Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin to be singing in three-part harmony. But Governor Walker hit a sour note.
Wisconsin’s REPUBLICAN Governor Scott Walker decided he did not want to be in the band and denied construction of the link between Madison and Milwaukee. Walker is one of three REPUBLICAN governors that crippled the Obama administration’s plans for a nation-wide high-speed rail project. Potentially, the high-speed rail would have delivered excited (Grain Belt Beer filled) Viking Fans to Chicago’s Soldier Field in about five hours - that’s a serious tailgate party.
Walker "Wisconsin Ranger" refused $810 million dollars in federal funds for the critical link between the two huge metropolises. But it is worse than that. The severed rail line also eliminated high-speed train travel between St. Paul and the East Coast cities of New York, Philadelphia and Boston. From St. Paul to Seattle, residents are disconnected from the Northeastern United States (at least through the Chicago route). Meanwhile, the Chicago to Detroit link is raising economic hopes for businesses along its corridor.
To be fair to Walker, he is a big-picture guy. Not only is he screwing over Wisconsin residents, he is sticking it to the entire northern-tier of the country; now that is national leadership.
Walker, the interloper from Colorado Springs, Colorado, apparently does not think Wisconsin residents deserve a little pleasure in their lives, or healthcare (which he also refused funding), or a living wage (which he is against) for that matter. They should not live as contently as their European counterparts or their neighboring states. They should pull themselves up by the bootstraps and build their own high speed rail.
Try to imagine San Francisco without the Golden Gate Bridge (big government project). Does the Hoover Dam (another big government project) mean much to Las Vegas? What if Atlanta – home to the world’s busiest airport – said, “We don’t want an international airport (yet another big government gift) - Besides, we are broke.” Building our infrastructure is how we move forward as a nation. Come on, Koch's sucker; join together with the band. We are in this together.
Unfortunately, you cannot choose your neighbors. With Halloween, one of America’s great neighborhood traditions a few weeks away, I can picture "Dead Eyes" Walker in the basement of his house with the lights off and the shades pulled. Meanwhile, he is on the phone with the Koch brothers doing a little "urban planning."
Mr. Walker, the college drop out turned Koch brother's puppet, will never be mistaken for Mr. Rogers. Vote this Koch sucker out.
Note: This is an old story but is a reminder to Wisconsin voters.
Peace