What's the Matter with I-66?
Transportation issues are becoming so important in the exurbs that they're trumping even gay marriage in Loudoun Co., Virginia:
A new poll and accompanying analysis suggest there are lessons in this turnabout that might have implications nationally for Democrats. The survey was taken by the Democratic polling firm Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research on Nov. 8-9 and was funded by Communities for Quality Education (CQE). In many ways, Loudoun is a classic "exurb" -- a fast-growing and culturally conservative area in the outer ring of a major metropolitan area. In 2004, 96 of the 100 fastest-growing counties nationwide voted for Bush.
The winning model? Traffic and education. Forty percent of those polled ranked "transportation and roads" as either their first or second priority when it came to picking a gubernatorial candidate; 38 percent said education. Asked which candidate would do a better job handling those issues, Kaine held a 23 percentage point advantage over state Attorney General Jerry W. Kilgore (R) on education and a 16 percentage point edge on transportation. Interestingly, the death penalty and illegal immigration -- two of Kilgore's top talking points -- were ranked as the most important voting issues by just 3 percent and 13 percent, respectively, of people questioned.
At the very least, politicians start thinking about better transportation solutions. This issue seems like a winner.
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rj3 | 10:38 AM |
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Let's hope this is true for some of our careers (not in politics, but in general). But the public, she is a fickle master...
Oy! What is a gay, transportation activist to do? ! As one who believes in getting government out of the business of intruding into people's lives where it don't got no business butting in, and as a gay man, I do support the right of gays to marry. But without opining any further on that one, yes, I read that article too, with satisfaction that there was recognition in the importance of focusing on issues truly relevant to the quality of all people's daily lives.
