Republican Presidential Candidates' Views on Transit
I profiled the Democratic Candidates and their opinions on mass transit yesterday; here's a take on what Republicans running for the nation's Presidency think.
Fred Thompson
Thompson, actor, and former Senator from Tennessee, may or may not be at the top of the field - depends on who you ask. Nonetheless, he hasn't shown himself to be one of mass transit's major supporters. Or, at least, he hasn't shown any interest. Pretty much all I can find is that he helped support funding for studying improved transit in the Great Smoky Mountains, not exactly the place that really needs public transportation.
Mitt Romney
Though Romney was the governor of a state that relies extensively on mass transit, his website never mentions public transportation. We do know that when he was governor he never took the T and didn't know much about it, either. Some, though, say that he actually does have a good record in promoting public transit and smart growth, it's just that he's kept it hidden from the rest of us.
Rudy Giuliani
Giuliani was mayor of New York from 1993 to 2001, when he was replaced by (also-maybe-running-for-president) Michael Bloomberg. One would think, then, that he would with pride suggest that he's a support of transit. That said, he doens't mention on his website, like the others. But while mayor, Giuliani cut the budget for transit several times. Even so, after September 11, he did ask people to use public transportation, though New York City would be in crisis condition if the majority of people didn't use transit, of course.
John McCain
McCain, Senator from Arizona and once considered the party's major front-runner, is perhaps the individual in Congress most interested in "fiscal discipline" (though he hasn't restricted money for the Iraq war, of course). As a result, he's proven himself adamentally against money for Amtrak. Other than that, he hasn't done much on the issue.
Mike Huckabee
I literally cannot find any information.
Ron Paul
Paul believes that the U.S. Department of Transportation should be eliminated. Literally.
Sam Brownback
At least in 1978, Brownback wanted public transit in Kansas.
Neither Duncan Hunter nor Tom Tancredo are going to make a mark on this race, so I'm not writing about them.
Post Author:
ysf | 5:39 PM |
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Part of the joys of the American political system is that you can get nominated by the Republican party without addressing any concerns that are mainly of interest to Democratic primary voters -- like public transit, for instance. (The reverse is true as well, obviously.) Since most Republican voters are car-dependent exurbanite, it's not worth the candidates' time to come up with a transit strategy.
Rudy Guliani hates public transit....
1. Was fully responsible for stopping construction of the ready-to-build 42nd Street trolley. All design work had been fully completed. This could have eventually been expanded to a midtown distribution system between Penn Station / Javits Center, Grand Central Terminal, the Upper East Side and Western Queens.
2. Did not attend the rededication of Grand Central Terminal, ostensibly because of many political enemies there. Believed he was in Florida.
3. Did not attend ceremonies when the Federal Goverment gave New York City authorities a huge check to start work on construction of Penn Station's replacement, the Daniel Moynahan Station.
4. During his term in office, did absolutely nothing to encourage the use of public transit, the construction of new transit facilities, boo-hooed valid ideas for improving traffic congestion in Manhattan, and in fact allowed his then-traffic comissioner (who had no background in transportation) to really screw up traffic to/from the Queensboro Bridge by altering the flow of traffic (and just a few days later was forced to revert to the old traffic pattern after spending significant amounts to make new signs, paint new lane markings, etc.).
5. Refused to allow his Police Department to approve a patented, non-reflective taxi safety light (which could not be seen in use from inside the cab) to be used on NYC cabs, instead approving one which could flashed brightly and reflected on the rear of the taxi and could easily be seen by a taxi crime perpetrator.
6. Used chauffeur-driven police-driven vehicles to move about and was rarely (probably never) seen or photographed on public transit.
6. Tried to have outside bus advertisements that were offensive to him and his political career removed; courts allowed these ads to remain.
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