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Tim Pawlenty Supported Obama Calls for High Speed Rail
Townhall ^ | June 17, 2011 | Katie Pavlich

Posted on 06/17/2011 6:31:05 PM PDT by ejdrapes

Tim Pawlenty Supported Obama Calls for High Speed Rail
Katie Pavlich
Posted at 11:32 AM ET, 6/17/2011

Tim Pawlenty supports high-speed rail? Funded by the federal government? He did in 2009.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty was one of eight Midwestern governors to urge Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to make the Midwestern Regional Rail Initiative (MWRRI) a top priority in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The act, which includes a last-minute $8 billion for high-speed rails, would create a high-speed passenger rail that links Minneapolis and Chicago; a trip by rail between the cities would take about five and half hours.

“As you complete your strategic plan to improve and deploy high-speed passenger rail systems in the United States, as mandated in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA),” the letter from the governors reads, “we are pleased to share with you the unique qualities of our regional initiative and the reasons we believe projects in these corridors should be given top priority for high-speed passenger rail funding.”

On top of that, Pawlenty claimed during a 2009 interview with Public International Radio he, along with the majority of Republicans, support a form of stimulus so long as it is focused on the right projects.

I support, and most Republicans support, a stimulus bill, we just think this one was a missed opportunity and misguided in the sense that it should have focused on bread-and-butter things that have proven to be stimulative, like tax cuts that put money in people’s pockets right away. Or bread-and-butter infrastructure projects like roads and bridges. This thing has wandered into a meandering financial buffet of spending across all kinds of categories, many of which are not stimulative.

To be fair, state governors at the time of the stimulus didn't feel they had a choice about receiving stimulus funds, however, for Pawlenty to support big government spending "on the right projects" still gives the federal government a big role in the economy and manipulatin of the market, which is concerning. Pawlenty is correct when he says the stimulus package wasn't focused on "shovel ready jobs" and funded ridiculous things like shrimp running on a treadmill, but waste of taxpayer money is inevitable when government has too much control of the economy.


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: imisswilliegreen; pawlenty
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Bye bye Tim.
1 posted on 06/17/2011 6:31:06 PM PDT by ejdrapes
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To: ejdrapes

Another RINO sticks his horn into the taxpayer wallets. High Speed Rail is a solution for which there is no problem - unless you consider the problem is government not spending enough of other peoples’ money.


2 posted on 06/17/2011 6:35:34 PM PDT by from occupied ga (your own government is your most dangerous enemy)
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To: ejdrapes

Bye Bye Tim.


3 posted on 06/17/2011 6:37:51 PM PDT by NoLibZone (Impeach Obama for among other things , violating the War Powers Act.)
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To: from occupied ga

Perhaps that’s why he’s not more forceful in attacking Romney. Because he knows he’s not that conservative himself.


4 posted on 06/17/2011 6:38:21 PM PDT by ejdrapes (Jump in Sarah, the water is warm...)
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To: ejdrapes

PAWLENTY FOR PRESIDENT, PAWLENTY FOR PRESIDENT!! /s (did I need that?)


5 posted on 06/17/2011 6:40:11 PM PDT by Outlaw Woman (PROUDLY banned from the Rush Limbaugh Facebook page on 06/17/2011.)
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To: ejdrapes

It would be nice to have high speed rail, but these politicians can’t seem to grasp the fact that this country is broke. What part of “we can’t afford it” don’t they understand?


6 posted on 06/17/2011 6:45:16 PM PDT by fatnotlazy
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To: ejdrapes

Help me out here, guys. Yesterday was “Bachmann is not conservative enough” day. Today, it’s Pawlenty. Any idea who’s on deck for tomorrow?


7 posted on 06/17/2011 6:46:46 PM PDT by 1rudeboy
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To: 1rudeboy

Pawlenty has never been my first choice. I’d take him over Mitt but that’s not saying much.


8 posted on 06/17/2011 6:48:46 PM PDT by ejdrapes (Jump in Sarah, the water is warm...)
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To: ejdrapes
I actually wait until the election season heats up, but I am a dinosaur.

FR is in full campaign mode already.

9 posted on 06/17/2011 6:50:35 PM PDT by 1rudeboy
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To: ejdrapes

No that is “ BUH BYE” ;-)


10 posted on 06/17/2011 6:50:41 PM PDT by stephenjohnbanker (God, family, country, mom, apple pie, the girl next door and a Ford F250 to pull my boat.)
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To: Pawlittle

From where do you fancy the money will come? My pocket? Why don't you quit being a punk and come for it directly?

11 posted on 06/17/2011 6:52:17 PM PDT by I see my hands (Embrace misanthropy)
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To: 1rudeboy
Except for Palin there hasn't been one politician worth spit since at least 2004. It's Palin or it's over.

12 posted on 06/17/2011 6:57:32 PM PDT by I see my hands (Embrace misanthropy)
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To: ejdrapes
High speed rail is a joke. They are building it between Detroit and Chicago. It will cost $200 million and cut 20 minutes off a five-hour ride.
13 posted on 06/17/2011 7:05:45 PM PDT by bwc2221
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To: ejdrapes
Beginning to look like if Palin don't run we will not have much left. Too bad because I liked Pawlenty for a while.
14 posted on 06/17/2011 7:12:44 PM PDT by Logical me
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To: ejdrapes
Pawlenty is a Bill Bennett conservative. Read between the lines.
15 posted on 06/17/2011 7:12:50 PM PDT by hinckley buzzard
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To: 1rudeboy
Help me out here, guys. Yesterday was “Bachmann is not conservative enough” day. Today, it’s Pawlenty. Any idea who’s on deck for tomorrow?

I'll take "anyone not named Sarah Palin" for $500 Alex

16 posted on 06/17/2011 7:15:11 PM PDT by MNJohnnie (Giving politicians more tax money is like giving addicts free drugs to cure their addiction)
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To: MNJohnnie

Jon Huntsman is getting in next week. ;-)


17 posted on 06/17/2011 7:19:53 PM PDT by ejdrapes (Jump in Sarah, the water is warm...)
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To: fatnotlazy

It would be nice to have high speed rail, but these politicians can’t seem to grasp the fact that this country is broke. What part of “we can’t afford it” don’t they understand?
What kinda gets lost in the mix is the fact that the "streamliners" were the first moves towards high speed rail—by the private railroad companies. Those trains are still among the fastest that ran in the world at their time, some of them maybe as fast as 120 mph. And guess what happened? Liberal politicians next decided to use tax dollars to support the infrastructure of the "competition" (highways, airports) while at the same time regulating out of existence the ability of the railroads to compete. Still going on, too, with new regulatory agencies like the FRA and STB (which replaced the bad-enough ICC); we're down to four giant railroad companies thanks to lib regulation, our intercity passenger service (apart from in the northeast, and that's tenuous) runs slower than ever at average speeds of 40 mph and lower (during the "streamliner" era, average speeds were at least 60 mph), the freight trains, while still profitable, are slower than they've ever been (only serving to ship Chinese-made goods in when not shipping our grain and strategically-important raw materials out), and even the "trust funds" (haha) to support the highways and airports are themselves broke.

The politicians are still using the same rhetoric related to the Northeast Corridor from 42 years ago, for cryin' out loud. It's like time has stood still since then. Look at this old magazine, the Penn Central Post from March 1969—everything they said about the old Metroliner from back then (promising 160-mph operation, talking about taking business from the airlines, et al) could be transposed to today and all the government HSR promises. Libs . . .
18 posted on 06/17/2011 7:25:26 PM PDT by Olog-hai
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To: ejdrapes

MONORAIL!
MONORAIL!
MONORAIL!

19 posted on 06/17/2011 7:27:13 PM PDT by Bosco (Remember how you felt on September 11?)
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To: Bosco

NEXT!!!

THANK YOU


20 posted on 06/17/2011 7:39:09 PM PDT by slapshot ("Were not gonna take it anymore" Twisted Sister)
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