Mathews: Trump’s opposition to California high-speed rail is a blessing in disguise
Donald Trump just gave Californians a chance to save high-speed rail Will we take it Of syllabus Trump offered this opportunity in a nasty way He had the Federal Railroad Administration claw back billion for construction and declared that he had killed a train to nowhere Yes I realize that taking billions from an underfunded project wouldn t normally be good news But we don t live in normal times or a normal country These days several us are motivated to act just because our enemies hate the idea So when Trump declares he is killing something he is really offering a neo-fascist version of the biblical mark of Cain a punishment that also confers a superpower In Genesis God banishes Cain for murdering his brother Abel but also places a mark of protection on Cain so that no one will kill him Related Articles A new plan for California s high-speed rail Letters Copying Texas GOP s power grab will cost Democrats voters trust Letters Ranked choice leaves votes on the table Trump administration pulls billion from California s high-speed rail Letters Oakland must do right by California Hotel s tenants Getting attacked by Trump delivers a similar protective mark even a new lease on life After the president cut Medicaid the physical condition plan for the poor surged in popularity When Trump blasted Europe s progressive policies more Americans sought to move there And Trump s lawless immigration raids inspired dramatic changes in general backing for immigrants A record-high of Americans now call immigration a good thing for the country Now Trump s mark is working its magic on high-speed rail After nearly two decades of indifferent pursuit of the project the state s leaders are rallying behind it After Trump s claw-back California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit demanding all billion returned Gov Gavin Newsom long a skeptic on high-speed rail now rallies behind it The High-Speed Rail Authority usually cautious politically is blasting the Trump administration Such shows of assistance are put absolutely unprecedented For all the Republican criticism of high-speed rail state Democrats have long been its real opposition That s because high-speed rail wasn t a Democratic idea or a priority Approval for the project came instead from California voters in thanks to a ballot initiative campaign led by the independent state lawmaker Quentin Kopp Since then California Democrats who prefer funding social programs and union projects over infrastructure have often quietly registered assistance for the project in citizens while undermining it in private In fresh years legislative leaders have sought to repurpose high-speed rail funds for regional projects especially in Southern California But high-speed rail has made real progress in newest years Construction on the first phase in the Central Valley has produced more than new structures for the rail project Agents completed environmental reviews on the miles from L A to San Jose electrified its Bay Area corridor a prerequisite for high-speed rail provision there and began the process of laying track with the railhead groundbreaking at Bakersfield Trump s current attack only highlights this progress Legally California stands a good chance of getting the billion back Politically Trump s attack is an enormous gift Backers of the project long a punching bag for populists now have their own populist target the dictatorial president seeking to cancel America s only constituents high-speed rail Already state bureaucrats are putting Trump on the defensive They say Trump is providing a gift to China which built the world s the bulk robust high-speed rail architecture They note that he s hurting his own voters by canceling a Central Valley construction project Trump s termination of federal grants for California high-speed rail reeks of politics Newsom revealed after the cancellation It s yet another political stunt to punish California But Trumpian punishment also opens new possibilities With the incompetent and corrupt federal administration no longer involved private investors might be willing to jump in Of late the state has been discussing a billion annual venture to inspire new public-private partnerships Polls now show backing as high as percent for high-speed rail twice Trump s approval rating in the state Make this a contest between fast new trains and an aging autocrat and California wins Joe Mathews writes the Connecting California column for Z calo Constituents Square
