Election 2008
Streetsblog LA
Ask the Candidates to Talk Transportation at Tomorrow’s Debate
We've noted throughout this election season that transportation policy is something of a third rail in presidential politics. Gas prices and auto industry jobs are irresistible fodder for campaign promises, but even the candidate who has decent ideas about rail travel and bike infrastructure doesn't mention transit on the stump. (The other one doesn't have much to say in the first place.)
October 14, 2008
Lowenthal Won’t Introduce New Container Fee Legislation
An angry State Senator Alan Lowenthal (D-LB) vowed yesterday to continue fighting for clean air, but won't be re-introducing legislation next year that would place a container fee on all freight using the ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland to raise funds for clean air initiatives. In a statement released to the press, Lowenthal blamed a Governor more interested in doing the bidding of multi-national corporations and Republican Vice-Presidential Nominee Sarah Palin than in protecting thousands of Californian families from dangerous air pollutants.
October 2, 2008
Where They Stand: Obama and McCain on Transportation
With a few hours to go until what will be the season's first presidential debate, we're looking over a report from the Brookings Institution, which outlines each candidate's positions on transportation.
September 26, 2008
Culture War on Wheels
Having
dispensed with the question of whether an African-American or woman
will ever make it to the White House, conservative Culture Warriors
have moved on to defining and dividing Americans over their chosen mode
of transportation. These two images have been floating around the right
wing blogosphere under the shrieky, all-caps headline, "THIS IS ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW." Somehow or another this strikes me as a promising development.
September 17, 2008
Palin Weighs In Against Pollution Fees for Ports of LA and Long Beach
Dear Governor Schwarzenegger:
September 15, 2008
Greetings From Wasilla
Before VP candidate Sarah Palin crystallized her views on the future of US energy policy in her "drill or do nothing" speech to the Republican National Convention, we only had a vague idea of her record on transportation and development, gleaned mostly from her time as mayor of the tiny town of Wasilla.
September 5, 2008
Palin to RNC: It’s Drill or “Do Nothing at All”
If there was any question as to where a John McCain-Sarah Palin White House would stand on transportation, the prospective VP's speech to the Republican National Convention left little room for doubt. Here's Palin from last night, via Grist:
September 4, 2008
Sarah Palin, Transit Advocate?
John McCain may not be big on public transportation, but as mayor of a small town in Alaska, his running mate Sarah Palin secured millions in federal earmarks for rail and bus projects.
September 3, 2008