The decline public transportation, in my view, reflects a shift in priorities within the Democratic Party. Back in the 1990s, Democrats were more focused on tangible public services—things like infrastructure, roads, transit systems. Today, the emphasis seems to have moved toward issues like environmental policy, DEI, and gender identity.
As someone who’s deeply frustrated by the lack of progress on projects like high-speed rail between SF and LA, completing the BART loop around the Bay, improving public schools in San Francisco, and addressing homelessness, I find it maddening. These are real, urgent issues, and yet they often seem sidelined.
Of course, Republicans generally oppose these kinds of initiatives altogether.
Trying to push for change within the Democratic Party has been incredibly difficult for me. It often feels like the space is dominated by highly educated, well spoken, intellectually confident people (far more so than myself) which can make it hard to even participate, let alone influence policy.
So I just think: screw it, I’m a Republican now. And that is not going to make public transport any better.
How can any political party get anything done when they have one hand tied behind their backs as they fend off attempts by other parties to undermine them.
Also the average voter is a flip-flopping idiot who throws temper tantrums when they don't get low or no taxes, when costs rise for them right now even if lowering them is at the expense of later generations, etc.
Also US politics are a lot more complicated than who held majority within and area or state. As far as I can see if senate/congress has a huge bearing and those lip between majorities constantly.
I mean keep propping Trump up though, as a foreigner it's interesting to watch the show. It's a shame that countries are making deals with the US now, I would've loved to see us ban export of pharmaceuticals, weaponry, rare earths to the US just to educate Americans on why we should all be working together.
Don't get me wrong, China & Russia are much worse for it. And NK is an absolute disgrace, all those millions of people...in a thousand years we're going to look back on this period of history as "they had the means for peace but chose oppression and violence". Future humans will look at us as barbarians as we do many of those who lived hundreds of years ago.
Wasn't Musk's whole hyperloop project determined to be just a way to sabotage the SF-LA high-speed rail?
California's so-called Democrats are in love with the idea that private industry (i.e., Silicon Valley) will swoop in and do the government's work for them. And they'll sideline any government project if they think someone else might shoulder the burden. LA almost elected a real estate billionaire as mayor whose solution to homelessness was to build a bunch of "housing" out in the middle of the desert.
Ezra Klein talks about everything bagel liberalism where the left tries to layer every cause (diversity, unions, low income housing) onto a core good idea like building more housing or transit infrastructure. It gets in the way of the goal. housing is good because otherwise people would be homeless.
As someone who’s deeply frustrated by the lack of progress on projects like high-speed rail between SF and LA, completing the BART loop around the Bay, improving public schools in San Francisco, and addressing homelessness, I find it maddening. These are real, urgent issues, and yet they often seem sidelined.
Of course, Republicans generally oppose these kinds of initiatives altogether.
Trying to push for change within the Democratic Party has been incredibly difficult for me. It often feels like the space is dominated by highly educated, well spoken, intellectually confident people (far more so than myself) which can make it hard to even participate, let alone influence policy.
So I just think: screw it, I’m a Republican now. And that is not going to make public transport any better.
So this is why…