The Bright Side To Running Against Trains

Gubernatorial candidates Mark Neumann and Scott Walker are digging to the core of the GOP's conservative base by out-opposing each other over Midwest High-Speed trains that would traverse Republican sacred territory - - Waukesha County - - where a lot of people think about trains the way other people look at West Nile virus or lead-tainted toys.

Watching this political spectacle degrade the public debate just as the rest of the country and much of the planet is focused on reducing gasoline usage to clean the air and reduce dependency on foreign oil - - worthy goals inherent in the development of modern passenger trains - - is demoralizing to anyone with an ounce of common sense, regardless of political party.

It occured to me, however, that there is an upside to this strain of Walker-Neumann-Waukesha County railophobia - - it distracts them and thus spares us some of the GOP fringe politicking underway elsewhere.

We hear little in Wisconsin about Constitution trashing, anchor babies, death panels, terror babies, Presidential birth certificates, or Mosque banning - - this election cycles fear-mongering 'issues' (sic) that Republicans are using in other states to gin up their base.

What we've got in Wisconsin are two candidates running for Governor by pledging to derail a train.

Which they know they cannot do.

But who knows: any day now, Walker may channel his inner Ron Johnson and come out against sun spots, which would mean Neumann would have to promise to ban the sun altogether.