Cantor Caught Celebrating High-Speed Rail After Ridiculing It

While the stimulus was being debated in January, House Minority Whip Eric Cantor called a group of reporters into his office to outline the GOP's objections. As we filed in, we walked past a giant poster ridiculing Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) for allegedly pushing for high-speed rail connecting Disneyland and Las Vegas.

On NBC's "Meet the Press," Cantor called that project an example of "waste and pork-barrel spending."

Yet one man's pork is another man's prudent investment in transit -- and sometimes the same man's.

Asked about high-speed rail at a recent local event in Virginia, Cantor was all thumbs up. "If there is one thing that I think all of us here on both sides of the political aisle from all parts of the region agree with, it's that we need to do all we can to promote jobs here in the Richmond area," Cantor said of the high-speed rail.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch goes on to report that Cantor "said bringing high-speed rail to the region could further spur economic development, creating as many as 185,000 jobs and bringing $21.2 billion to a region already home to about a half-dozen Fortune 500 companies and 20,000 small businesses."

For Cantor, however, not all high-speed rail is equal, and the Richmond-D.C. project is distinct from Reid's because it is on a list of Department of Transportation-planned corridor projects.

"I'm shocked that that the DNC Chairman, Governor Tim Kaine, would order or tolerate these kind of attacks against the Virginia high speed rail and Democrat Bobby Scott. This is the same old Washington that people have grown sick of and the President campaigned against," said Cantor spokesman Brad Dayspring.

He offered the map below of proposed high-speed rail lines to make the case. The map was produced during the stimulus debate by the White House to back up its push for high-speed rail.

Rail - Free Legal Forms

Ryan Grim is the author of the forthcoming book This Is Your Country On Drugs: The Secret History of Getting High in America

Become a fan of HuffPost Politics on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

Comments

[LDnearthesea]

There's Amtrak service, the Coast Starlight, that runs from LA to Oakland and on to Seattle along the coast and inland valleys in southern and central California: the San Fernando Valley leaving LAalong the Ventura and the Santa Barbara coast, Vandenburg and San Luis Obispo coast, and then north through the Salinas Valley to Salinas and on to San Jose. Top speed is 80 mph, and this is not the route for the high speed rail (200+mph), though an upgrade for higher speeds (150 mph?) seems to be part of the plan.

[viflyer]

What's the big deal. He's a politicain. They are all two faced.

[TFlint]

That certainly leaves a lot of room for intelligent discussion between thinking adults.

[atila]

I think he is non only two faced,he is s tupid.

[OttotheScourge]

Is that anything like novocain?

[Eoin45]

Flagged for intellectual laziness. Sub-category: lazy generalizations.

[viflyer]

Yeh, well, you watch the shennanigans going on with the latest bills in Congress and the words of our so called Democrats and their ACTIONS and tell me if it ain't all that simple?

[Juez]

Representative Cantor is just a pawn in the Republican policy of "JUST SAY NO" to whatever Democrats propose. He is positioning himself to be the Republican candidate for president in 2012. Let's use this stubble of ideas on the "high speed rail" issue for his deplorable presidential campaign.

[crablover]

As a Virginian, I can only pray that you're wrong. Rep. Cantor has neither the intellect or emotional maturity to run for president (or any other office),

[jaslyn]

He and Sarah Palin will be in a battle of wits to see who can come up with one good idea. Should be fun to watch.

[ThinkCreeps]

Be fair - settle for the least worst idea between them - a good idea is a pretty tough goal for that pair.

[poster1122]

The headline is a little misleading.

Supporting high speed rail is one thing, but supporting every instance of it is quite another. For high-commu­te/traffic areas, it makes sense. Disneyland to Las Vegas is a lot dicier unless you could make a reasonable showing that it would be heavily used on par or greater than whatever projects it would displace.

It's the difference between supporting bridge construction to connect SF and Oakland, versus supporting bridge construction to nowhere.

[mainiac1]

It was never going to be "Disneyland to Las Vegas"....­another Repug lie.

[SlimPickins79]

the vegas to disney land rail was made up though, they felt like they could say that just because there are lines planned in california and nevada. they where also saying there would be a rail that runs from the bunny ranch to disney land. there is a train in carson city, but no it doesnt go up to the bunny ranch. trust me i checked ;o)

[RJII]

connecting to major markets and populated areas is probably a good thing.

[jaslyn]

There's no such thing.

[Megaflow]

"Disneyland to Las Vegas" was a lie made up by Cantor and his ilk during the debate. Are you willing to correct yourself here and show that you're actually thinking about things? Or are you just going to blindly repeat everything you've heard from the right wing, no matter how easily disproved it is?

[poster1122]

Since I was commenting on the article, I was just quoting what was in the article itself. That being said, I didn't even object, per se, to an Disneyland to Vegas route.

The single criteria I put forth for a project (any project) being worthy of federal dollars is usefulness vis-a-vis other projects. Is an LA to Vegas route worthy of funding? It may well be, even if it is Disneyland to Las Vegas. But is it worthier than say a line from SF to LA? If choices have to be made, we should make them based on usefulness. Building infrastructure that's only going to be used by a relatively small number of people at the cost of a large number of people is hardly good planning.

My objection to the article wasn't regarding the worthiness of the LA/Disneyland to Vegas route, but rather the claim that one cannot disapprove of a project in one area and approve of a similar project in another area without being hypocritical. That's patently not true because not all high speed rail projects are of equal value (or bridges, or any construction project).

[foxbat]

He's got the right name because he certainly "can't" seem to come up with something that doesn't always have some type of gimmick associated with it.

[afgail]

In the tradition of George Bush, Newt Gingrich, Tom Delay and Dick Cheney Virginia Senator Cantor has shown there is no political issue on which he won't hold two opposing positions.

[4evryoung]

"That's hypocrisy. And that's wrong."

[BarackstarObama]

Yes, David S. will continue that segment, if his new show ever starts.

[HarryMonster]

Really no big surprise. The Republicans love to bash any Dem idea and then later embrace it as their own.

[nylibgrrl]

Embrace it later if it proves to be popular and likely to get them reelected, that is.

[rextrek]

I know Cantor is "married".­.but I have no doubt he's a "TOE TAPPER"...­..he just comes off as a Closet Case.

[urnumbersix]

"Tippy-Tap!"

[nylibgrrl]

Which has what to do with the issue at hand?

[talkitreal]

Cantor is a snake -- I cannot stand his man. By the way, his wife's bank was one of the banks which received bailout money.

[stateretiree]

Is that the Bank of America???

[113]

gop = part of hypocrites and liars...pr­oved it here once again

[CalBearinIllinois]

Since the map was put out, in part, to make it clear that there was no Disney to Sin City route proposed under the stimulus act, Cantor's "explanation" just demonstrates his own hypocrisy. No one's attacking the idea of high speed real, just Cantor's idiocy.

[LDnearthesea]

Exactly: high speed rail is going to go from San Francisco to Los Angeles through mostly the Central Valley of California. Any other mention of this Disney Land to Vegas is pure BS!

[Hemkit]

And that high speed rail is being paid for by the state...we voted on it in Nov.

[billyboil]

the rest of the world believes in rail......­..but americans can't make it work.
Wonder why?
what a mob of drongos.

[Gib]

I believe that should be "flock of drongos"

[Gib]

I'm wrong, since drongos often mob other birds ;-)

[plwood01]

Why is there no rail system linking Georgia to Kentucky and Indiana? I am from Kentucky and always have to drive to visit my grand children. I know for a fact that there are railroad tracks that used to carry the Louisville to Nashville route because my father was a porter on those trains for over 30 years. There also was AMTRAK in New Albany Indiana that linked with the ours here in Atlanta in the past. I realize that the region is not being considered for high speed rail because of Senator McConnell who has been in office so long that one could blame him alone for the unprogressiveness in Kentucky and Louisville especially! That is why all the people who graduate from the colleges there leave as soon as commencement is over causing what the Chamber of Commerce refers to as, "Brain Drain." The only bright spot for my family there is Jerry Abramson who has fought tooth and nail for as long as I can remember for improvements and modernization in the city and county there. It pains me to go home and see the blight and things remaining status quo after twenty years!

[TFlint]

Whenever there are serious national issues to discuss, be sure you reduce it to "What about me?"

[nylibgrrl]

That reply was totally uncalled for. Putting a human face on an issue to show how it affects real people in their everyday lives is not making it "all about me."

Whereas a completely rude and unconstructive comment that itself contributes nothing to the discussion just might be.

[bpress]

There are arterials to the main routes. One the major ones of these is the Los Angeles to Las Vegas run. Amtrak used to have service from Los Angeles through Las Vegas to Salt Lake City. Although there is some public funding for this route, the major investments are from the private sector. Obviously Cantor wants it for his area of the country, not the rest... another way of being the Party of "NO" (except if it benefits him).