The Conservative Case for High Speed Rail

"All" aboard. Not just "some."

​Of the $8 billion in stimulus money directed towards high speed rail in the Pacific Northwest, Washington is due to receive some $590 million to improve travel times along the coast. Conservative groups both nationally and locally have long been less than impressed by the prospects of these speedier trains. And today on KIRO, our own Washington Policy Center picked up the thwacking stick to beat down the possibility of a quicker ride between Seattle and Portland.

But not everyone who believes in the free market believes that hands-free commutes are a bad thing. Or so says conservative Matt Lewis of Politics Daily.

Reviewing the book "Moving Minds; Conservatives and Public Transportation," Lewis says the authors -- whose bona fides are spotless; can you say "Heritage Foundation"? -- make a strong case for why mass transit and conservatism mix better than first thought.

The authors present numerous and convincing arguments in favor of mass transit - especially street cars and electric-powered light rail trolleys - that are applicable to conservative thinking: Unlike automobiles, rail fosters a sense of community; increased use of electric rail would help accomplish national security goals by lessening our dependence on foreign oil; and mass transit policy is also pro-growth - something most conservatives favor.

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While few of us will ever be confused with a Greenpeace volunteer, conservatism cannot be inherently hostile to the concept of preserving -- of conserving -- our national heritage and our natural resources. Moreover, even in this polarized political world, some issues rise above partisanship - or at least they should. Conservatives sit in traffic just the same as liberals. There are no special commuter lanes reserved for Republicans or others for Democrats.