ALL ABOARD! Political Paybacks for Iowa Interstate Railroad

Thursday, July 16, 2009, 9:51
Krusty Konservative
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8 comments

railroad I don’t know why Chet Culver has a train fetish, but he does. Maybe Governor Lug should be called Govenor Chug-a-Lug, but that would insinuate that Chet’s progressing with something, and that just isn’t the case.

Anyway, I don’t remember Governor Chug-a-Lug campaigning on passenger rail expansion, probably because Iowans are not about to embrace train travel. Even before Culver was inaugurated, his train fetish was apparent. Remember all those wacky libs getting on the train in Des Moines and traveling to Iowa City, to attend Culver’s big inaugural gala at the now flooded out Hancher auditorium? What was that called again? Oh that’s right the One Iowa Gala… What’s the name of the Pro-Gay Iowa group? That’s right, One Iowa.

I’m getting off track here, and I apologize. Anyway, I’m sure that some part of Culver’s train fetish was created by his fond and probably intoxicated memories of his inauguration. I’m sure some drunken union thug or railroad exec said something like, “Hey Chet, this is been a blast, we should expand passenger train travel in Iowa. Heck, it’s better than us driving home drunk.”

Maybe if we had passenger rail service, Rep. Kerry Burt wouldn’t have gotten into that accident during the legislative session. But then again, I doubt the trains would run the bars in Ankeny at that time of the day…

Since his inauguration, Culver has now boarded the train numerous times to push expanded passenger rail service. Each time he hits the tracks, he rides on Iowa Interstate Railroad’s passenger car. It sure is nice of them to let Culver use their train. I wonder how much it costs the state?

Well, it seems as if Iowa Interstate Railroad wants a little payback and Governor Chug-a-Lug is using his I-Jobs slush fund to pay them off. A couple days ago, the I-Jobs board agreed to fund two railroad bridges in West Des Moines operated by the Cedar Rapids-based Iowa Interstate Railroad. Interesting.

Coincidence? I don’t think so.

How many people do bridges employ? That’s right, none.

And before I forget. Culver must have had one hell of a night at his One Iowa Inaugural Gala. Not only did his train fetish begin there, but so did his obsession for Hancher Auditorium. No wonder Culver tacked on an extra $100 million or so on to I-Jobs for that building.

Tags: Culver

About the Author

Krusty Konservative has written 224 stories on this site.

Herschel Krustofski is the pseudonym for the anonymous author of Krusty Konservative, a blog which focuses on Iowa Politics. Created in February of 2006, Krusty Konservative is the undisputed heavyweight champion of the Iowa blogosphere. Since its conception, Krusty Konservative has never shied from tackling controversial issues, and providing insight to the inner workings of Republican politics in Iowa.

8 Comments on “ALL ABOARD! Political Paybacks for Iowa Interstate Railroad”

Trixie wrote on 16 July, 2009, 12:20
great find… Say, I’d like to invite Governor Chug-a-Lug over to the saloon one of these nights to give my girls a good education on the art of paybacks. This character we call Guv seems to have really mastered the art of lying spending, and returning the favor… now if I can just get my girls to ‘return the favor’ I could get these raucous boys off my back!
SharpHawkeye wrote on 16 July, 2009, 15:50
Hell yeah, Krusty! Who needs the so called “arts”?! Screw rebuilding Hancher, give me a tax cut! Woooo! Get r done!
Jeff wrote on 16 July, 2009, 17:28
So, why again are you against expanding rail service? Honestly I don’t understand. I would *love* to take the train from DSM to Iowa City to Chicago. Then I could fly out of Chicago, and not have to pay to park at O’Hare.

I’ve traveled all over the world (yes, I’m implying that I’m better than you — that’s a joke) and one of the best parts of the more developed countries is their subway and rail services. It makes travel easy, comfortable, and affordable.

Why can’t we have that in the Midwest? It’s worth spending money on public infrastructure. It benefits all that use the service, and I think many will use the service.

I don’t think much of Culver, but he borrowed a good idea from Obama (yes, I’m a republican and I believe Obama does have *some* good ideas) on this one.
JB Johnson wrote on 16 July, 2009, 18:02
oh by all means lets spend milions so Jeff doesn’t have to park at Ohara. So what if it take a extra day, 2 for round trip
Jeff wrote on 16 July, 2009, 18:28
@JB Johnson

True. And while we’re at it, let’s stop wasting money on paving roads just so JB doesn’t have to get dirt on his car. Yee hawww!!
Jeff wrote on 16 July, 2009, 18:33
@JB

Instead of being so dismissive, I’ll address your flippant remarks.

What is your real argument against rail service? Is it inherently a bad idea? Or do you believe it is too expensive? I’m honestly curious.
Jeff wrote on 16 July, 2009, 18:41
> JB Johnson
>oh by all means lets spend milions so Jeff doesn’t have to park at Ohara

It’s called O’Hare. Ohara is a hardware store in Ottumwa…which I assume is where you are from. Stop voting for Democrats down there! (not that you are)
Peggy wrote on 22 July, 2009, 20:14
We don’t have the people to support a rail line. It’s just that simple.

It’s a loser idea.