The most recent mailer from our absentee congressman, Jeff Denham, attacked the Republicans’ favorite target, the high-speed rail project, saying there would be “no stops in Stanislaus or San Joaquin counties.” That’s a lie: The rail line would have stops in both Stockton and Modesto.
Why don’t the Republicans have the faith to invest in the future? Perhaps because they’re all doing so well now that they don’t want to do anything that might benefit anyone except those that already have the most.
America is way behind Europe, Japan and China when it comes to high-speed rail. The planned north-south rail project would benefit all Californians more than any other imaginable program. It would take traffic off overcrowded freeways and reduce air pollution in the Central Valley. And since much of it would be built in the Valley, it would offer high-paying jobs to the poorest part of the state.
Republican opposition to the high-speed rail project should tell voters all they need to know about the difference between Republicans, such as Jeff Denham, and Democrats, such as Michael Eggman and Jerry Brown. One party believes in investing in California’s future, the other doesn’t.
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Jack McBride, Modesto
Editor’s note: The Merced-to-Sacramento segment of the high-speed rail project (including, presumably, stops in Modesto and Stockton) would be the last of eight completed, sometime after 2029.
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