Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Climate Change

The ‘Elitism’ Trap Migrates From Transport Reform to Climate Change

Transportation debates have a terminology all their own, whether arcane ("multi-modal"), hard to define ("subsidies"), or outright misleading -- as is the case with "elitism," the standard line that road-building acolytes often apply to those who suggest that the government focus more on expanding transit and other forms of clean transport.

waxman_markey1.jpgClimate bill coauthors: Reps. Henry Waxman of California and Ed Markey of Massachusetts. (Photo: Wash Indy)

Now that the issue of climate change has come to the fore again in Washington, however, the E-word is breaking out all over. The Senate and House climate bills devote a disproportionately little attention to transportation reform, but the GOP strategy for undermining them seems to be all about stereotyping climate advocates as urbanized elitists.

Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO) did it this afternoon at a press event slamming the Senate climate legislation:

It's hard to believe that Kerry-Boxer is worse than the other California-Massachusetts bill, the Waxman-Markey bill. ... I am most concerned that this job will kill manufacturing andcoal-dependent jobs in the Midwest, South and Great Plains.

And a spokesman for Sen. Lisa Murkowski used the same rhetorical devise in an interview with Roll Call:

“Theclimate change debate is being driven by California and Massachusetts,”Murkowski spokesman Rob Dylan said. “People forget what life is in themiddle of the country, and I think that’s what we’re trying to talkabout.” 

The conservative National Review has also taken the cue on the California-Massachusetts dis.

It's no surprise that opponents of congressional action on climate change are trotting out the elitism trope, but it is a distressing sign that the nation's cities, long under-represented in policy debates despite their powerful legislators, are about to become pawns in two culture wars at once.

California and Massachusetts are not just transit-rich, they're also the nation's No. 1 and No. 15 most-populated states. In a Congress increasingly dominated by rural-state lawmakers, it's not such a bad thing to see Californians and Massachusettsans being spoken for on the climate question.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

US DOT Doesn’t Want to Fund Road Diets Anymore

One of America's largest road safety programs will look "unfavorably" on applications that reduce lane capacity for vehicles – even in urban areas where there's nowhere else to build bike lanes, sidewalk extension, and other sorely-needed infrastructure.

April 3, 2025

Talking Headways Podcast: Planning Connections in Panther City

Fort Worth's Kelly Porter on the city's city’s history, incredible growth and Texas high-speed rail.

April 3, 2025

Thursday’s Headlines Ask for Privacy

Under the Elon Musk administration, private investment might be the only way forward for intercity rail, but it's not as if such ventures have it easy.

April 3, 2025

Duffy Delivers Mixed Messages on ‘Woke’ Transportation Funding Delays

The U.S. DOT secretary says he's drowning under a backlog of grants from the Biden administration — but somehow has time to scrutinize them all for a "woke" agenda.

April 2, 2025
See all posts