Clueless hack tapped to be Obama's Transport Czar

WorldChanging's Alex Steffen sez, "Politics is never a matter of perfection, but from time to time, politicians make decisions so massively wrong that they stun us. Such is the appointment of Ray LaHood for Transportation Secretary, whose qualifications are minimal and ideas are anachronistic:"

In case you haven't been following the news, LaHood is a conservative Illinois Republican with little transportation expertise and almost no administrative experience, who has earned a LCV lifetime voting score on critical environmental issues of 27 percent, and who maintains deep financial connections to the very industries he's now supposed to regulate. He may be no worse than most of those who've lead the Department of Transportation, but his appointment is a profoundly uninspiring vote for business as usual at a time when we need change, and an strong indication that the administration doesn't get that energy policy, technological innovation, urban planning, environmental sustainability and transportation are all bound up together, and no solution to our problems can be had without tackling them all together.
LaHood's appointment is so disappointing to transportation advocates who've been waiting eight years for change, that they're boiling with indignant disbelief, branding him "an unbelievably disastrous pick," "Status quo we can believe in" and "same.gov" (a dig at the Obama transition site, change.gov). As one insider summed it up: "It's a real read-it-and-weep moment."
LaHood supporters point out that the president-elect promised to appoint Republicans, and LaHood is trusted by White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. Obama had to throw Republicans a bone somewhere, they argue: why not Transportation?
Because given the crises we face, the U.S. Department of Transportation is not a minor agency. This year it had a $58 billion budget and employed almost 60,000 people. What's more, the Secretary of Transportation will guide the spending of vast amounts of stimulus spending, oversee the auto industry bailout and be responsible for a raft of critical policy decisions that will dictate the shape of our cities and the choices we have for getting around for decades -- and thus indirectly our energy policies as well, since transportation is where much of our energy use goes. In fact, in an era of climate change, energy crisis and economic distress, Transportation may be one of the most important posts in the president's cabinet.

Ray LaHood and Changing our Thinking About Transportation (Thanks, Alex!)

I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

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seyo

@ Canuck: I, a “liberal,” like trains and other forms public transportation, non petroleum or corn based technologies for fuel, severely taxing if not outright banning of gas guzzling vehicles like Hummers, and mandating that manufacturers produce more fuel efficient vehicles, for instance. All those things are the opposite of what Republicans have pushed.
Takuan

say hi to Clark.
JoshuaZ

Ugly,

This is a bit of an oversimplification but in general liberals are more likely to favor expanding subway and rail and adding congestion pricing and tolls. Conservatives (or what pass for conservatives) are more likely to favor more of the same old, with big highway systems and adding more and more lanes and solving any gas problems by things like a gas tax holiday.
omfpe

Very disappointed. After the wiretapping pardons, this, and many others, I’m starting to agree with,

“You’ve been hoodwinked. You’ve been had. You’ve been took. You’ve been led astray, led amok. Youâ€™ve been bamboozled.”

My growing sentiment re: Obama. Still better than McCain would’ve been though. I guess.
presterjohn

maybe Jerome Corsi was right.
UncommonSense

Let me try again, Antinous. Tiger is not speaking at the inauguration. You were wrong (not to mention off-topic). Now why was my response disemvowelled?
Bob Doles Communist Doppelganger

Ugly Canuck,

Liberals believe in intelligent, prudent, and all-around excellent transport policies, while conservatives seek to create policies that will destroy all good things and turn America into a third world country.

Note: Reverse these if you’re asking a conservative.
heavystarch

Why is it when a man repeats the words – hope, change, believe over and over you’re somehow persuaded to follow?

What did Obama do with his FISA promise?
How did Obama vote on the bailout?
How will Obama vote when sending troops from Iraq to Afghanistan? (then Iran after that)

You guys know Obama is so in the pocket of big corp and big govt. it’s not even funny. He’s the best candidate to lead the sheep straight to slaughter.

he’s filling his cabinet with CFR members, former clinton appointees, former bushees etc…

These guys/gals all run in the same club (see CFR) so how is their Foreign policy, monetary policy, domestic policy, etc going to be any different than the last guy?

IT IS NOT. Wake the ph#ck up already and stop jizzing over Obama. Yay he’s the first African American president. That’s great. Too bad the change he wants is more government spending, more war, more government programs to take care of the sheeple, more regulation of our lives and less personal liberty.
The Raven

This pick is also unsurprising and predictable from Obama’s campaign and history. Obama is beholden to the auto industry and, in fact, is going to have to make efforts to save it to save jobs–it’s one of the few major non-military manufacturing industries the USA has left. It is deeply unfortunately pick but, you know, LaHood will be under Obama’s authority, and if the Obama administration decides to support alternative energy, LaHood will have to go along, or be forced out.

Like many of us these days, I am beholden to the hope of a good king. Krawk!
MrJM

Headline: Obama Choice Regarding ______ Fails to Make Everyone Concerned With ______ Happy

– MrJM
Anonymous

Ray LaHood is from my home area, Peoria. While I personally prefer Democrats, IMHO LaHood isn’t a bad choice. There are far-worse Republicans to choose. LaHood has actually often been criticized by fellow Republicans for what they see as being too “Democrat-ish.”

I’ll be honest, I had no idea about many of those points against LaHood. He might very well be a bad transportation secretary. However, he was generally considered an excellent congressman here. Though it’s mentioned he is conservative, he hasn’t been ideologically driven. He hasn’t just worked for partisan issues. I did question LaHood’s appointment to the job a bit, but to reiterate, LaHood is a better Republican than most.
mdh

Anyone got a ‘real-world’ “for instance”? A transport issue that clearly separates “libs” from “cons”?

Fuel Taxes.
Scott Bieser

This discussion reminds me very much of the early Reagan years when libertarians were complaining that RR wasn’t going to abolish the departments of Energy and Education as promised and that non-defense spending was still growing; whereas his supporters kept singing the “politics is the art of the possible” song and don’t expect overnight change.
error404

irrespective of the political hue of this guy if he is appointed to the seat by a Democratic president he has to “toe the line” with the incumbents ideas.

Republican he may be but a democrat policy will be driving him. And if he tries to derail it then he will get fired.
Noelegy

Can we please 86 the use of the word “Czar” to denote anything except for Russian royalty? Thanks very much.
- Antinous / Moderator
  
  Ice it for that, too. It should be Tsar.
Takuan

Agreed! Henceforth “czar” shall be retired. It shall now be “tsar”!
buddy66

This guy’s in more pockets than Fagin.
Antinous / Moderator

I see that Tiger Woods is going to speak at the inauguration. Golf. Just say no.
trr

What about Dean Kamen as Sec’y of Transportation? Free Segways for everyone!
seyo

“You’ve been hoodwinked. You’ve been had. You’ve been took. You’ve been led astray, led amok. Youâ€™ve been bamboozled.”

My growing sentiment re: Obama. Still better than McCain would’ve been though. I guess.
Takuan

so hope Da Hood is being set up.
Gilbert Wham

#15 “toe the line” Thank you. I thought there was no-one left who cared that that’s the way it’s meant to be.

/pedant off/
UncommonSense

@ #48 ntns -

‘m sr lt f ppl wll b srprsd tht th ngrtn s tkng plc Sndy t th Lncln Mmrl, nn mr thn bm. N Tgr Wds s nt spkng t th ngrtn. nd t s nt grmn t th dscssn. Wh mdrts th mdrtrs?
mdh

“Anachronistic” is not so bad – horse and buggy thinking may be just what’s called for.

Rahm Emmanuel likes him? Aye, there’s the rub.
seyo

Bob Dole, MrJM: YAWN. Your snarky and cynical comments are superficial and downright stupid. I named specific differences in policy, you regurgitated boring, hackneyed MTV generation clichÃ©s. Grow up.
Anonymous

I more upset by Mr. Obama recommending a tax cheat to be the Treasury Secretary. “Honest mistakes” my left ear–that nominee got reimbursed for taxes he never paid.
TheFool

Are people just now realizing that Obama isn’t the far left progressive that they assumed he was? That he’s in fact a moderate political pragmatist?

Well I guess part of his realpolitik was letting voters assume things about him so they would vote for him…
Moriarty

@#2 – What? How have we been hoodwinked? Because of one bad cabinet pick?
HeruRaHa

disappointing… perhaps we should be sending emails to the transition team and our senators who will be responsible for confirming LaHood, instead of voicing our disappointment in the comments on a blog…

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
noahpoah

and who maintains deep financial connections to the very industries he’s now supposed to regulate.

It’s almost as if, in order to get ahead in politics, you have to do special favors for people with lots of money, and that people with money will recognize that they can pay politicians for special favors.

As P. J. O’Rourke wrote (at least approximately), “When buying and selling are legislated, the first thing to be bought and sold are legislators.”
Anonymous

I’m going to do some research on LaHood, and if the post above proves to be substantiated, I will write my Senators opposing his confirmation.
minTphresh

so far the only appointee i liked was booted for some bullshit reason. the rest…not sp happy with. better than mccain, but like i said in a previous post, i do not trust the CFR.
oink54321

“Throw them a bone?” Dept. of Defense isn’t exactly a bone!
UncommonSense

Quick. Can anyone name the previous 3 Transportation Secretaries? Bonus points for any name other than Norm Mineta. I would say this is not a crucial cabinet post, and even if it were, the man will have to take his orders from POTUS. Give the guy a chance. If he is as bad as this group says and Obama doesn’t replace him, then we can all freak out. BTW – nothing in that post backs up the assertion that his “qualifications are minimal and ideas are anachronistic”. Many successful Cabinet Secretaries come from political not technical backgrounds. They need to know how to manage the department and implement the President’s policies. That’s it.
Anonymous

I’m also from the Peoria, IL area, Lahood’s home district. What most people don’t seem to realize is that the largest manufacturer of road construction equipment in the entire world is headquartered in Peoria, Caterpillar. So, while somemay say this is a bad choice, it seems to make perfect sense when one of Obama’s main planks is infrastructure spending. You know, highways, bridges, etc. Also close to Peoria is John Deere out of the Quad Cities Iowa.
lady_asparagus

This is scary and depressing. Oh, Obama….
MrJM

seyo,

You mistook my comment about citizens’ heightened sense of expectation and personalization regarding the new Obama administration for a criticism of your comment.

I was not addressing your comment. Hell, I didn’t even read your comment.

But your apparent failure to understand that it isn’t all about you really does go a long way towards proving my point.

– MrJM
- Antinous / Moderator
  
  MrJM,
  
  You might want to read the Moderation Policy before bragging about not reading other people’s comments.
P Kayne

Fr Phck sk, gv th gy chnc.

Ths gy wll hv t fll n ln wth bm’s gnd nd nvstng n nfrstctr nd rvmpng trnsprt s t th tp f bm’s lst bcs tht wll hlp spr th cnmy.

Whr wr ll f y clckrs whn Bsh’s cbnt ws stm rllng thrgh th DJ, P, Dprtmnt f Trnsprtn nd vry thr gvrnmnt gncy? Y wr t hm sckng yr thmbs, wtchng mrcn dl nd thnkng “Yh Bsh, gr w nd t gt ths rq trrrst bstrds”.
Digital Artz

I am taking the day off to celebrate (if not Celebrex) this inauguration having been around during World War two and segregation,this is so amazing to witness.
That’s what’s important here.

Cabinet members come and go.
weatherman

They should appoint Ray Wert instead.
charlesplatt

The original post is so loaded with unstated assumptions, so righteous in implying that there is only One Sensible Path that All Should Follow, and so lacking in any specific information (like, who is this guy and what makes him such an anachronism?) I cannot make anything out of it at all.

However, if the complaint is that the new transportation secretary might defer to the choices of consumers instead of jumping on a bandwagon powered by special-interest groups which would enforce an ideologically correct set prescriptive solutions–that sounds good to me. I am, after all, old enough to remember Jimmy Carter’s alternative energy boondoggle.

Now a quiz question. Alternative energy will not be economically attractive to investors until the price of oil goes up and stays up; and the best way to achieve that is?
niro5

Wah Wah Wah. Yeah yeah, we all know the Transportation department is important now, but which department isn’t? Defense, Energy, Treasury, Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development, State, Agriculture, Homeland Security, Labor, Justice, Health and Human Services, Commerce, Education!?!? I mean, they’re all pretty darn important right now. Not only that, but I’ve heard nothing but praise on most of his other appointments. I’m sorry, but deal, because do you remember one good bush appointee?
MrJM

My mistake. In the future, I will read each and every comment before making my own comment on the original post.
SamSam

If all we wanted out of our president was a complete liberal, who always lead with his heart and never *actually* tried to get anything done in a way that would *actually* work, why didn’t we all just vote for Kucinich?

Maybe perhaps because we were voting for someone who we believed would actually be able to change things while sitting in the white house, actually get things done. And sometimes getting things done means working with people, not trying to polarize every issue and forcing Republicans to filibuster.

Everyone was always so proud of how Obama was a uniter, how he managed to work with Republicans in Illinois. Where did we think all this uniting way going to happen? Way out in left field?

The cabinet is the BEST place to put Republicans. You have greater control over them there, and they give you greater power over the Republicans in congress by speaking through them.
dm1

Massive overreaction.

An environmentalist organization is upset that Obama didn’t tap one of their own to run the DOT. It’s not like they put him in charge of the EPA. LaHood might be a questionable pick, but for none of the reasons Mr. Steffen mentions.

This is nothing close to the Mike Brown level of stupidity we got from Bush.
acb

So no bullet trains or European-style subways then? Perhaps LaHood will bring in McCain’s gasoline tax holiday to stimulate the economy and get America driving again?
Neon Tooth

Folks,
The but mommy Bush appointed ______! argument doesn’t hold water. Your man ran on change and now you need to hold him responsible.
SamSam

Having Republicans on the team is more important than people are giving credit for. Congress isn’t being quite as starry-eyed towards Obama as the country is, and they’re not going to give him a carte blanche to do whatever he wants. He needs to work with them.

The Secretary of Transportation is still a part of the administration’s cabinet, and he’s going to have to toe the administration’s line to a large extent. Better to have pro-environment policies come from the mouth of a Republican, I’d say.
dculberson

Ray Wert would be awesome. I’m not certain he would be good, but it would be great for people like me. (Gearhead.)
HeruRaHa

LOL @ P Kayne

Good stuff… there’s an unfortunately situation now where even amongst Obama supporters, he will be held to account 10x as intensely as Bush was, partly because of exactly that kind of apathy you’re talking about and the resulting havoc that became of it. That man’s life, for at least the next 4 years, will consist of taking the heat and backlash for another man’s actions, 24/7/365.

It’s unfair perhaps, and certainly many who oppose Obama will use that for as much leverage as they can get out of it, but ultimately we all have to hold him to a much higher standard than we did Bush… he won’t sweat, unlike Bush he can actually define and meet a metric of success (it would appear so far).

America is a populist democracy, with a president-elect who actually gives a flying stab at a rolling donut, ultimately if this LaHood guy is a joke we can push him out. Assuming Obama doesn’t fix things enough in short order to lull us all back into American Idol and Soma driven apathy.
emg72

Every single Obama pick is going to be seen by every activist group as a chance for them to win back what they lost during the Bush Administration, and every single one of those groups is going to have a huge Not In My Backyard reaction to any Republican heading the post that relates to their organization.

I’m a dyed-in-the-wool liberal Obama volunteer, supporter, and donor who realizes that the *best* thing about Obama, aside from an obvious intelligence that sets him apart from the last eight years, is that he is a consummate politican who knows when, where, and how to work the various factions of American politics. You need look no further than the dinners he recently had with Bill Kristol (blech) and the like, wining and dining and winning them over in a way that Bush was never able to do with Democrats –

Because from the very first day Bush entered the Oval Office, he did everything he could to announce that his way was the only way, and that the left side of the aisle could, and would, suffer under his watch. And he made good on those promises.

Obama is doing exactly what he said he was going to do, and exactly why I supported him — he’s being smart. Yeah, maybe this guy is not the progressive voice we need heading up Transportation, but I’d rather have a conservative hack in there than I would in Defense, Education, Energy, Treasury…

We won, people, and we’ve got a chance to make some real change in this country for the first time in a long time. Veering super-hard to one side is just going to make the country reactionary once again, and 4 or 8 years from now, it’ll all swing back the other way. Obama seems to know this — why don’t you, Mr. Steffen?
Rukasu

“Hoodey…you’re doin’ a heckuva job!”
Takuan

oh, there will be bullet trains. You will drive your SUV right onto them and treadmills under your wheels will give the full driving experience while you are whisked to your destination at 300mph. That way Detroit and Big Oil stay relevant.
Ugly Canuck

Hmm. Thanks Seyo et al for the enlightenment, though I’m still a little confused.
I would have thought that it’s just an Administrative job, and that a “competent vs. incompetent” assessment would be more to the point than a “liberal vs. conservative” one.
Also strange to see conservation and state-mandated efficiency of transport touted by “liberals”, and liberal use of resources and individualistic inefficiency touted by “conservatives”.
“Transport” was not one of Bush’s strong suits, judging from the delay in getting help to the sited-for-easy-access City of New Orleans.
Anonymous

Remember, once he’s been appointed and in there, if he does something that Obama doesn’t agree with Obama can fire him. He has no job security if he bucks his president.

So, looking at it through a paranoid’s glass, this might be a sneaky way of getting LaHood out of the House for a while.
ethancoop

When will people wake up to the fact that this country is being run by two political parties that are shockingly similar in their actions. They both talk a good game to the constituents they hope will elect them and sway the balance of power, but their actions tend to be more or less steering the country in the same basic direction save for a few social issues that help keep voters polarized.

Obama will change some things, but for the most part these will be window dressing to hide the fact that nothing important is shifting direction.

Enjoy your Republicrat President, in 4 to 8 more years we’ll get to enjoy another Republicrat sitting in the oval office and the beat will go on.
darth_schmoo

@charlesplatt (#54)

> Now a quiz question. Alternative energy will not be economically attractive to investors until the price of oil goes up and stays up; and the best way to achieve that is?

To keep building roads and cars, until supply hopelessly outstrips demand?

Brilliant!
zandar

@#5- only one bad cabinet pick? What are the good ones?
Jeff

So let me get this straight (if thatâ€™s possible): Obama picks Ray LaHood and some people arenâ€™t happy? How could that be? You mean Obama isnâ€™t the Messiah? You mean some of his choices wonâ€™t conform to every liberalâ€™s ideas concerning Americaâ€™s future transportation path? Amazing. And here I was expecting someone that would give me my own mule.
Ugly Canuck

No Darth it is to invade and occupy a country that controls a significant portion of the world’s oil. Like Bush did .
P Kayne

So my post was “Devoweled” because I used the term ‘phuck’ and ‘cluckers’. Last time I checked these aren’t even real words with definitions. So they definitely can not be assumed to be swear words. For all you know, they may have been terms of endearment.

What was the sense of devoweling the post? If you found it offensive. Remove it.

Maybe people found it offensive, because I called them on their arrogance and anger with regards to this administration, in the face of their complacence to the last.

My post was less aggressive in tone than many of the other posts that have since followed. I would like my vowels back, please.
- Antinous / Moderator
  
  P Kayne,
  
  Your post was disemvoweled because it was rude to the readers and commenters.
hep cat

It seems like a lot of the issues that commenters are freaked about are energy issues , and just maybe LaHood’s just smart enough to stay out of the way of Secretary of Energy-designate Steven Chu.

Secretary of Energy Steven Chu , how amazing is that! Wow.
Anonymous

This is a late comment, but I went to see Winona LaDuke (Ralph Nader’s 2000 running mate) speak at my University. Mr LaHood was there and seemed to pay attention and respected the topics being discussed.

I always thought he was a decent guy.
danlatorre

This only underscores the importance of working locally with sustainable transport groups.

We need to up the interest group pressure and actions to change local policy and create exciting initiatives to support bicycle infrastructure, rail, etc.

Here are two good places to find local sustainable transport groups/info:

http://streetsblog.net/
http://www.livablestreets.com/projects/
Anonymous

Apparently LaHood is pretty Amtrak-friendly, especially compared to most Repubs.
dculberson

emg72 (#17) has got it. The last thing we should want is an administration that rushes in and just turns the tables 180 degrees, pushing through a solidly liberal agenda and ignoring the pleas and cries of the right. That’s the sure fire way to end up with a continued polarization of our country, continued wild swings between liberal and conservative policies, and a guaranteed unhappy 49% of the population.

Moderation is good. Careful consideration of your opposition’s positions and opinions is good.
Brainspore

Are people just now realizing that Obama isn’t the far left progressive that they assumed he was? That he’s in fact a moderate political pragmatist?

I never had any illusions about that, but I still supported his campaign because any halfway sane moderate still seemed like a revolutionary progressive compared to what we’ve had for the last eight years. Tuesday will still bring a great sigh of relief.

It’s disappointing that we won’t be able to count on the Feds for a state of the art public transit system, but not really surprising.
Takuan

Poddy: this is a strange and exotic land, rife with new experience and redolent with the reek of ideas yet untasted. Learn the customs or end up in the cooking pot.
seyo

@ Moriarty: I was very disappointed by his pick for the Department of Agriculture. And now this one. Two HUGE issues, central to our biggest problems, and he picks guys who represent the same old same old, big business, failed models that most desperately need “change.”

@ P Kayne: actually no, I was out in the street protesting.
Ugly Canuck

Hey I don’t understand – what diff is there, between liberals and conservatives, on/in transport issues? Could someone gave a “for instance”, eg. libs like diesel, conservatives like gas.
Anyone got a ‘real-world’ “for instance”? A transport issue that clearly separates “libs” from “cons”?
Bob Doles Communist Doppelganger

Seyo: My response was 90% silly and 10% intended to highlight the fact that no matter who Obama chooses for any particular role, there’s going to be at least somebody who thinks he’s the devil incarnate.

I’m sorry (and a little bit bewildered) that it offended you, but if you’ll provide me with a detailed chart of your various sensitivities and a nominal consideration to cover my expenses, I will cheerfully endeavor not to offend you in the future.
Peter

When I read this headline, I thought the story was that a cab driver (hack) who had no idea what was going on or that he was even considered, had suddenly been appointed Transportation Secretary.

Now that would have been interesting, or at the very least the plot for a third-rate comedy movie.
TheChickenAndTheRice

This strikes me as hysterical. We don’t even know about Obama’s transportation policy, yet we’re crying foul at his appointee? The guy’s not even President yet.

Why don’t we wait to see how he governs and then unleash our outrage? We might as well give him a chance at making policy before decrying his policy based on our assumptions.
- Antinous / Moderator
  
  We elect the President based on faith or guesswork. Why shouldn’t we speculate about the incompetence of his appointees?
P Kayne

WTH! Why does my last post look so mangled? What happened to all of the vowels? Boing Boing are you playing with me?
- Antinous / Moderator
  
  Why does my last post look so mangled?
  
  The answer to this and similar questions can be found here.