Air America Undermines DFL Candidates on Transit.

As Eva often points out, Democrats are not always careful about what they are supporting. .. Urban Ventures for example. I could never understand why some DFLers support PRT (Personal Rapid Transit) until I found out that David Morris of the progressive think tank ILSR (Institute for Local Self Reliance) is a big promoter of PRT Some people just don't question what comes out of think tanks.

David Morris has a weekly spot now on Air America's Wendy Wilde Show.

PRT has a thirty-year record of failure and controversy. It is opposed by transit professionals and advocates for transit such as the Sierra Club Northstar and Transit for Livable Communities (both organizations have resolutions against public funding of PRT projects).

PRT is pushed in the legislature by right-wing, anti-transit Republicans Michele Bachmann and Mark Olson. They have used PRT as a stalking horse to argue against funding LRT and Northstar.

By supporting PRT, David Morris is hurting the election campaigns of Democrats by giving credibility to Republican supporters of PRT's bogus claims that rail transit is too expensive, unpopular and inefficient--claims that have been proven false by the phenomenal success of the Hiawatha Light Rail Line.

There are several important elections this year and next where transit will be an issue. Here are a few match-ups:

Michele Bachmann (R) supports PRT.
Democrats Elwyn Tinklenberg and Scott Mortenson support conventional transit.

Mark Olson (R) supports PRT.
Jim Huhtala (DFL) supports conventional transit

Dean Zimmermann, a Green Party member (works with Mark Olson) supports PRT.
Robert Lilligren (DFL) supports conventional transit.

With Tinklenberg, his support for rail transit seems to be one of the few issues... maybe the only issue that distinguishes him from Bachmann.

It would be ironic if David Morris uses his spot on Air America to undermine the pro-transit positions of these and other candidates.