Oh My Purple Line

Except for the ICC, no issue in MoCo has defined candidates more than their stance on the Purple Line. This point of contrast offers countless positions...blind support for any rail system, light rail only, light rail in Chevy Chase but underground in Silver Spring, wholly tunneled, none at all...

For months, I've been waiting to hear what Martin O'Malley might do. I appreciate and agree with his stance that "one highway and one rail line in one county is not enough to solve Maryland's transportation problems." O'Malley's camp is looking to make the Purple Line the turnout carrot in MoCo and P.G. - the two counties he needs a significant showing from on Election Day. (Yes, Montgomery and P.G. are nearly universal Democratic regions, but O'Malley needs to run up the score to prevent Ehrlich from coasting on his ability to surpass expectations in labor-heavy regions of the state...) The Post writes:

O'Malley made his first appearance at a pro-Purple Line event yesterday, call the project one of his top transportation priorities just days after Ehrlich told The Washington Post that his administration supported the project and was "moving ahead."

But O'Malley criticized Ehrlich for what he characterized as tepid commitment to the project, based partly on Ehrlich's decision to study a rapid-bus system, as well as a light-rail link. Many Purple Line supporters oppose the bus option.

"We say we need mass transit. They say you need fast buses," O'Malley said at the rally at the Hampshire-Langley Shopping Center parking lot in Langley Park. "They tell us, 'You'll take the fast buses, and you'll like it.' "

Ehrlich wants to claim he supports the Purple Line but has been incredibly non-committal on the issue and has been accused of stalling the construction. His recent comments and vague references is nothing more than cheap pandering in hopes of neutralizing the growing support O'Malley is picking up among the conservative and moderate Democrats that KKT handed over to Ehrlich four years ago.

Originally posted at Outside the Beltway