Observer has it right....

I've known plenty of Republicans who support Amtrak and passenger rail, including the long distance services, and I've known my share of libertarian ideologues, also claiming to be Republicans, who don't.

But, it's actually us "taxpayers" who fund Amtrak..... Even though you will here a lot of bull about the "evil gubmint" doing this or that, in our system, you and I are the government. Our unfortunate tendency to choose what appear to be mostly ignorant, self serving, egotistical, and arrogant fools to represent us, is also our fault. And, we get the government we deserve.

I find it interesting that Boehner has so little control over some of the real goofballs in his own "majority" that he has had to start throwing these votes open, so he will actually have enough votes to pass anything, with Democratic support.

Which, may not be such a bad thing, if the adults in the "middle" of the political spectrum could actually be able to represent the vast majority of rest of us, instead of pandering to the weirdest 1% whack-job voting block in a partisan primary (like PETA and the Klan?)

This is not a very good Amtrak funding bill, it is just not as bad a bill, as the fringe wanted, which would effectively gut Amtrak in about a year.

The last major Amtrak bill, by that idiot Boxer, a Democrat, was not very much better in providing an overall policy direction to develop a first world rail passenger system, either. Although it did allow for locals (who seem to do a better job, and are spending mostly local money to do it....) to effectively take over and manage services like LOSSAN and the San Joaquin's.

A good rail bill would create a categorical (1/2 returned to states by pop.) Rail Capital Infrastructure Fund, with traditional state and local match requirements, cost benefit analysis, and an effective planning and prioritization process, just like we have for Federally funded Highway and Transit Projects.....

Yes, those Highway and Transit projects are also extremely political, too. But, with a lot more transparency, checks, and balances in order to try and weed out at least some of the real taxpayer funded infrastructure turkey's (remember the bridge to nowhere in Ketchican... killed by public transparency, in spite of the political bull and bluster behind it...).

This round, of the political merry go round regarding Amtrak, just remember the words of Mick Jagger: "You can't always get what you want to"...."sometimes you get what you need"....