# The Koch Bros. hit a new low -- killing a rapid-bus line in Nashville just because **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 1, 2014, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-koch-bros-hit-a-new-low-killing-a-rapid-bus-line-in-nashville-just-because/685112 "2014-04-01T20:07:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2014, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-koch-bros-hit-a-new-low-killing-a-rapid-bus-line-in-nashville-just-because/685112/1 "2014-04-01T20:07:42Z")
[From Salon:](http://www.salon.com/2014/04/01/why_are_the_kochs_trying_to_stop_a_transit_project_in_nashville/) > [@](#): > > Koch defenders will frequently point to some of those organizations that work with some degree of independence or do work on issues that aren’t strictly conservative goals — the Kochs are pro-civil liberties! — but it is a fact that much of the brothers’ political spending is nakedly devoted to protecting their economic interests and shielding their business from regulation and oversight. And their business is a toxic and destructive one that is hastening our planet’s destruction, which, admittedly, is pretty textbook villainous. It doesn’t help when David Koch does something like use his economic influence over a public television affiliate to attempt to bury a documentary that is critical of him. And sometimes, the Kochs do something that just seems like dickish villainy for the hell of it. Like, why is Americans for Prosperity lobbying hard against a mass transit project in Nashville, Tenn.? > > \ > > The Tennessean reports that the Tennessee office of Americans for Prosperity was involved in the drafting of a state Senate bill that would “make it illegal for buses to pick up or drop off passengers in the center lane of a state road,” effectively banning Nashville from creating Amp along the route that it has been planned to operate on since it was first proposed years ago. > > \ > > Why Tennessee, a state that the Kochs have no personal interest in? Well, it’s just a good environment for their agenda: > > > [@](#): > > > > “With supermajorities in both houses,” [Ogles] said, “Tennessee is a great state to pass model legislation that can be leveraged in other states.” > > So, this is not “the Kochs” doing this, in the cartoonish sense of David or Charles calling up a henchman and saying “kill that new bus line in Nashville,” and then cackling and dipping an orphan in fracking runoff and using it to light a cigar. But this is the story of how billionaires dedicated to advancing an agenda at every level of government can do so with practically no one noticing until they’ve already won. Because a couple of energy moguls are constitutionally opposed to mass transit spending based on a very self-serving definition of “liberty,” Nashville, a city neither of them spends any significant amount of time in, may not get a new bus line. IOW, the “just because” seems to be just because they **can.** ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2014, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-koch-bros-hit-a-new-low-killing-a-rapid-bus-line-in-nashville-just-because/685112/2 "2014-04-01T21:16:14Z")
Actually, if I’m reading the quote from Ogles right, they’re doing this not because they can, but to _demonstrate that they can_. That’s pretty significant. Still evil, but significant. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2014, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-koch-bros-hit-a-new-low-killing-a-rapid-bus-line-in-nashville-just-because/685112/3 "2014-04-01T21:32:53Z")
Weak pit. Copy-pasting an article, no piss and vinegar. 0/10. Apply yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2014, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-koch-bros-hit-a-new-low-killing-a-rapid-bus-line-in-nashville-just-because/685112/4 "2014-04-01T21:41:01Z")
Well, if the poor have access to transportation, they’ll be able to get jobs and make money, and then they won’t be poor anymore and thus we’ll be unable to hate them. ---
**Author:** ![Neidhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Neidhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neidhart)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2014, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-koch-bros-hit-a-new-low-killing-a-rapid-bus-line-in-nashville-just-because/685112/5 "2014-04-01T21:59:09Z")
Can’t find it on Google, but I recall reading about some English aristocrat in the 1830s being dead-set against railways because “these things will allow the _working classes_ to move about!” ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2014, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-koch-bros-hit-a-new-low-killing-a-rapid-bus-line-in-nashville-just-because/685112/6 "2014-04-01T22:18:02Z")
> [@marshmallow](#): > > Weak pit. Copy-pasting an article, no piss and vinegar. 0/10. Apply yourself. Sorry, but crafting actual insults to throw at the Kochs appears somehow . . . superfluous and redundant. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2014, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-koch-bros-hit-a-new-low-killing-a-rapid-bus-line-in-nashville-just-because/685112/7 "2014-04-01T23:24:44Z")
> [@Neidhart](#): > > Can’t find it on Google, but I recall reading about some English aristocrat in the 1830s being dead-set against railways because “these things will allow the _working classes_ to move about!” Read about NY Transportation Czar Robert Moses sometime: > [@](#): > > He actively precluded the use of public transit that would have allowed the non-car-owners to enjoy the elaborate recreation facilities he built.[13] > **[Robert Moses](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Moses)** > > Robert Moses (December 18, 1888 – July 29, 1981) was an American urban planner and public official who worked in the New York metropolitan area during the early to mid-20th century. Moses is regarded as one of the most powerful and influential people in the history of New York City and New York state. The grand scale of his infrastructure projects and his philosophy of urban development influenced a generation of engineers, architects, and urban planners across the United States. > Never elected... ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2014, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-koch-bros-hit-a-new-low-killing-a-rapid-bus-line-in-nashville-just-because/685112/8 "2014-04-01T23:31:26Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Read about NY Transportation Czar Robert Moses sometime: > > [Robert Moses - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Moses) Indeed. He designed the overpasses on the Long Island “parkways” to be to low for buses to pass under to discourage busing city dwellers to Jones Beach. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2014, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-koch-bros-hit-a-new-low-killing-a-rapid-bus-line-in-nashville-just-because/685112/9 "2014-04-01T23:49:44Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Sorry, but crafting actual insults to throw at the Kochs appears somehow . . . superfluous and redundant. And starting yet another content free thread to stroke your epeen is fucking annoying. Have something to say or shut the fuck up, asshole. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2014, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-koch-bros-hit-a-new-low-killing-a-rapid-bus-line-in-nashville-just-because/685112/10 "2014-04-01T23:53:43Z")
Charles Koch had bet his brother David a dollar that he couldn’t shut down an entire rapid-bus line in just thirty days. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2014, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-koch-bros-hit-a-new-low-killing-a-rapid-bus-line-in-nashville-just-because/685112/11 "2014-04-01T23:58:52Z")
First, they came for the mass transit in Nashville. I said nothing because I’m not from Nashville. Then, they came for the mass transit in Memphis. I said nothing because I’m not from Memphis. Then, they came for the mass transit in Los Angeles…and they said, “Waitaminute, who got here before us???” ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2014, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-koch-bros-hit-a-new-low-killing-a-rapid-bus-line-in-nashville-just-because/685112/12 "2014-04-02T00:28:44Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > First, they came for the mass transit in Nashville. I said nothing because I’m not from Nashville. > Then, they came for the mass transit in Memphis. I said nothing because I’m not from Memphis. > Then, they came for the mass transit in Los Angeles…and they said, “Waitaminute, who got here before us???” [Pacific City Lines.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_American_streetcar_scandal) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2014, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-koch-bros-hit-a-new-low-killing-a-rapid-bus-line-in-nashville-just-because/685112/13 "2014-04-02T00:29:57Z")
“Won’t someone rid us of these turbulent assholes?” ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2014, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-koch-bros-hit-a-new-low-killing-a-rapid-bus-line-in-nashville-just-because/685112/14 "2014-04-02T00:35:07Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > And starting yet another content free thread to stroke your epeen is fucking annoying. Have something to say or shut the fuck up, asshole. He offered his opinion they “they have hit a new low.” That’s a data point to debate, or pit, if you prefer. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2014, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-koch-bros-hit-a-new-low-killing-a-rapid-bus-line-in-nashville-just-because/685112/15 "2014-04-02T00:52:33Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > He offered his opinion they “they have hit a new low.” That’s a data point to debate, or pit, if you prefer. Not that it’s quite the worst thing they’ve ever done; it’s the “just because” motivation that sinks it. As **Leaper** put it in post #2. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2014, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-koch-bros-hit-a-new-low-killing-a-rapid-bus-line-in-nashville-just-because/685112/16 "2014-04-02T01:08:37Z")
[QUOTE=Salon] The Tennessean reports that the Tennessee office of Americans for Prosperity was involved in the drafting of a state Senate bill that would “make it illegal for buses to pick up or drop off passengers in the center lane of a state road,” effectively banning Nashville from creating Amp along the route that it has been planned to operate on since it was first proposed years ago. [/QUOTE] So is this a law written to make [these](https://maps.google.com/?ll=-31.968422,115.889266&spn=0.001329,0.001206&t=h&z=20) illegal? ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2014, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-koch-bros-hit-a-new-low-killing-a-rapid-bus-line-in-nashville-just-because/685112/17 "2014-04-02T01:14:35Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > He offered his opinion they “they have hit a new low.” That’s a data point to debate, or pit, if you prefer. That’s pretty much his whole schtick. \* Here’s what somebody said. \ [Quote here] Boy, conservatives suck. Durp durp.\* That shit gets old. He should learn a new trick. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2014, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-koch-bros-hit-a-new-low-killing-a-rapid-bus-line-in-nashville-just-because/685112/18 "2014-04-02T01:40:18Z")
I don’t get some of the stuff ALEC or AFP stands for. Why would ALEC support stand your ground laws, or why would AFP oppose a bus line? Are they just throwing bones to their voter base to keep them happy? This bus line will benefit non-whites and poor people, and will make some middle class (whites) uncomfortable according to the article. Is AFP opposed to it because of that, or something else? I don’t get the motive. Not to engage in godwins law or histrionics, but I have read that fascism is a unity between the wealthy business class and the socially conservative working class. Seems about right, although these people aren’t nearly powerful enough to be rightly called fascists. But there is a lot of hostility to democratic institutions. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2014, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-koch-bros-hit-a-new-low-killing-a-rapid-bus-line-in-nashville-just-because/685112/19 "2014-04-02T01:51:05Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > I don’t get some of the stuff ALEC or AFP stands for. Why would ALEC support stand your ground laws, or why would AFP oppose a bus line? In order to boost sales to the gun/automobile industries which will then lavish huge cash donations upon them? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2014, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-koch-bros-hit-a-new-low-killing-a-rapid-bus-line-in-nashville-just-because/685112/20 "2014-04-02T02:15:21Z")
[quote=“Oakminster, post:17, topic:685112”] That’s pretty much his whole schtick. \* Here’s what somebody said. \ > [@](#): > > Boy, conservatives suck. Durp durp.\* > > That shit gets old. He should learn a new trick. I have. Open your mouth and close your eyes. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-koch-bros-hit-a-new-low-killing-a-rapid-bus-line-in-nashville-just-because/685112.md?page=2)