Six Reasons for Conservatives to Like Perry

John Hawkins' column today (click here) at Townhall outlines them for you, even if he doesn't get all the local in-state issues right.  Let's face it, you got anyone else more Conservative in the race with a record as good?

The Trans Texas Corridor thing still raises some hackles with its potential for Eminent Domain confiscation of land to build a superhighway some called the NAFTA Superhighway.  But it was the right idea on toll roads.  Instead of putting tolls on existing roads, build new ones and charge for the privilege of taking them.

On our trip to Alabama, we did the Mapquest thing and mapped out a route that took us over the new toll roads going around Austin and they are great!  Got off IH-35, the world's longest parking lot at times, and took Toll Road 45 over to Toll Road 130 and zipped right along.  Even the toll booth operators were fun, with their flowered Hawaiian shirts (like mine) and great attitudes.  Coming back, it was even better after having hit a long traffic delay just south of Palestine TX that forced us to turn around, get some lunch, then proceed 45 minutes out of our way while U.S. Hwy 79 was cleared after 2 and a half hours.  Give me a toll road any day when I am in a hurry.

But I digress.  In total, the idea was good, the execution was not.  But there is another angle to moving more goods by truck through Texas, and that is the monetary benefit of getting toll money from businesses that are going to be on your roads, anyway.  Now that is some forward thinking!

(click here)