Democratic presidential candidate Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) on Wednesday inserted herself into the failed $9 billion Nashville transit referendum of 2018.
Klobuchar visited Fisk University on Wednesday and said the referendum failed because voters “weren’t sure they wanted to fund the initiative locally, without the federal government pitching in,” according to a story by the Associated Press.
Klobuchar says her infrastructure plan would provide $1 trillion to fix roads and bridges, protect against flooding, rebuild schools, and other initiatives. She wants to leverage $650 billion in federal funding through public-private partnerships, bond programs and clean-energy tax incentives.
Of that, $400 billion would come from increasing the corporate tax rate to 25 percent, after President Donald Trump’s 2017 tax law lowered it from 35 percent to 21 percent.
Klobuchar tweeted, “It was great to spend my morning at Fisk University in Nashville talking about the urgent need to rebuild our infrastructure with students and community leaders. From roads to schools to rail — we need a real plan that invests in America.”
It was great to spend my morning at Fisk University in Nashville talking about the urgent need to rebuild our infrastructure with students and community leaders. From roads to schools to rail — we need a real plan that invests in America. pic.twitter.com/1ZuswjIeth
— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) April 17, 2019
Klobuchar, who also visited Edley’s Bar-B-Que in East Nashville, tried to paint herself as a bipartisan who has worked with U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), but said President Donald Trump had created “chaos,” according to MSN.
In an interview, she said she spent her time in the Senate “getting things done. Not just advocating for things but actually passing bills.”
“That may not be the first thing that people are thinking about, but I think in the end, after Donald Trump has created so much chaos, that it’s something they do care about,” Klobuchar said.
The Nashville audience included Tennessee Democratic Party Chairwoman Mary Mancini, who tweeted, “A great crowd listening to Sen. @amyklobuchar talk about her working class upbringing, her plans for improving infrastructure across the country, and why she is running for office. #2020PresidentialElection”
A great crowd listening to Sen. @amyklobuchar talk about her working class upbringing, her plans for improving infrastructure across the country, and why she is running for office. #2020PresidentialElection pic.twitter.com/svscnkicQ6
— Mary Mancini (@marymancini) April 17, 2019
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Jason M. Reynolds has more than 20 years’ experience as a journalist at outlets of all sizes.
Photo “Amy Klobuchar” by Amy Klobuchar.
Nashville voted down that boondoggle because it was a stupid and expensive idea. Now if we could just get a decent mayor.