The curtain rises:

As your governor, I, Scott Walker, vow to stop this high speed rail boondoggle and use the $810 million in federal funding to repair our crumbling roads and bridges.

Oh wait, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says we can’t keep it for anything but rail? It will go to other states?

Well, umm, can we use it for existing rail lines in the state? Probably not? Hmm…

It seems like Gov.-elect Walker is out of options for a compromise, and now it’s time for him to make his choice: keep his campaign promise and stop high-speed rail, or give the $810 million back. And despite all his vehement opposition to the plan, Walker will cave and keep the funding. But he won’t go down easy.

Early in his campaign, Walker, the seasoned politician, came out in strong opposition to the “boondoggle” proposal of a high-speed rail line between Madison and Milwaukee. He’s no fool – he saw the public unrest over the proposal, and he latched on with a passion.

In fact, Walker rarely passed up the chance to use the word “boondoggle” in any public appearance or press release. It’s just one of those words that looks and sounds funny, like “bamboozle” or “Kleefisch,” and makes for a decent drinking game during the gubernatorial debates.

But the hook for his campaign promise was that he would be able to use the $810 million for the states “crumbling” roads and bridges, not that the state would automatically lose the funding. Faced with the all-or-nothing ultimatum of the federal government, I don’t see Walker simply handing over $810 million to other states in order to save face.

High-speed rail opposition is also not an inherent stance for state Republicans. Indeed, the conservative deity and former governor Tommy Thompson was a huge supporter of expanding the high-speed rail lines during his term in office – and it’s worth pointing out that LaHood, Obama’s transportation secretary, served as a Republican congressman in rural Illinois for 14 years.

When this fact came to light during the recent election season, Thompson backpedaled slightly to say he understands Walker’s preference in using the funding for road and bridge improvements, and that high speed rail may not be a good project at the moment given the economy. However, he also said he would not turn down such a sizeable federal handout.

Another factor pressuring Walker to accept the funding is that Minnesota’s chances of having a high speed rail connection are basically nil if Wisconsin opts out of the corridor. Wisconsin and Minnesota are already in a border war that extends beyond the sports realm: Minnesota ended the longstanding tax reciprocity between the two states last year because the two states could not agree on a revenue reimbursement timetable.

This reciprocity reimbursement was in place to benefit the thousands of Wisconsin or Minnesota residents who worked across the border in the other state. The agreement allowed the workers to file just one income tax return in their state of residence instead of one for each state.

If Walker wants to reinstate reciprocity, as he said during his campaign, it definitely would not help his cause to further alienate Minnesota by dashing its rail ambitions. It may also be worth mentioning that Republican Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty joined Gov. Jim Doyle and other neighboring governors in pushing for a Midwest high-speed rail network.

So how will Walker accept the rail funds? Likely by playing the victim/tragic hero who did everything possible but just could not prevail. That way, he won’t lose as much face with his supporters for backing down on his promise.

The first act of this drama already took place when Walker was firmly told by the feds that the rail funding is only for use with rail projects. He was forced to waver slightly from the road and bridge improvement stance by proposing use of the $810 million to repair the states existing rail lines.

If he were fully committed to using this funding for roads and bridges, I don’t think he would have just rolled over after the U.S. DOT’s denial. There are other methods of pleading his case further, including the use of Wisconsin’s congressional delegation to directly appeal at a federal level.

And finally, citing the pressures of rebuilding a relationship with Minnesota and avoiding the governorship accomplishment of giving away $810 million to other states for economic and transportation development, Walker will take one on the chin and grudgingly agree to the Madison-Milwaukee rail line.

End scene.

Alicia Yager ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in French and journalism.