Seattle’s No. 1 News Nerd Hosts Nerdy Debate: Is There a War on Cars?

“..Knows the meanings of all these acronyms: SDEIS, PDC, CIP, BIA, RPZ, TIF, COBE and SEPA.”

FYI, one of the first rules of counter-propaganda is to respond but not repeat. The more you repeat ‘War on Cars’ even to refute it, the more legitimacy you give the term in people’s minds.

We like the term. And thus, the more we repeat it.

Agree with @Anc. I know the media loves itself a fight, but by perpetuating the “war on cars” meme, you’re complicit in the auto-centric culture.

Well said, Anc.

And by use of the phrase “complicit in the auto-centric culture,” you perpetuate the war on cars. See how that works?

And by use of the phrase “complicit in the auto-centric culture,” you perpetuate the war on cars. See how that works?

Hard to believe this will be much of a debate. Don’t hurt yourselves patting each other on the back…

Maybe the “debate” will be over vegan or vegetarian bar food? Or who picks up the tab? Or who hates cars the most? Anyway it’s good to step inside your comfort zone every once in a while, am I right?

True in some ways – Ennis is a terrible debater and won’t do the “car side” much service. Although Quintana, from what little I know of him, seems like a bulldog for business owners.

You doubters are in for a surprise. Michael Ennis is a dogged researcher at the conservative think tank, The Washington Policy Center. I’ve seen him debate before (against light rail), and he brings it.

How about we just call it “trying to make Seattle look more like L.A.” Ivan? Does that perpetuate the “war,” or better make the point of what we’re scared of?

How about we just call it “trying to make Seattle look more like L.A.” Ivan? Does that perpetuate the “war,” or better make the point of what we’re scared of?

Is there are war on light rail?

Josh, if the debate were about abortion you would never, as Erica does in the body of the post, say you were “hosting a debate about the right-to-life.” And you would never title this post, “Is There a Right-to-Life?” You’ve ceded the framework and the terms of debate to your opponents, and have thus lost half the battle before you’ve started.

Not to mention, as Anc notes above, you just imprint “War on Cars” in people’s minds one more time and give the meme more currency and legitimacy.

yes. but only because it was not explained in a non-pompous way that it isn’t for now, but for ten years from now when there will be a million more people in the Puget lowlands

I repeat: I like the term “The War on Cars.”

Because…

Only thing I can think of is that maybe innaccurate, but inflamitory, phrases drive more page views than the factual discription of a situation?

Stop trying to be cute all the time. Seattle does not, never has, and never will look like LA.

Don’t call Washington Policy Center a think tank. They are a press release factory, no thinking involved.

If your theory is cars are bad, and they certainly help kill the planet, then yes mf we have a war on cars.

It’s an apt analogy and far more honest than pretending we don’t dislike cars….the reason is..honesty.

If your theory is cars are bad, and they certainly help kill the planet, then yes mf we have a war on cars.

It’s an apt analogy and far more honest than pretending we don’t dislike cars….the reason is..honesty.

For a minute I thought I saw a time stamp on this post that was dated 2010.

Good point. My observation is that they are great at combing sources for data bits that support their point of view, while studiously ignoring all the ones that don’t. That is what a propagandist does.

Saying cars are bad is like saying guns are bad. Both are inanimate objects. Only through the way they are used can any sort of determination be made.

If you want to stick with the ‘War on…’ schitk, ‘War on Car Dependency’ would be a more accurate statement.

Only b/c past generations stood up and stopped such projects as the RH Thomson Expressway, Bay Freeway and I-605.

Right. And I was one of them. But guess what, smart guy? The Alaskan Way Viaduct was already there and in operation when those battles were fought, and had been for years.

Nobody is proposing any NEW highway here. We’re trying to keep the sama capacity and mobility that we had long before the Thomson and Bay Freeway battles. You lot want to eliminate that, and replace it with stop lights and “transit improvements” that so far are are pure vapor.

Besides that, my point was that Seattle does not look like LA because of the water and the hills.

You do realize that the DBT doesn’t have the same capacity as the Viaduct right?

Oh, like ECB?

The eyebrows ain’t doin’ it for me, but there is no doubt:
She’s got a purdy mouth.

You? Not so much.

Hell yes I realize the tunnel doesn’t have the same capacity as the Viaduct. I hope no one thinks I like the tunnel. I don’t. I want the Viaduct rebuilt. But if I have to choose between the tunnel and the odious “surface option,” then it’s drill baby drill.

I imagine publicola get more hits by using the words “War on Cars”.

how about these land use and smart growth acronyms?

DLCD – oregon department of land conservation and development
LCDC oregon land conservation and development commission
KCC King county council
PSRC puget sound regional council
WSGMA washington state growth mgmt act
DRCOG denver regional council of governments