Governor Scott wasn’t alone in his decision to reject federal funds for high speed rail under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Governor Scott Walker, unsurprisingly, also turned down $800 million in federal funding for a line between Milwaukee and Madison. The Koch brothers’ influence in Wisconsin was well-documented during the uproar over Walker’s bill to end collective bargaining rights. Although Wisconsin’s rail project, like the one in Florida, would have been fully paid for by federal stimulus funds, Walker again towed the Koch party line and took an aggressive stance against the train during his election campaign, even launching a website called stopthetrain.com. His campaign received $43,000 from the Koch Industries PAC during the 2010 elections. The PAC also contributed $1 million to the Republican Governors Association, which spent $65,000 in support of Walker and $3.4 million on ads attacking Tom Barrett, his opponent. While no one knows precisely what happens at the Koch brothers twice-annual summits of businessmen and politicians, it is worth noting that Walker received $1.3 million in contributions to his recall election campaign from known attendees of their 2010 meeting in Aspen.
