Politicians often complain about government regulations as a big pain in the neck. So I was relieved in the wake of the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, to see some bipartisan good sense break out.
Having grown up many moons ago next to the old Baltimore & Ohio tracks between Cincinnati and Dayton, I sympathize with the residents of East Palestine whose lives were disrupted.
The spill created doomsday images of billowing black smoke when a “controlled burn” was set to avoid an uncontrolled explosion. More than 7 miles of stream waters were affected, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, and an estimated 3,500 fish, among other animals, were killed.
Political figures as varied as Ohio’s Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, former President Donald Trump and, later, President Joe Biden’s Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg descended on the scene as rounds of finger-pointing broke out to assess who was to blame.
Meanwhile, other derailments were reported. About 28 cars in another Norfolk Southern train derailed March 4 in Springfield, Ohio. Fortunately, no one was injured.
Another Norfolk Southern train derailed Thursday in Calhoun County, Alabama, hours before company CEO Alan Shaw faced lawmakers to answer questions about the derailment in East Palestine.
Yet, it turns out, multiple derailments in a short span aren’t as unusual as I thought. Last year, for example, there were more than 1,000 train derailments in the U.S., according to the Federal Railroad Administration. That means the country is averaging roughly three derailments per day.
Nevertheless, the recent events brought on a renewed push for tightened safety measures and, yes, regulations.
A refreshingly bipartisan group of senators has proposed legislation to mandate that the Transportation Department tighten safety rules for freight rail.
The measure sponsored by Ohio Sens. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, and J.D. Vance, a freshman Republican, would strengthen notification and inspection requirements for trains carrying hazardous materials. It would also increase fines for safety violations by rail carriers and authorize $27 million for research on more safety improvements.
The bipartisan nature of the bill, also co-sponsored by Republican Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Josh Hawley of Missouri, indicates that it may get somewhere in the Senate, where it needs 60 votes to advance, although its fate in the Republican-led House appears less certain.
Vance, who comes from the same factory town where I grew up with an earlier generation — and which served as backdrop for his bestselling memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy” — offered an insight to Axios into why politicians have grabbed onto this issue.
“The three of us, in our own ways, recognized instantly: This is fundamentally our voters, right?” Vance told Axios, referring to himself, the former president and their mutual pal Fox News host Tucker Carlson. “These are sort of our people.”
I understand. Although I’m still disappointed that Vance, who struck me as a thoughtful Trump critic, became a political candidate who sought Trump’s endorsement. After he received it, he soared to the top of a crowded field and won. Too bad, in my view, but in politics it’s hard to argue with success.
But I am a longtime fan of Sherrod Brown.
“It shouldn’t take a massive railroad disaster for elected officials to put partisanship aside and work together for the people we serve — not corporations like Norfolk Southern,” Brown said in a statement that reflected his successful center-left populism. “Rail lobbyists have fought for years to protect their profits at the expense of communities like East Palestine and Steubenville and Sandusky.”
With that, Brown expressed the pragmatic politics that have helped him hold his Senate seat since 2007 in a former swing state that, since voting for Barack Obama twice, has been moving decidedly to the right.
There’s a lesson here, I believe, for Democrats who puzzle over how and why they have lost so much of their reputation as a party of the working class.
In Rust Belt states like Ohio, heavy with working class folks who feel left behind by changing times, right-wing candidates have won by appealing heavily — some would say pandering — to working-class resentments.
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Brown, in my view, has stayed positive by emphasizing ideas over ideology. I wish more politicians did that. We shouldn’t need a disaster to bring us together.
Twitter @cptime