Aerial Tram Going Downhill Like a Snowball Heading For Hell

The tram project is rapidly heading for a Murtha moment. A former supporter on the inside of the power structure at City Hall is going to call for it to be stopped. My guess is that it will be Randy Leonard. We are approaching the tilting point, and I’m not talking about the designed tilt on one of the towers.
What is needed here is a compelling and face-saving argument that nobody – not the local press or the bloggers – seems willing to explore. Oh sure, people discuss it freely in conversations. They worry about some sort of tram accident - in fact they predict it. But when it comes to discussing another kind of activity on the record, they just won't go there. The Portland Freelancer is the only local entity that has openly brought it up. Here it is again:
The tram is a security nightmare. It is an Osama bin Ladin wet dream. It’s not about giving into terrorism. This is about being wise. You don’t set up a target that literally looks like ducks going by in a shooting gallery. How little would it take to bring the cables down? How many would persih counting those on the ground? it would be too easy. This just doesn’t pass the wisdom test, in a heightened security environment.
I’m talking about more than money. This is about our safety. A local politician would sound pretty noble bringing up an issue like this. Who is the big-time Portland politician who will seize this opportunity? Didn’t you listen to President Bush’s State of the Union message? Who will be the one in Portland who steps forward to say, “Freedom is on the march, and I believe we need to be free of this tram"?