BREAKING...

From Eric Dondero:

Florida's libertarian Republican Governor is in hot water with liberal media outlets, for having consulted a "libertarian" feasibility study published by the Reason Foundation.

Scott on Monday, rejected $2.4 billion in federal taxpayer subsidies for the proposed High Speed Rail project from Orlando to Tampa.

From the Ft. Meyers News-Press "Governor irks many with rail rejection":

Scott said the spending was not merited. He criticized President BarackObama's spending plans while also saying he didn'tbelieve the rail project would meet ridership estimates...

Scott said the money would be more effectively spent on improvements to ports, highways and existing rail systems.

Scott is the 4th Republican Governor to reject such federal funding. The others include: Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey, newly-elected Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin and newly-elected Gov. John Kasich of Ohio. (Source: Infrastructurist)

From WTSP.com, (Tampa/St. Pete) "Gov. Scott didn't consult new rail "feasibility study" after all":

TAMPA, Florida - Despite promises that he would consult a new feasibility study in February before making any decisions on high-speed rail (HSR), Gov. Rick Scott yanked the project off the tracks Wednesday based on a report published on Jan. 6 from a notorious rail opponent.

The governor's office confirmed Scott relied on a controversial report from the libertarian Reason Foundation. It indicated Florida would be vulnerable to cost overruns and overambitious ridership projections - concerns Scott cited in his Wednesday decision.

At issue is the Governor's remark days after assuming office in Tallahassee:

"There's a feasibility study that's supposed to come out, a ridership study, that's going to give me more information," he said. "I think it's in February, that's my understanding."

So, the Governor had the audacity to consult a Reason Foundation study instead, which contained the same fundamental information as the official feasibility study.

IMPORTANT UPDATE! - Matt Welch, Reason's Managing Editor has directed LR to their "first swing" of a response to media criticisms, from Foundation Pres. Bob Poole:

Since the official ridership projections were straight out of fantasyland, there was a high likelihood of the state being stuck providing operating subsidies, as in most of the existing high-speed rail projects overseas. Yet if the state accepted the $2.4 billion from the federal government and built the line, it would be stuck operating it—or else required to give back the $2.4 billion in, by then, sunk costs. So Scott made a responsible decision to protect Florida’s taxpayers, consistent with his campaign rhetoric and his other actions since taking over in January