Before Gov. Martin O'Malley made his choice of a specific plan for the Red Line, Baltimore's elected officials had little reason to take a stand. Many alternatives were officially on the table, though anyone who was paying attention knew that only one - the option O'Malley chose - was politically and economically viable.
Now there's no middle ground. There's only one Red Line. The question is whether you're for it or against it.
Some politicians recognized that, and made their choice. State Sen. George W. Della said he would oppose the 14-mile transit line because it would run on the surface through Canton, which lies in his 46th District. The members of the 41st District delegation - Sen. Lisa Gladden and Dels. Sandy Rosenberg, Nathaniel Oaks and Jill Carter - dropped their futile support for an unaffordable alternative and fell in line behind the governor's choice. Their explanation was that while they wished they could have had a tunnel under Edmondson Avenue, they had wrung all the concessions they could out of the city and state and would not support efforts to block the light rail line.
Both positions are defensible. I can't say the same about the stance taken by city Councilman Jim Kraft. He's both for the Red Line and against it.
For now, the councilman is still saying he's all for the Red Line as long as it's in a tunnel all the way through residential Canton to Clinton Street - a plan that is now off the table. At the same time, he's trying to avoid a break with O'Malley, saying the governor made the decision he had to make.
Kraft is in a difficult position. Many of his Canton constituents are vocal, well-organized and passionate advocates who would rather scuttle Baltimore's first new rail transit line in two decades than see trains run on the surface along Boston Street. At the same time, he represents neighborhoods that see a lot to like in the current Red Line plan, including Fells Point and Greektown.
In effect, the councilman is holding out hope for a federal miracle that will spare Baltimore - and himself - the need to make hard choices. In Kraft's view, the money to get around federal guidelines and tunnel wherever people want a tunnel could materialize through the intercession of St. Barbara of Mikulski or St. Elijah of Cummings.
Or, as Old Blue Eyes sang it: "Fairy tales can come true. It can happen to you. If you're young at heart."
