The AJC reports this morning that MARTA is pouring more money into it’s PR efforts after the economy tanked and we discovered that our state legislature thought that MARTA was some sort of optional Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.

According to MARTA – relayed through the AJC – the word around the state house was that MARTA “needed more people down here” during the struggle to allow the agency to use infrastructure money for slumping operating costs.  So, MARTA has decided to submit to the game and take $592,000 of its operating budget and put it towards “PR”.

(I’m picturing a smiling MARTA bus cartoon mascot with a voice like Barney saying “It’s smarta to ride MARTA kids!”  It’s all about the kids.)

Of course, MARTA can’t redistribute, let alone spend any money, without raising the ire of some state reps.  I bet you can guess who’s about to be quoted…

[Rep. Jill Chambers] added that she was disturbed at the spending decision. “If they are so short of operating funds, it concerns me that the board will continuously vote to spend more on issues that are not transportation related,” Chambers said.

Ah yes.  Nothing like driving past the premise of an argument and straight to the result.  I hope this lapse in rational thinking can be attributed to the AJC’s editing process and not to Chambers lack of actual solutions for MARTA’s state legislature-caused troubles.

Oh politics, is there anything you won’t do?