Diane Harkey isn’t known for being the most sedate legislator around.  Or really being the most up on the issues, or even bothering an attempt at understanding.  So, while this blows past absurd on the way to crazytown, you can’t really be that surprised by this comment, captured by the always on the spot Carla Marinucci:

CA GOP Assemblywoman Diane Harkney calls high speed rail “cultural genocide” in Central Valley at today’s press conference w Rep officials(Carla Marinucci Twitter)

Of course, the problem with twitter is that you don’t really get that much of the context, so you could see this in two ways. First, that we are somehow destroying car culture.  That would make some sort of sense if peak oil already wasn’t in gear on that one.  I think a $5 gallon of gas would do more than a competitive mode of transportation.