Issues that pushed the SSC’s demise

Riordan replies: Cas Milner helps to underscore what was true about the vote against the Superconducting Super Collider (SSC) in the US Congress, particularly the House of Representatives: It was not a Democrat versus Republican issue. It was instead a Rust Belt versus Sun Belt issue. Northern states like Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin were reacting against southern states like Texas and Louisiana getting more than their fair share of the federal pie.

But he is incorrect—or at least inaccurate—about “Clinton’s decision to withdraw support” for the project. In writing and verbally, Clinton supported the SSC, but his support was lukewarm, as we concluded in Tunnel Visions. By contrast, the project was a “presidential priority” for George H. W. Bush. Given the staunch SSC opposition in the House, more than lukewarm support was required for it to survive.

As far as the quality of cultural life in the Dallas–Fort Worth area, Milner is writing about the opinions of a biased sample. Based on our interviews, many physicists who decided not to go to Texas would not agree with him.