Politics is mostly a selling job. If folks agree with you, the sale is made. If enough folks are convinced, you can lead them and possibly you can get them to do what you want, which would be political leadership.

Today Mayor Kirk Caldwell has succeeded only in uniting the state Legislature against him and his ever-increasing demand for more money and more time to finish his city rail project. If anything, he is showing a talent for leading people away from himself.

After taking public testimony, holding private meetings and comparing a lot of even more private notes, legislative leaders last week came up with a plan to again bail out Caldwell’s train.

Following his usual pattern, Caldwell and City Council leaders came back and said they needed even more money.

Hawaii’s political leaders, however, are not buying Caldwell’s latest prayer.

“This is a city project requiring the assistance every two years of the state to again raise the general excise tax and other sources of funding to make it happen,” said U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, at a state Capitol news conference to unveil the new rail bailout package.

As a former state Senate president and chairwoman of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation, Hanabusa has the experience to recognize Caldwell’s overreaching.

U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, also a former state legislator and former lieutenant governor, pointed out in remarks aimed at Caldwell that the deal is bigger and richer than anything else ever on the table.

“As a revenue package this is bigger than anything that was contemplated during the regular session,” Schatz said at the same news conference.

The new deal before the Legislature when it meets in special session starting Monday, includes raising hotel room taxes 1 percentage point through 2030 and keeping Oahu’s half-percent general excise tax surcharge for another three years.

That’s the big money stuff. Also tucked into the proposed bill are a couple of “Caldwell, we don’t trust you and we are watching you like a hawk” love notes.

First the bill calls for a state forensic audit of the rail project to make sure the state funds “are being managed and used in a reasonable manner.”

It also sets up a special fund for the newly collected money and allows the state to dole out the money to the city.

The city can’t use any state money for marketing rail or maintenance of the existing rail line.

Finally the House speaker and Senate president would each be able to appoint two non-voting members to the HART board to keep tabs on the city rail project.

Caldwell has been persistent and omnipresent in his lobbying for more rail tax money. His real hope is to have the Oahu rail tax surcharge made permanent.

He should know that not only does the city not have the money to build rail without help, the city will not be able to run that train every year without at least another $100 million and nobody on the state level is offering to give even more money.

In the end, in this latest rail adventure, the train is on the track, but no one is buying the tickets Caldwell is selling.

Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays. Reach him at 808onpolitics@gmail.com.