Dems Can’t Quit Radical Anti-Energy Base

February 29, 2012

Democrats Twist Themselves Into Knots Over New Keystone Development and Still Do Nothing to Help Families Struggling With Rising Gas Prices

The announcement from Keystone pipeline developer TransCanada that they would move forward with developing part of the Keystone pipeline despite the Democrats’ rejection of the full project has Democrats twisting themselves into knots amidst the political pressure created by rising gas prices.
The problem for Democrats is that struggling American families support more American-made energy, but Democrats’ big-money interest groups are opposed to developing America’s energy resources. Unfortunately for American families, Democrats have repeatedly put their radical interest group supporters first.
Try as they might, Democrats can’t change the fact that they’ve already destroyed countless energy jobs in America and their decision to keep blocking the entire Keystone pipeline could contribute to higher gas prices.

The announcement from Keystone pipeline developer TransCanada that they would move forward with developing part of the Keystone pipeline despite the Democrats’ rejection of the full project has Democrats twisting themselves into knots amidst the political pressure created by rising gas prices:

KEYSTONE DEVELOPER TRANSCANADA ANNOUNCES IT WILL MOVE AHEAD WITH LEG OF KEYSTONE PROJECT DESPITE OBAMA REJECTION: “TransCanada announced Monday that it will treat the section of the pipeline project from Cushing, Okla., to Texas refineries as a stand-alone project and not part of the presidential permit process that has tied up approval of the entire project starting in Canada.” (Darren Goode, “Keystone XL Start Welcomed By Obama,” Politico, 2/27/2012)

WHITE HOUSE BIZARRELY CLAIMS TO “WELCOME” START OF KEYSTONE PIPELINE CONSTRUCTION: “President Barack Obama ‘welcomes’ the news that TransCanada will start building the southern portion of the Keystone XL pipeline, even as the White House continues to take shots for not approving the entire 1,700-mile route.” (Darren Goode, “Keystone XL Start Welcomed By Obama,” Politico, 2/27/2012)

JUST ONE MONTH AGO, OBAMA REJECTED THE VERY SAME JOB-CREATING KEYSTONE PIPELINE: (Editorial, “The Anti-Jobs President,” The Wall Street Journal, 1/19/2012)

The problem for Democrats is that struggling American families support more American-made energy, but Democrats’ big-money interest groups are opposed to developing America’s energy resources. Unfortunately for American families, Democrats have repeatedly put their radical interest group supporters first:

WHITE HOUSE “TRYING NOT TO ANGER ITS LIBERAL BASE BY APPROVING THE PIPELINE”: “The rapid response from White House spokesman Jay Carney underscores the political sensitivity of the proposed pipeline and Obama’s balancing act. The White House is trying not to anger its liberal base by approving the pipeline, but at the same time is publicly saying TransCanada should keep working on an alternative route through Nebraska.” (Darren Goode, “Keystone XL Start Welcomed By Obama,” Politico, 2/27/2012)

BUT 66% OF AMERICANS SUPPORT KEYSTONE APPROVAL: “The Pew Research Center poll released Thursday finds 66 percent who have heard about the issue say the proposed pipeline to bring oil sands from Alberta to Gulf Coast refineries should be approved, while 23 percent say it shouldn’t.” (Ben Geman, “Poll Shows Support for Keystone Pipeline, Environmental Regulations,” The Hill, 2/23/2012)

LEFT-WING SIERRA CLUB AT ODDS WITH WHITE HOUSE, BLASTS NEW KEYSTONE DEVELOPMENT: “Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune blasted TransCanada plan to build the pipeline segment Monday.

“ ‘TransCanada is hell bent on bringing tar sands, the world’s dirtiest oil, through America to reach foreign markets,’ Brune said in a statement. ‘They can’t wait for a fair, scientific environmental review they know their pipeline would fail. So we see dirty political tricks, dirty PR tricks, and, now, this dirty trick to build the pipeline piecemeal.’” (Andrew Restuccia, “White House Backs Major Segment of Keystone Pipeline,” The Hill, 2/27/2012)

FLASHBACK: GREEN GROUPS THREATENED TO ABANDON OBAMA IF HEAPPROVED KEYSTONE: “Environmental groups have been protesting the pipeline that would run from Alberta oil sands to Texas refineries, and there have been rumblings that greens would abandon Obama next fall if he approved it.” (Dan Berman and Darren Goode, “Obama Punts Keystone XL Pipeline,” Politico, 11/10/2011)

Try as they might, Democrats can’t change the fact that they’ve already destroyed countless energy jobs in America and their decision to keep blocking the entire Keystone pipeline will contribute to higher gas prices:

KEYSTONE REJECTION DESTROYED JOBS, COULD RAISE GAS PRICES:

CFR: “IF CANADA CAN’T PRODUCE THIS OIL, WE’LL HAVE HIGHER OIL PRICES THAN WE OTHERWISE WOULD”: “ ‘If Canada can’t produce this oil, we’ll have higher oil prices than we otherwise would,’ says Michael Levi, senior fellow for energy at the Council on Foreign Relations.” (Guy Raz and Brent Baugman, “What Happens If The Keystone XL Pipeline Isn’t Built?”, National Public Radio, 2/26/2012)

NATIONAL JOURNAL ANALYSIS: “U.S. ECONOMY MISSED OUT ON CREATING UP TO A QUARTER-MILLION JOBS” IN 2011 BECAUSE IT “LACKED [ENERGY] INFRASTRUCTURE”: “The U.S. economy missed out on creating up to a quarter-million jobs this year because it lacked the infrastructure to capitalize on a rare divergence in global oil prices, a National Journal analysis shows.” (Jim Tankersley, “A Crude Hit to the Recovery,” National Journal, 11/29/2011)

INCREASING ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE THROUGH KEYSTONE XL WOULD LIMIT PRICE SPIKES IN FUTURE: “There’s no evidence that the oil industry manipulated the price spread to boost refining profits; the companies just appear to be benefiting from the nation’s inability to move cheaper oil around freely. Energy industry groups say expanding America’s pipeline infrastructure – including potential Obama administration approval of the Keystone XL pipeline to carry oil south from Canada – would minimize the odds of another wide price split in the future.” (Jim Tankersley, “A Crude Hit to the Recovery,” National Journal, 11/29/2011)

DEMOCRATS ARE STILL SABOTAGING OFFSHORE DRILLING LEASES:

RECENT ISSUANCE OF NEW LEASES AT ONE-THIRD OF HISTORICAL AVERAGE:“According to the Greater New Orleans Gulf Permits Index for January 31, over the previous three months the feds issued an average of three deep-water drilling permits a month compared to the historical average of seven. Over the same three months, the feds approved an average of 4.7 shallow-water permits a month, compared to the historical average of 14.7.” (Editorial, “ ‘Stupid’ and Oil Prices,” The Wall Street Journal, 2/24/2012)

OFFSHORE LEASING MUCH MORE DIFFICULT, SLOWER UNDER OBAMA POLICIES: “Approval of an offshore drilling plan now takes 92 days, 31 more than the historical average. And so far in 2012, an average of 23% of all drilling plans have been approved, compared to the average of 73.4%.” (Editorial, “ ‘Stupid’ and Oil Prices,” The Wall Street Journal, 2/24/2012)

OBAMA MORATORIUM ON GULF DRILLING “TAKING ITS TOLL” AND “MIGHT AS WELL STILL BE IN EFFECT”: “Small- and medium-size businesses serving Louisiana’s energy industry are shedding employees, dipping into personal savings or moving elsewhere to stay afloat. The administration’s war on fossil fuels is taking its toll.

“The federal six-month moratorium on drilling that was issued in May 2010, after the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, has been officially lifted, but it might as well still be in effect.” (“Gulf Deepwater Drilling Ban’s Hidden Victims,” Investor’s Business Daily, 1/31/2012)

GULF BUSINESSES FRET THAT “PERMITORIUM” REMAINS IN PLACE: “They’re calling it a ‘permitorium’ caused by stricter regulations that are allowing gulf drilling, but at a snail’s pace, in both deep and shallow water.” (Katie Moore, “New Study: Small Businesses Hit Hardest by Drilling Delays,” WWL TV, 1/31/2012)

OBAMA’S MORATORIUM ON OFFSHORE DRILLING SHRANK PRODUCTION IN THE GULF OF MEXICO: “But that same report provides ammunition for Republicans, because it predicts that in the short term, oil production in the Gulf of Mexico, where the Obama administration placed a moratorium on new deep-water exploratory drilling after the Gulf oil spill, will show a decline in 2011 and this year before rebounding later.” (Dina Cappiello, “Fact Check: Obama, GOP Spin Recent Energy Stats,” Associated Press, 2/5/2012)

OBAMA HAS RESCINDED SEVERAL LEASES FOR OIL EXPLORATION:“Republicans and the oil and gas industry focus on federal lands, because that’s where the government controls access and permitting to drill. There, Obama’s record is mixed. … Soon after Obama took office, the Interior Department rescinded 77 leases in Utah because of their close proximity to national parks, later reinstating 17 of them.

“Then weeks before the 2010 Gulf oil spill, Obama said he would consider expanding drilling off the Virginia coast and Alaska, only to scrap or delay those plans after the spill. And just last week the Interior Department, after completing a preliminary environmental review, said it would offer up thousands fewer acres for oil shale development in three Western states than President George W. Bush had.” (Dina Cappiello, “Fact Check: Obama, GOP Spin Recent Energy Stats,” Associated Press, 2/5/2012)