The Audacity of Nope

Obama Tries to Take Credit for Partial Construction of Job-Creating Keystone Pipeline that Democrats Have Actively and Repeatedly Blocked

• Apparently President Obama has decided that his months of blocking the job-creating Keystone pipeline was politically harmful and now is the time to attempt damage control. Today Obama is taking the extraordinary step of trying to take credit for partial construction of the very Keystone pipeline Democrats have repeatedly rejected.
• Despite his rare visit to Oklahoma, President Obama has not budged his position on the Keystone pipeline one bit and continues to oppose Keystone’s full approval. Understandably, the president’s hypocrisy earned him extensive mockery by local job creators in the lead up to his visit.
• President Obama can hold as many press events as he wants, but it won’t change the fact that Democrats’ war on energy is threatening American energy supply, destroying jobs and contributing to rising gas prices.

Apparently President Obama has decided that his months of blocking the job-creating Keystone pipeline was politically harmful and now is the time to attempt damage control. Today Obama is taking the extraordinary step of trying to take credit for partial construction of the very Keystone pipeline Democrats have repeatedly rejected:

HUH? OBAMA CLAIMS HE WILL “PUSH AGENCIES ON KEYSTONE PERMIT”:(“Obama to Push Agencies on Keystone Permit,” Reuters, 3/21/2012)

AN EXPLANATION: WHITE HOUSE OPTS FOR “MEDIA BLITZ” TO “CONTAIN THE DAMAGE” FROM THEIR ANTI-ENERGY POLICIES: (Darren Samuelsohn and Darren Goode, “Obama’s Media Blitz on Gas Prices,” Politico, 3/12/2012)

ABC NEWS/WASHINGTON POST POLL: OBAMA APPROVAL DROPS DUE TO DEMOCRATS’ ANTI-ENERGY POLICIES: “Obama’s over approval rating is down to 46% in the survey, in large part because of one issue: Rising gas prices.” (David Jackson, “Gas Prices Rise; Obama’s Approval Rating Sinks,” USA Today, 3/12/2012)

NEARLY TWO-THIRDS DISAPPROVE OF OBAMA ON GAS PRICES, JUST 26% APPROVE: ” ‘Nearly two-thirds of Americans say they disapprove of the way the president is handling the situation at the pump, where rising prices have already hit hard,’ the Post reports. ‘Just 26% approve of his work on the issue, his lowest rating in the poll.'” (David Jackson, “Gas Prices Rise; Obama’s Approval Rating Sinks,” USA Today, 3/12/2012)

Despite his rare visit to Oklahoma, President Obama has not budged his position on the Keystone pipeline one bit and continues to oppose Keystone’s full approval. Understandably, the president’s hypocrisy earned him extensive mockery by local job creators in the lead up to his visit:

OBAMA ACTIVELY “LOBBIED DEMOCRATS EARLIER THIS MONTH” TO BLOCK KEYSTONE APPROVAL, DEFERRING TO RADICAL INTEREST-GROUPS: “Obama lobbied Democrats earlier this month to block a GOP bid to force approval of the Keystone project, which environmentalists have rallied against.” (Dina Cappiello, “Obama to Fast-Track Oil Pipeline, Other Projects,” Associated Press, 3/21/2012)

OBAMA MADE PERSONAL PHONE CALLS TO TOP DEMS TO BLOCK KEYSTONE OUT OF FEAR OF GIVING “ELECTION-YEAR FODDER” TO GOP, NEVER MIND THE JOBS AT STAKE: “The White House lobbying effort, including phone calls from the president to Democrats, signals that the vote could be close when it heads to the floor Thursday. The president is trying to defeat an amendment that would give election-year fodder to his Republican critics who have accused him of blocking a job-creating energy project at a time of high gas prices.” (Manu Raju, “Obama Lobbying Dems Over Keystone XL Pipeline,” Politico, 3/7/2012)

AFTER “THE ANTI-JOBS PRESIDENT” ALREADY REJECTED JOB-CREATING KEYSTONE PIPELINE ONCE: (Editorial, “The Anti-Jobs President,” The Wall Street Journal, 1/19/2012)

GREEN GROUPS THREATENED TO ABANDON OBAMA IF HE APPROVED 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)

LOCAL JOB CREATORS ARE PROTESTING PRESIDENT OBAMA’S PUBLICITY STUNT:

LOCAL JOB CREATORS AND WORKERS, OKLAHOMA STATE PAPER ARE PROTESTING OBAMA’S VISIT TO OKLAHOMA TODAY: “But he’ll once again be greeted by protestors, this time in the form of fossil fuel industry officials and workers. The Oklahoman isn’t rolling out the welcome mat either, with the newspaper running three separate op-eds today criticizing Obama’s energy policies.” (Patrick Reis, Politico‘s “Morning Energy,” 3/21/2012) 

OBAMA WAS PROTESTED YESTERDAY OVER HIS ADMINISTRATION’S ANTI-ENERGY POLICIES IN NEW MEXICO: “Local residents and business organizations are planning a protest at the Roswell airport over the administration’s possible plan to list the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard as an endangered species — a move the groups say would cripple local ranching and energy development.” (Patrick Reis, Politico‘s “Morning Energy,” 3/21/2012)

MEANWHILE, KEYSTONE APPROVAL REMAINS A MATTER OF COMMON SENSE:

GALLUP: 57% OF AMERICANS SUPPORT KEYSTONE, ONLY 29% OPPOSE; EVEN A 44% PLURALITY OF DEMOCRATS SUPPORT KEYSTONE: (Elizabeth Mendes, “Americans Favor Keystone XL Pipeline,” Gallup, 3/22/2012)

MORE GALLUP: AMONG AMERICANS CLOSELY FOLLOWING ISSUE, SUPPORT RISES TO 70%: (Elizabeth Mendes, “Americans Favor Keystone XL Pipeline,” Gallup, 3/22/2012)

PEW: 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)

CANADA WARNED IT WOULD TURN TO CHINA FOR OIL EXPORTS AFTER OBAMA’S KEYSTONE DECISION: (Theophilis Arigitis and Jeremy Loon, “Obama Keystone Denial Prompts Canada to Focus on China,” Bloomberg, 1/19/2012)

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)

President Obama can hold as many press events as he wants, but it won’t change the fact that Democrats’ war on energy is threatening American energy supply, destroying jobs and contributing to rising gas prices:

OBAMA CLAIMS DOMESTIC PRODUCTION HAS INCREASED UNDER HIS TERM: “Domestic oil production has increased every year President Obama has been in office. In 2011, U.S. crude oil production reached its highest level since 2003, increasing by an estimated 120,000 barrels per day over 2010 levels to 5.6 million barrels per day.” (“A Secure Energy Future: Progress Report,” The White House, March 2012)

INCREASE IN DOMESTIC OIL PRODUCTION OWES TO BUSH ADMINISTRATION-ERA DECISIONS THAT ALLOWED GREATER ENERGY DEVELOPMENT: “And to a certain degree, they say, the boost in domestic oil and gas production is the result of decisions energy companies made during the George W. Bush administration to develop key reservoirs.” (Neela Banerjee, “U.S. Report: Oil Imports Down, Domestic Production Highest Since 2003,” Los Angeles Times, 3/12/2012) 

AP FACT CHECK: OBAMA HAS “VERY LITTLE TO DO WITH” INCREASED PRODUCTION”: (Dina Cappiello, “Fact Check: Obama, GOP Spin Recent Energy Stats,” Associated Press, 2/6/2012) 

IHS STUDY: OBAMA ADMIN SLOWWALKING PERMITS AFTER MORATORIUM OFFICIALLY ENDED: “A study by the business-consultant firm IHS found that the federal government issued 51 new drilling permits in the year following the lifting of the drilling moratorium. That was down from 157 annual permits approved before the regulations took effect.” (Bill McMorris, “Obama’s Energy Slowdown,” The Washington Free Beacon, 3/13/2012)

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)

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) 

MISLEADING: OBAMA SUGGESTS HIS POLICIES HAVE LED TO LESS DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN OIL: “Since President Obama took office, America’s dependence on foreign oil has decreased every year. In 2010, the United States imported less than half of all oil consumed—a first in 13 years.” (“A Secure Energy Future: Progress Report,” The White House, March 2012) 

BUT “MUCH OF THE FALL IN OIL IMPORTS” OWES TO “SLACK U.S. DEMAND IN A STILL WEAK ECONOMY”: “But independent analysts attribute much of the fall in oil imports to slack U.S. demand in a still-anemic economy.” (Neela Banerjee, “U.S. Report: Oil Imports Down, Domestic Production Highest Since 2003,” Los Angeles Times, 3/12/2012)

DEMS RENEWING PUSH FOR JOB-DESTROYING NATIONAL ENERGY TAX:

ENERGY AND COMMERCE RANKING DEMOCRAT HENRY WAXMAN RENEWS PUSH FOR CAP-AND TRADE: “But if we could put in place a price on carbon and then use the sales of carbon allowances to raise revenues we could raise money and cut emissions at the same time, and we can have a transition that will be as orderly as possible. If we leave both to become much more severe then the answers will be more radical and painful.” (Ezra Klein, “Henry Waxman’s Plan to Cut the Deficit and Stop Global Warming—at the Same Time,” The Washington Post, 2/26/2012)

TOP DEMOCRATS ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE PUBLISHED WASHINGTON POST OP-ED CALLING FOR $200 BILLION NATIONAL ENERGY TAX: “The best approach would be to use a market mechanism such as the sale of carbon allowances or a fee on carbon pollution to lower emissions and increase revenue. Using these policies, the United States could raise $200 billion or more over 10 years and trillions of dollars by 2050 while cutting carbon emissions by 17 percent by 2020 and 80 percent by 2050, providing transition assistance to affected industries, and supporting investments in clean-energy technologies.”(Henry A. Waxman, Sherwood Boehlert, Edward J. Markey and Wayne Gilchrest, “Carbon Emission Policy Could Slash Debt, Improve Environment,” The Washington Post, 2/23/2012)

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MANUFACTURERS STUDY ESTIMATED CAP-AND-TRADE WOULD INCREASE GAS PRICES 26% BY 2030: (“State-by-State Analysis of Waxman-Market Cap and Trade Legislation Paints Dour Picture for Nation’s Economy,” National Association of Manufacturers, 8/12/2009)