Dems’ Political Payback for Anti-Energy Donors Knows No End

May 10, 2012

Despite New Keystone XL Application and Support for Approval from Warren Buffett and Big Labor, Democrats Continue to Block Shovel-Ready Energy Jobs

The large chorus of voices calling for approval of the Keystone pipeline got louder this week when Obama allies such Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, and billionaire Warren Buffett endorsed the Keystone XL pipeline and its shovel-ready jobs.
These new calls for Keystone XL’s approval follow a new permit application from the pipeline’s developer that suggests a new route for the pipeline, undercutting Obama’s sole excuse.
Democrats are out of excuses for their anti-energy philosophy that prioritizes political payback for big-moneyed special interests over common sense and sacrifices bipartisan jobs projects like Keystone XL that would benefit working families.

The large chorus of voices calling for approval of the Keystone pipeline got louder this week when Obama allies such Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, and billionaire Warren Buffett endorsed the Keystone XL pipeline and its shovel-ready jobs:

AFL-CIO PRESIDENT RICHARD TRUMKA: “UNANIMOUS” UNION SUPPORT FOR KEYSTONE XL: “AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka is backing construction of the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline in comments that downplay divisions among unions in the labor federation over the controversial project. … ‘I think we are all unanimous by saying we should build the pipeline, but we have to do it consistent with all environmental standards, and I think we can work that out, I really do, and we are for that happening,’ Trumka said in the interview that aired Sunday.”(Ben Geman, “Trumka: Labor Wants Keystone Pipeline, Environmental Issues Can Be Resolved,” The Hill, 5/6/2012)

BILLIONAIRE OBAMA BACKER WARREN BUFFETT ON KEYSTONE: “IT CERTAINLY SEEMS LIKE IT MAKES SENSE TO ME”: “Billionaire Warren Buffett said this week he supports the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline, inserting himself in a politically divisive debate on the project

“ ‘I’m not an expert, but it certainly seems like it makes sense to me,’ Buffett said Monday when asked on Fox Business Network whether he would support the pipeline if it doesn’t threaten an environmentally sensitive region in Nebraska.” (Andrew Restuccia, “Warren Buffett Backs Keystone Pipeline,” The Hill, 5/8/2012)

MORE BUFFETT: BUILDING SIMILAR PIPELINES IN THE PAST HAS “CERTAINLY BEEN A HUGE PLUS FOR THE COUNTRY”: “‘There are an awful lot of pipelines running in the United States and net, they’ve certainly been a huge plus for the country.’” (Andrew Restuccia, “Warren Buffett Backs Keystone Pipeline,” The Hill, 5/8/2012)

SEVERAL OTHER LABOR GROUPS HAVE CALLED FOR KEYSTONE APPROVAL:

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)

MAJOR LABOR UNIONS LIKE THE TEAMSTERS, LABORERS’ INTERNATIONAL UNION OF NORTH AMERICA AND AFL-CIO CHAPTERS ALL SUPPORT KEYSTONE XL: “At the same time, labor unions have backed the pipeline, arguing that it would create badly needed jobs for American workers. … The pipeline has the support of many Republicans in Congress and also major labor unions like the Teamsters, Laborers’ International Union of North America and segments of the AFL-CIO.” (Dan Berman and Darren Goode, “Obama Punts Keystone XL Pipeline,” Politico, 11/10/2011)

COALITION OF FOUR LABOR UNIONS: “All four of our International Unions – the United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters, the International Union of Operating Engineers, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the Laborers’ International Union of North America – have executed a project labor agreement to build the Keystone XL Pipeline. We are committed to making Keystone XL a reality for our nation and we are prepared to begin work as soon as the Presidential Permit for the $7 billion privately funded Keystone XL pipeline is approved.” (Labor Unions letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, 10/22/2010)

PIPELINERS UNION 798 ASSOCIATION: “As we understand it, Keystone XL will create more than 13,000 high-wage construction and manufacturing jobs during the project’s 2011-2012 construction schedule. Many of those jobs will be created in rural areas in our districts, where too many of our residents continue to find it difficult to find good jobs. With Keystone XL, they will have an opportunity to work on the project or for businesses that provide supplies, goods, and services for its construction and operation.”(Pipeliners Union 798 Association letter to White House, 7/1/2010)

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ENVIRONMENTAL LABOR COALITION SUPPORTS KEYSTONE: (Rocky Mountain Environmental Labor Coalition letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, 9/6/2011)

These new calls for Keystone XL’s approval follow a new permit application from the pipeline’s developer that suggests a new route for the pipeline, undercutting Obama’s sole excuse:

KEYSTONE DEVELOPER REAPPLIES FOR PERMIT, PROPOSES NEW ROUTE:“The Canadian company that wants to build the disputed Keystone XL pipeline in the U.S. submitted a new application for the project Friday after changing the route to avoid environmentally sensitive land in Nebraska.”(Matthew Daly, “US: Transcanada Reapplies for Oil Pipeline,” Associated Press, 5/4/2012)

OBAMA HAD CITED “UNCERTAINTY OVER THE NEBRASKA ROUTE” AS HIS MAIN REASON FOR REJECTING THE PIPELINE. WHAT’S HIS EXCUSE NOW?: “President Barack Obama blocked the pipeline earlier this year, citing uncertainty over the Nebraska route – a decision that drew fire from Republicans. TransCanada initially proposed a new route last month that would veer east around the groundwater-rich Sandhills region before looping back to the original route.”(Matthew Daly, “US: Transcanada Reapplies for Oil Pipeline,” Associated Press, 5/4/2012)

Democrats are out of excuses for their anti-energy philosophy that prioritizes political payback for big-moneyed special interests over common sense and sacrifices bipartisan jobs projects like Keystone XL that would benefit working families:

KEYSTONE REJECTION WAS POLITICAL PAYBACK FOR THE DEMOCRATS’ LEFT-WING “DONOR BASE” THAT OPPOSED THE PIPELINE: “Democrats outside the West Wing and Chicago-based campaign say the politics were clear: With the exceptions of the grousing unions (who will have no choice but to support him in 2012), the party’s donor base, environmental advocates down to their hybrid SUVs oppose the pipeline.” (Glenn Thrush and Darren Samuelsohn, “Keystone decision a political win-win,” Politico, 1/18/2012)

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)

OBAMA ACTIVELY “LOBBIED DEMOCRATS” 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 DEMS TO BLOCK KEYSTONE, 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)

“NO ENVIRONMENTAL PROTESTS” SURROUNDING ENBRIDGE’S ALBERTA CLIPPER, A PIPELINE OBAMA DID APPROVE: “GOP lawmakers have long accused the Obama administration of playing politics with the pipeline, considering that the State Department approved an oil sands pipeline three years ago, Enbridge’s Alberta Clipper, when there were no environmental protests.” (Christa Marshall, “LOBBYING: A Week of Skirmishing Over Keystone XL Decisions Opens Up With a Green Barrage,” Climate Wire, 2/14/2012)

UNLIKE THE ALBERTA CLIPPER PIPELINE, LEFT-WING “CRITICISM OF KEYSTONE XL IS PITCHED”: “President Barack Obama overrode similar concerns last year when he granted Enbridge a permit for Alberta Clipper, but criticism of Keystone XL is pitched. At hearings this week, Sierra Club executive director Michael Brune told U.S. legislators Keystone XL will damage the global climate and ‘drive expansion of the environmental Armageddon occurring in Canada.’ ” (Nathan Vanderklippe, “Transcanda Heralds New Flow of Crude to U.S. as Just a Start,” The Canada Globe and Mail, 7/1/2010)