Pipeline decision will weaken Obama (crassest pandering to a tiny minority of Americans)

Ottawa Citizen ^ | November 19, 2011 | Brian Lee Crowley

[Cincinatus' Wife]

H.L. Mencken, I think it was, who uttered the immortal phrase "Nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public."

No one is a greater admirer of the dynamic and generous society that is America, and when I consider all the nations we could have had living next door I often think we won the neighbourhood lotto.

But for some reason Mencken's phrase kept echoing in my head when I heard the news about Washington's plan to delay their decision on the Keystone XL pipeline.

Folly is too kind a word for this decision. It is the crassest pandering to a tiny minority of Americans whose demands run demonstrably contrary to U.S. interests. And even that electoral calculation is misconceived, for it will weaken, not strengthen, Barack Obama.

The background: the Alberta oilsands must have outlets to markets, chiefly in the U.S. The most efficient way is a new pipeline running through the American heartland to the Gulf of Mexico.

There on the Gulf Coast is a concentration of refineries with the capacity to refine oilsands bitumen, something few refineries are able to do.

Everyone wins. New oilsands extraction and upgrading capacity can continue, fuelling one of the greatest industrial projects Canada has ever seen. Scores of billions of dollars will be invested in this massive resource if market access can be ensured.

There is no prospect of reducing Americans' consumption of oil in the short to medium term without a painful and unnecessary decline in their standard of living. Most of the alleged alternatives to oil are simply no real substitute for its unique properties, especially as a transport fuel.

Alternative sources of oil exist, but they tend to come from far less desirable places than Canada - think Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. Those places have lower environmental, human rights, labour and rule of law standards than we do. Less oil from Canada doesn't mean less consumption, just nasty sources of oil.

Moreover building the pipeline would unleash a torrent of American economic activity, chiefly in the depressed construction industry. Trade unions, one of the constituencies most assiduously courted by President Obama, were vociferous in their support.

And yet all this was not enough to secure what is normally a pro forma approval from Washington. The United States is covered in pipelines, which historically are a lowcost means of transporting oil, gas and many hazardous chemicals in an extremely safe manner. Bringing a needed commodity to American consumers in an environmentally sound manner while reducing the country's dependence on oil from despicable regimes and creating thousands of jobs at a time of high unemployment. That sounds like a lot of ticks in the right boxes.

But the decision to punt the Keystone decision until after the 2012 election was not based on the merits of the proposal, nor on a reasoned assessment of America's interests. Instead the administration kowtowed to a coalition of NIMBYists and green activists whose arguments were embarrassingly thin.

Take the concern of some Nebraskans that the pipeline would cross the Ogallala aquifer, one of the chief sources of water in a number of the heartland states. Clearly the health of the aquifer is a matter of vital interest for many Americans, and they are perfectly entitled to question the project proponents closely about the danger of leaks.

But the answers should have been more than satisfactory for a state whose entire supply of oil and gas arrives essentially by pipeline. Anyone looking at a map showing the number of pipelines already transecting the territory covering the aquifer would have to conclude that something terrible had happened to make people feel that pipelines had suddenly become untrustworthy.

But other than a couple of entirely minor spills in recent years that represent an infinitesimal fraction of the oil transported safely by pipeline in the U.S., no such incident has occurred. And in any case the pipeline's proponent has promised unheard of levels of safeguards and construction standards to allay fears of risks that are vanishingly small.

To no avail. The pipeline has suffered the worst fate possible: it became a symbol. To those convinced of an apocalyptic vision of a society hurtling toward environmental Armageddon, XL came to represent the sum of all their fears. Combine that with an environmental movement moving strategically to throttle the oilsands by closing off its access to markets, and you had a political force that made up in passionate intensity what it lacked in either logic or votes. President Barack Obama thinks he has thrown them a bone. Instead what he has done is to give comfort to a Luddite movement that thinks you can make modernity go away by holding your breath until your face turns blue.

The problem is that they may get their wish.

[philman_36]

Hurray! After years of living behind the liberal lines I get the feeling that I'm finally going to get to see my little red county (Jefferson...lower right) turn blue!

This pipeline decision will come back to bite Mr. Dunham right square in the backside in this neck of the woods.

I'm simultaneously loving it, because it'll hurt him in the election, and hating it, because of the loss of jobs if it isn't allowed to be built.

Aside...
http://www.argusleader.com/article/20111030/NEWS/110300312/Pipeline-plan-meets-growing-resistance
A pump station is seen along the Keystone I route near Freeman.
Something many people simply don't know is that there will be lost jobs all along this pipeline, from cushy, comfortable "old man/my family & friends first" push the pig pumping station jobs to inspectors who ride the line looking for problems, and even work crews who keep the lines clear of grass, bushes/etc..
But, hey, if he wants to shoot himself in the foot then I say let him.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

I read Krauthammer's piece. Good stuff.

Perry environmental stance would transform EPA ....>>>>>Perry "approaches the issues from a very libertarian bent," said Jim DiPeso , policy director of Republicans for Environmental Protection. "The EPA would be in for some significant budget reduction. There would be no new intiatives, no regulatory programs that would be initated. There'd be litigation from environmental groups that believe he's not enforcing the Clean Air Act and Water Act as robustly as the law provides."

"Any regulatory programs would be really throttled back," he said. "He has shown no interest in climate policy at all. He doesn't accept the science."

With the governor's blessing, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott is challenging at least six EPA greenhouse gas-related regulations. The state's underlying argument: The fundamental finding that greenhouse gases are a public health threat is scientifically flawed.

The federal government is pushing "hastily enacted, cascading regulations" on states and businesses, Abbott argued in a June brief filed on behalf of nine states in federal court.

Perry's approach to energy, DiPeso said, "would be to produce more," rather than discourage the development of energy projects, such as coal plants, that emit greenhouse gases associated with global warming.

"In terms of energy, (Perry) would pursue what many Republicans call the 'all of the above' strategy, with more energy development offshore and onshore," DiPeso said. <<<<<

[VeniVidiVici]

And the major news outlets are purposely spiking a story about an Obama decision that kills more good paying, American jobs. I have not seen this story anywhere except for the Washington Examiner and republished by FoxNews

Obama Delays Shale Drilling, Up to 200k Jobs'

[himno hero]

... its about starving the American economy for energy. America is still the hub. The Anti American president knows if you bring down America,....

He is the worst American experiment ever!

[Eva]

An added little interesting fact is that Obama ties to the ILWU. First Patty Murray’s husband is a life long member of the ILWU and employee of SSA (stevedoring services of America). That’s how the dumbest member of the Senate got elected.

But Obama has other ties to the openly communist longshoremen’s union through Hawaii. Back in the fifties, the ILWU was heavily involved in a movement to separate Hawaii from the US. To further this move, the ILWU bought a newspaper in Hawaii for propaganda purposes. They then hired Frank Marshall Davis to write the communist propaganda for the paper. Davis was, of course, Obama’s special Black mentor.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

You're so right. This will create jobs supporting this work.

Oct 14, 2011 CSM: Rick Perry jobs plan: Make rest of America more like Texas -- Working ........."Not all economists would put domestic energy production among their top five priorities for job growth. But many do see significant potential in this field, as the Perry campaign does.

For example, economist Peter Morici at the University of Maryland, in a recent analysis of the nation's employment crisis, wrote that "shutting down US oil and gas development is costing the US economy millions of jobs."

His view: An emphasis on domestic production could create jobs by dramatically reducing America's trade deficit, thus recycling more consumer dollars in the domestic economy. Promotion of energy production would also spill over into job creation in other industries, Mr. Morici says, as a need for refineries and pipelines boosts demand for construction workers, steel, and heavy machinery.".......

[JoeGar]

It is the crassest pandering to a tiny minority of Americans ...

Pandering to environmentalists has nothing to do with the decision. The pipeline decision was made so that oil from Canada and the Bakken Fields will have to be shipped by BASF trains -- and guess who just bought BASF: Obama's buddy Warren Buffett.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

“Barack Obama and the Enemies Within”

http://www.amazon.com/Barack-Enemies-Within-Trevor-Loudon/dp/0615490743

[TYVets]

Another anti-American move to add to the long list accomplished by 0bama in the past 3 years

[Cincinatus' Wife]

He’s not even trying to put up a facade anymore.

[shield]

Perry Ping....

IF you'd rather NOT be pinged FReepmail me.

IF you'd like to be added FReepmail me. Thanks.

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[marty60]

Folly is too kind a word for this decision. It is the crassest pandering to a tiny minority of Americans whose demands run demonstrably contrary to U.S. interests. And even that electoral calculation is misconceived, for it will weaken, not strengthen, Barack Obama.

D**** Straight!!!!

[Eva]

Thanks for that link, I was reading the first chapter of the book, free on the internet and realized when they started with New Zealand that they were talking about the ILWU.

Here's an excerpt fo the ILWU Story - the International

Under the leadership of Bridges and Louis Goldblatt, the ILWU early on also recognized that the Union's welfare was closely tied to the labor movements of Asia, Australia, and the Pacific region. Trade union solidarity throughout this area was important to the ILWU in North America, and to IWLU members in Hawaii. After years of effort, the ILWU in 1959 helped initiate the first All Pacific and Asian Dockworkers Conference (with Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and the Soviet Union). These alliances soon produced concrete results when ILWU longshoremen in Hawaii and along the Pacific Coast, including Alaska and British Columbia, stopped work on 10 Japanese ships for 24 hours in solidarity with striking Japanese longshoremen in 1960.

Here's a link to the rest of the story of the involvement of the ILWU in organizing union activities in the rest of the world, as how the ILWU joined with the US anti-war movement, as far back as WWII.

http://www.ilwu19.com/history/the_ilwu_story/international_solidarity.htm

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Thank you for that additional source for information.

These connections and the perilous state of affairs makes the hair on my neck and arms stand up.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Democrats Unveil the Weapon of the Future

[zeestephen]

“[Obama is] pandering to a tiny minority of Americans.”

---

Disagree.

The pipeline veto reflects Obama’s passionate belief in Hard Left, Extreme Green, European Socialism.

[marty60]

Houston grew 79,500 New jobs this past year.

I think we may have a rivalry brewing over which major city can create the most jobs. :-)

[Eva]

You wouldn’t believe it, but the Chairwoman of my county GOP and some of the local GOP politicians are willingly playing pat-a-cake with the ILWU on a big Democrat crony capitalist project in WA state, a coal terminal to ship coal to China.

The terminal will be operated by SSA/ILWU and funded by the federal government through a bill that Patty Murray wrote and submitted to the Senate. The bill makes up most of the infrastructure and transportation portion of Obama’s new jobs bill.

[Eva]

Note that the article about the ILWU activities comes from their own web site. They were bragging, not complaining.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Patty Murray -— on the Super Committee with John Kerry.....

Oh boy.