Posted on 04/05/2012 4:00:24 AM PDT by tobyhill
President Obama has steered clear of taking a firm stance on the Keystone pipeline, but many Democrats running for Senate don’t have the same luxury.
Eight of the 18 non-incumbent Democrats running for Senate surveyed by The Hill either steadfastly support the pipeline or oppose it outright, breaking with Obama’s decision to reserve judgment on the project until federal regulators conduct a full review.
Republican Senate hopefuls have made the pipeline – which would carry oil sands crude from Alberta, Canada, to refineries on the Gulf Coast – a top campaign issue. The emphasis on the pipeline has forced many Democratic candidates to stake out a clear position on the project, whether they like it or not.
TransCanada Corp.'s Keystone XL pipeline has ignited a firestorm in Washington.
President Obama denied a cross-border permit for the pipeline in January, infuriating Republicans and launching a thorny political debate in Congress that has forced vulnerable Senate Democrats to weigh in on the project. But Obama has said his decision to reject the pipeline was based not on its merits, but on a 60-day, GOP-backed deadline included in legislation to extend the payroll tax cut.
As gas prices near a national average of $4 per gallon, the Keystone fight on Capitol Hill has spread to the campaign trail, even in states that are nowhere near the pipeline route.
(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...
Add up the situation. If you were a borderline democrat that always marginally won....then you lost in 2010 and were kicked out. For 2012, if you are a democrat who really counted on the independent vote to keep you in office...you probably will lose your position. The only thing that you can observe is that the captain of the vessel (the President)....is aiming at a new iceberg almost every week, and this ship is taking on water as fast as you can dish it out.
The only democrats in a good position...are folks in a heavy union region or heavily democrat vote anyway. I think this all amounts to a decade-long period of damage done in areas where democrats used to enjoy some prosperity.
As usual, local Dem candidates will pose as conservatives and use conservative rhetoric on their campaign commercials (usually not even identifying themselves as Dems).
They and their campaign managers fully realize identifying their true lib-left philosophy and voting record is electoral suicide.
And,as usual,they’ll go back to full lefty moonbat mode when elected.
That’s Claire McCackle’s M.O.
And the Stupid Party will decide it is “ungentlemanly” to make an election issue out of the pipeline. After all, “Obama is a good man and you have nothing to fear” as a wise GOP candidate once told us.
Precisely my fear about the Romney nomination.
If the GOP is just going to take a dive again, I’m goin’ third party.
BS reporting. He didn't say maybe, he said NO.
When your constituents are out of work, they expect you to DO the right thing. If you are up for re-election you better make sure you SAY the right thing.
"We will build all the hose we want, we just won't attach it to the spicket."
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