See, this is yet another reason why Democrats are often considered weak and spineless. They have fought to keep the Keystone pipeline from developing for years but behold, after losing an election and losing control of the Congress, Democrats are pushing a vote on the pipeline and, by the look of things, they will approve the very legislation they have blocked all this time.
O. M. G!
The Democratic culprit behind this new pipeline push is Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu. Failing to meet the required amount of votes in the midterm elections, Landrieu is forced into a runoff election on December 6th against her Republican challenger, Rep. Bill Cassidy. So the wisdom of Landrieu and Senate Democrats is – win the runoff election by all means, even if it includes selling out the American people.
The problem with constructing the Keystone XL Pipeline – which will run 1700 miles from Canada to Texas and will carry heavy, low grade crude from Canada’s oil sands to refineries in Texas – is strictly environmental. The pipeline will run over the Ogallala Aquifer, one of the world’s largest supplier of fresh water that stretches beneath much of Nebraska and runs from South Dakota to parts of Lubbock in Texas.
The Aquifer is responsible for providing fresh water to farmlands in 8 states, and also provides drinking water to many municipal wells. It is a big deal and extremely important to keep this source of fresh water… fresh. But constructing an oil pipeline above this massive aquifer seems to defy all logic, and that was the argument of Democrats made for years… until now.
“I believe that we should take the new majority leader at his word and stop blocking legislation that is broadly supported by the American public and has been for quite some time,” Landrieu said on the Senate floor. “I want to say, yes to majority leader — new majority leader Mitch McConnell. The time to start is now.”
And while talking to reporters, Landrieu painted herself not as a Democrat, but as an independent. “I’ve stood against my leadership,” she said, “And I’ve stood up to the Republicans.” It seems that Mary Landrieu has not learned the lesson of the 2014 midterm election – when you run away from your base and their ideals, your base will run away from you!
Needless to say, the American people and the base of the Democratic party want to preserve the Aquifer, but in a futile effort try and keep her job in the Senate, Landrieu is sell out the country!
It should also be noted that her Republican challenger is one of the authors of the bill to build the Keystone pipeline. So if Keystone is the deciding factor in who wins in Louisania, Landrieu is making a sad mistake to think the voters in her state will vote for her if she she show support for the pipeline, over the guy who authored the bill to build the pipeline. That is what I call a pipe-dream on Landrieu’s part.
It’s time for Mary Landrieu and these spineless Democrats to wake the hell up!
