The Senate has now passed the bill authorizing construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline. the vote was lopsided with all Republicans and nine Democrats voting in favor of the legislation. That is not enough to overcome a threatened veto by president Obama, but it remains to be seen if he will actually carry out his veto threat. For me, the most amazing thing about the bill's passage was the immediate response from the vast majority of Democrats who lost this fight in the Senate. They held a news conference immediately after the vote and said that the bill was a gift by the Republicans to "special interests". The Democrats were a little vague on just who those special interests are, but the charge was made nevertheless.
Keystone will create somewhere between 40,000 and 60,000 construction and related jobs for the American people over the next three years. These are well-paying jobs that will support tens of thousands of middle class families who have been suffering for the last six years. So these are the special interests that the Democrats denounce? Keystone will also allow roughly three quarters of a million barrels of oil to be added to the world supply each day once it is built. That will put downward pressure on the world price of oil for decades to come. That means that American who drive will see lower prices at the pump during that time. Are American drivers and others who use oil now a special interest? The Democrats think so.
The real truth is that there are no good reasons for Democrats to oppose Keystone other than that some extremely rich environmentalists oppose it. These men, like Tom Steyer, gave hundreds of millions of dollars to Democrat candidates in 2014, and the Democrats in the Senate do not wish to see that money flow stop. That, indeed, is a special interest.
Keystone will create somewhere between 40,000 and 60,000 construction and related jobs for the American people over the next three years. These are well-paying jobs that will support tens of thousands of middle class families who have been suffering for the last six years. So these are the special interests that the Democrats denounce? Keystone will also allow roughly three quarters of a million barrels of oil to be added to the world supply each day once it is built. That will put downward pressure on the world price of oil for decades to come. That means that American who drive will see lower prices at the pump during that time. Are American drivers and others who use oil now a special interest? The Democrats think so.
The real truth is that there are no good reasons for Democrats to oppose Keystone other than that some extremely rich environmentalists oppose it. These men, like Tom Steyer, gave hundreds of millions of dollars to Democrat candidates in 2014, and the Democrats in the Senate do not wish to see that money flow stop. That, indeed, is a special interest.
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