Counting the chickens before they’re hatched?
Republicans plan to put approval of the long-delayed Keystone XL oil pipeline on a fast track early next year if they win a U.S. Senate majority in November, finally forcing President Barack Obama to make a tough call on the controversial plan.
The $10 billion Keystone project to connect Canadian oil sands with U.S. refineries will top the list of Republican energy priorities if they gain control of the Senate after the November 4 midterm elections. It could come as a stand-alone measure or attached to must-pass legislation such as a government spending or transportation bill, according to senators and congressional aides.
Republicans, along with some Democrats, have for years pushed for a bill that would allow Congress to approve Keystone, and reduce the role of the administration. However, with Democrats in control, the closest they have gotten in the Senate was a symbolic measure expressing support for the project.
President Obama is so in the grasp of Big Green that he has turned a deaf ear to Big Labor on this issue, which should give you an idea of just how much money the former has. He’s had to work hard to ignore all of the various factions that support Keystone XL. It may be the only real hard work he’s done off the golf course.
It’s good to see the GOP planning for a victory in November but complacency is a killer, especially with a weaker Get Out The Vote effort than the Democrats have.
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