GREGORY D. LEE: IF OBAMA WANTED JOB CREATION, HE WOULD APPROVE THE PIPELINE
http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.10873/pub_detail.asp
Last week the Obama Administration announced that it is delaying a decision to build an international pipeline from Canada to U.S. refineries until it can further study alternative routes and safety concerns. The president said, “We should take the time to ensure that all questions are properly addressed and all the potential impacts are properly understood.” According to the Associated Press, his decision will most likely delay a decision on constructing the pipeline until after the 2012 presidential elections.
So much for this “shovel ready” project that would have lessened America’s dependence on Middle East oil by at least 700,000 barrels of oil a day, enhanced national security and provide upwards of 20,000 good paying U.S. jobs. As it turns out, according to the AP, some liberal donors threatened to withhold campaign contributions to Obama’s re-election if he approved the project. Think that might have influenced the president’s decision to shelve the pipeline?
When rich donors threatened to cut off campaign funding, his excuse to not go forward with the project was that there were suddenly more questions arising about the pipeline’s environmental and safety impact. By appeasing his donors by stopping the pipeline, he also solidified his support from the environmental extremist crowd. He already has the unions’ support sewn up, so he must have reasoned that there is little chance his decision will impact their vote for him.
Considering the pipeline exceeded all U.S. pipeline safety standards and the thousands of miles of pipeline that already exists in Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas, there seems no need for additional study. However, when campaign money was at stake, “questions” suddenly and mysteriously surfaced to justify the delay.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper already announced that in light of this delay, Asia will receive the highest priority for crude oil that would have gone to our refineries. By the time TransCanada’s Keystone XL answers the new questions, there may be no oil to send.
This decision clearly demonstrates the president is more interested in his re-election than creating badly needed, good paying jobs for the American people. In this administration, campaign money trumps shovel ready jobs every time. The fact that most of the states were conservative “red” states made the decision even easier for him to make.
If he is re-elected, President Obama will most likely conjure up another excuse to kill the project, even if the additional redundant questions about the safety of the pipeline reveal it is indeed safe. The pressure to collect campaign donations will be moot, and creating American jobs will no longer be a stated priority for his administration. He can spend his second term playing golf, apologizing for America and visiting the few remaining places on Earth he hasn’t visited.
President Obama can’t blame the Republicans for stopping this project or “killing jobs.” He specifically ordered the additional study of the project even though the EPA, State Department and all the effected states have studied it to death. He alone made the decision to stall the project and cannot run from it.
If you believe more questions need answering before building this pipeline, you obviously don’t care about the thousands of people who could be earning a good income instead of standing in unemployment lines. You don’t care about America’s dependence on Middle East oil, and you don’t care that China will buy every drop of Canadian oil to fuel its economic engine to compete against us.
If the president wanted to expand our anemic economy, he’d quickly approve this pipeline project and expand natural gas and oil drilling to create hundreds of thousands of jobs and finally make America energy independent.
Creating “green” jobs that will change how America produces energy is a pipe dream. No pun intended.
Family Security Matters Contributing Editor Gregory D. Lee is a retired Supervisory Special Agent for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the author of three criminal justice textbooks. While on DEA diplomatic assignment in Pakistan, he was involved in the investigation of several notable terrorism events and arrests. He recently retired after more than 39 years of active and reserve service from the U.S. Army Reserve as a Chief Warrant Officer Five Special Agent for the Criminal Investigation Division Command, better known as CID. In 2011 he completed a combat tour of duty in Afghanistan while on special assignment to the Special Operations Command Europe. His articles also appear at North Star Writers Group. Contact him at info@gregorydlee.com.
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