With the House Republicans finally agreeing to the measly two month payroll tax cut extension passed by the Senate last week, the worst part of that bill now comes to fruition. With a guaranteed signature from the president, this bill forces Mr. Obama to decide on the fate of the Keystone XL Transcontinental pipeline within 60 days. Now President Obama must decide which group of voters he risks alienating further.
Hailed as a "tactical victory" for President Obama by at least one GOP pundit, his decision to press ahead with this two month extension is very risky. He knew the provision about the pipeline would be in there. He also knows that Republicans wanted this in there to ensure that he would not be reelected due to a loss of core voters. As I blogged about last week, Mr. Obama will more than likely either alienate labor unions that want the jobs that would be created by the pipeline, or alienating the environmentalists who see this pipeline as another victory for big oil and fossil fuels and a loss of environmental quality.
It may be that his decision, whether for or against the pipeline, will not be the deciding factor for these groups of voters over their desire to reelect the president. It is a big risk though. With the environmentalists he is viewed as very weak on keeping his promises to preserve our natural resources and help reduce America's emissions to globally accepted levels. Of course with the labor unions, Obama has been very weak on job creation. We all know that for the great majority of Americans, the economy is the overriding issue that determines how an individual or group of individuals will vote.
I don't want to see this pipeline come into existence. It's another chain to bind us down to the fossil fuel industry and it runs through America's heartland through aquifers and fertile soils. This pipeline is simply a bad idea because it says to the rest of the world that America is not serious about global warming and won't be anytime soon, no matter who controls the White House. However, I'm also hoping that this decision in 60 days will not become a wedge between labor unions and the environmentalists. We need no more divisions. We need to work together to solve our economic and environmental problems. We shouldn't be driven apart by one pipeline. I hope that both of these groups can come together and ask that President Obama not give approval for the permits needed to build the pipeline, but that he also issue a directive to get labor unions involved in the 2.5 million jobs that are available in retrofitting buildings and residences throughout the nation to solar power. We can let the Republicans win over us and over President Obama, or we can show them what happens when we rise above their petty politics.
Hailed as a "tactical victory" for President Obama by at least one GOP pundit, his decision to press ahead with this two month extension is very risky. He knew the provision about the pipeline would be in there. He also knows that Republicans wanted this in there to ensure that he would not be reelected due to a loss of core voters. As I blogged about last week, Mr. Obama will more than likely either alienate labor unions that want the jobs that would be created by the pipeline, or alienating the environmentalists who see this pipeline as another victory for big oil and fossil fuels and a loss of environmental quality.
It may be that his decision, whether for or against the pipeline, will not be the deciding factor for these groups of voters over their desire to reelect the president. It is a big risk though. With the environmentalists he is viewed as very weak on keeping his promises to preserve our natural resources and help reduce America's emissions to globally accepted levels. Of course with the labor unions, Obama has been very weak on job creation. We all know that for the great majority of Americans, the economy is the overriding issue that determines how an individual or group of individuals will vote.
I don't want to see this pipeline come into existence. It's another chain to bind us down to the fossil fuel industry and it runs through America's heartland through aquifers and fertile soils. This pipeline is simply a bad idea because it says to the rest of the world that America is not serious about global warming and won't be anytime soon, no matter who controls the White House. However, I'm also hoping that this decision in 60 days will not become a wedge between labor unions and the environmentalists. We need no more divisions. We need to work together to solve our economic and environmental problems. We shouldn't be driven apart by one pipeline. I hope that both of these groups can come together and ask that President Obama not give approval for the permits needed to build the pipeline, but that he also issue a directive to get labor unions involved in the 2.5 million jobs that are available in retrofitting buildings and residences throughout the nation to solar power. We can let the Republicans win over us and over President Obama, or we can show them what happens when we rise above their petty politics.
No comments:
Post a Comment