KEYSTONE XL: Why Republicans Still Bet On Pipeline While Most Dems Roll Their Eyes
Republicans seem to be obsessed with Keystone XL.
Approving the oil pipeline from Canada became their first order of business in Congress this year and has been central to the party's messaging.
Republicans and their loyalists are campaigning for Obama to sign the bill, which passed more than a week ago but is just now formally heading to the White House.
If Republicans are obsessed with KXL, most Democrats are increasingly treating the debate like an annoyance, downplaying any benefits the pipeline could bring.
Public opinion has generally been on the Republicans' side in support of KXL. But analysts aren't sure the GOP will see significant benefits or Democrats any fallout from the positions they've staked out on KXL.
Republican strategist Ford O'Connell, a veteran of the McCain-Palin campaign, said the pipeline debate is "always a good go-to for the GOP, and it's not one that's going to go away."
O'Connell, frequent commentator on energy issues, said redundancy is often key to political messaging. "Keystone is not just a pipeline," he said, "it represents a larger discussion Republicans want to have on energy security and jobs."
Still, the problem for Democrats, O'Connell said, is that arguments in favor of KXL appeal to "white, working class voters." It's a section of the population that is trending to the GOP and turned to Republicans in a big way during the midterm elections.
Republicans Find It’s Not Easy Being In Charge
Three weeks into their historic House majority and after taking control of the Senate for the first time in eight years, Republicans find themselves in a meltdown over rape and charges that they quashed debate on a Keystone pipeline bill so their presidential hopefuls could make pitches to the billionaire Koch brothers in Palm Springs.
The two debates were supposed to be easy lifts on popular GOP issues. Instead, the dueling imbroglios showcased a backlash by more moderate Republicans and Tea Party conservatives and the appearance — fueled by Democrats — of a connection between the GOP’s pro-fossil fuel agenda and industry campaign contributions.
Republican strategist Ford O’Connell said the amendment process will help pass the Keystone bill by allowing senators to have their say. “Keystone is not just about one pipeline,” O’Connell said. “It’s about an energy argument that the Republicans want to have with the Democrats.”
Read more from Carolyn Lochhead at The San Francisco Chronicle
Fight Over Keystone Pipeline Could Be First Confrontation Between Obama, Congress In 2015
The newly elected Republican-led U.S. Congress may soon see its first round of squabbles with President Barack Obama over a legislation that would allow a pipeline to run from Canada to the Gulf Coast in the United States.
Republicans clinched control of Congress in November's midterm elections in the biggest sweep since World War II amid sinking popularity for Obama, as many Americans expressed frustration over daunting unemployment figures.
On Tuesday, the White House said Obama would veto any new legislation aimed at setting up the Keystone pipeline, setting the stage for the first political battle in 2015.
The House is expected to vote on the issue as early as Friday, and it remains unknown whether the newly elected Republican-led Congress could garner the two-thirds majority vote needed to override any presidential veto.
"Republicans have to understand that their job is to get that (bill) on Obama's desk. If he vetoes it, their job is to figure out how to get it past the president," Republican strategist Ford O'Connell told Xinhua, adding that it remains unclear whether the Republicans will have the votes needed to override a veto.
O Canada! Potential 2016ers Head North
Now is the time for ambitious pols to be looking ahead to the 2016 presidential election — nevermind that the midterms are barely in the rearview mirror. The desire to hold the nation’s top office has several would-be candidates flocking to an unlikely destination: Canada.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie flies to Calgary on Thursday before making stops in Toronto and Ottawa on Friday. The trip is being billed as a trade mission in which the Republican will meet with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and it comes just three months after the Garden State governor urged that the controversial Keystone XL pipeline “be done today.”
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, announced earlier this week that she would be headlining two events on Jan. 21 — one in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and another in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, sponsored by mega bank CIBC. Notably, Clinton has been skewered by both Democrats and Republicans alike for not taking a firm position on Keystone.
“For someone like Christie, foreign affairs isn’t in his wheelhouse, so it’s a winning issue for him,” said GOP strategist Ford O’Connell, adding that Congress would want to bring up Keystone immediately early next year when it has a majority in the Senate. The pipeline is something “all Republicans can rally around. It’s not something that divides Republicans like immigration reform.”
Supporting Keystone XL Pipeline Is Safe For Christie
Pressed by reporters for his position on immigration reform, Governor Christie offered this instead: No discussions of any contentious, national issue unless he becomes a candidate for president.
But when it comes to the Keystone XL pipeline — an issue that courses through a national debate over energy consumption, economic growth and homeland security — Christie is talking.
Christie begins a two-day business-and-trade foray to Canada on Thursday in Calgary, the epicenter of that country’s oil boom, and the starting point of a proposed pipeline that ends at the Gulf of Mexico. Here, Christie is expected to ardently advocate for the pipeline’s construction, much as he did on a similar trip to Mexico in September.
Immigration, Christie said during a visit to Iowa in July, was “too complicated.”
But there is nothing really complicated — politically speaking — about the pipeline project. While it will carry oil extracted from the clay and sands of northwest Canada, Christie’s advocacy places him on safe, firm Republican Party turf.
The issue also gives Christie a chance to remain in the spotlight, and to maintain the momentum after his stewardship of the Republican Governors Association, which expanded the roster of Republican governors from 29 to 31 and chalked up surprising victories in Democratic states like Maryland and Illinois.
“This is a way to keep a lot of that going so that those very relationships you made can still see you,” said Ford O’Connell, a Republican strategist who served as an adviser on John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign. “So, it’s very important to keep those chits relevant. A lot of the states he went to are in favor of this.”
Chris Christie Tries To Keep Up Momentum By Pumping For Keystone
The controversial Keystone XL pipeline project may have temporarily died in the Senate this week, butNew Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is eager to bring the issue back to life ahead of a potential 2016 presidential run.
He’ll visit Canada in early December — his second trip outside of the U.S. since September — where he’ll meet with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The Garden State governor is expected to give an energy policy speech in which he’ll aggressively trumpet the pipeline, which would create an oil transport system from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. On a recent trip to Mexico, he also forcefully pushed the for construction of the pipeline and not-so-subtly dinged the Obama administration for blocking it.
For Christie, “this is all about keeping up the momentum” after a very successful stint in the midterm elections, said Republican strategist Ford O’Connell. After all, as head of the Republican Governors Association, Christie helped propel seven new GOP governors into office, leaving scandals like so-called “Bridgegate” seemingly in the dust. “For someone like Christie, foreign affairs isn’t in his wheelhouse, so it’s a winning issue for him … It’s also an issue [lawmakers] are going to want to bring up immediately when the new Congress is seated.”
Keystone, said O’Connell, is something “all Republicans can rally around. It’s not something that divides Republicans like immigration reform. The news lined up with Christie’s ambitions.”
CAMPAIGN 2016: Clinton Not A Shoo-In For Green Groups
While licking their wounds from this week's losses, environmental groups are now looking at making a difference in future campaigns. "We're all in for 2016," said League of Conservation Voters chief Gene Karpinski yesterday.
Environmental groups spent tens of millions of dollars this election cycle and opened the door to an even beefier war chest in the future, which would come in handy in competitive races.
But potential candidates, not even former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, considered the favorite Democrat to run for president, should take the environmental movement's support for granted, some green groups say.
Clinton has praised the Obama administration's efforts to combat climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But when it comes to the Keystone XL pipeline, another top issue for environmental groups, she hasn't elaborated much since 2010, when she said she was "inclined" to approve it.
That desire by environmentalists to vet Clinton runs contrary to her strategy of sidestepping the issue, analysts say. "She doesn't want to have to state [a position] until the Democratic primary is over," said Republican strategist Ford O'Connell, a veteran of the McCain-Palin campaign.
But if Clinton draws a primary opponent, especially a strong contender, it would likely force her to reveal her views on a number of issues like KXL and coal.
But others countered that the midterm elections won't hurt Clinton. "That's more of a media spin," said O'Connell, the GOP strategist, noting that many candidates this year have for months been considered vulnerable.
