There are very few times that the Unions are united with Republicans against the President. If you are the President and you find that your base and your opposition are united against you, then perhaps you need to examine your strategy. Perhaps you need to step aside as Lyndon Johnson did in 1968. Clearly you don’t have the respect of anyone anymore. But, when you run around preaching about creating jobs and then vanquish 20,000 good paying jobs in one fell swoop, you can expect a backlash.
In an act of supreme idiocy, the President has put off making a decision on the Keystone XL Pipeline until 2013 after the election. This is a 1,7oo mile pipeline from Alaska to the Gulf of Mexico which would substantially reduce our dependence on foreign oil from the Middle East. It would have created 20,000 jobs.
The unions are furious, “The administration chose to support environmentalists over jobs — job-killers win, American workers lose,” Terry O’Sullivan, president of the Laborers’ International Union of North America, said in a written statement. Needless to say the Republicans are furious, “By punting on this project, the president has made clear that campaign politics are driving U.S. policy decisions — at the expense of American jobs,” House Speaker John Boehner said. TransCanada is furious and their CEO Russ Girling had this to say about the literal shovel-ready jobs, “If Keystone XL dies, Americans will still wake up the next morning and continue to import 10 million barrels of oil from repressive nations, without the benefit of thousands of jobs and long-term energy security.”
And business leaders through the United States Chamber of Commerce had this to say:
U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Thomas J. Donohue issued the following statement today following the announcement by the State Department to delay a decision on the Keystone XL pipeline:
“I would like to express our strong disappointment with today’s news that the Administration intends to further delay a decision on the Keystone XL Pipeline. In spite of extensive and positive studies from the State Department, this is clearly a political decision and everyone knows it. Unfortunately, it will immediately cost more than 20,000 Americans an opportunity to get a job working on the pipeline and hundreds of thousands more jobs in the future.
“Politics has trumped jobs in this decision and we can only wonder if the Administration’s delay will cause Canada to turn their pipeline west and ship their energy and American jobs elsewhere.
“The Keystone XL Pipeline has undergone a lengthy and thorough review process in which the State Department itself concluded that the proposed route was the best of the thirteen routes considered. The decision to delay the pipeline permit sends a signal to all Americans that even in the face of sustained high unemployment and instability overseas, jobs and energy security are not a priority.”
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business federation representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations.
In a nutshell the only people who are happy right now are the Environmentalists and a smattering of Hollywood elite like Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Leonardo DiCaprio. The last time I paid attention both of them had jobs and substantial wealth. Ms. Louis- Dreyfus is worth $3 BILLION dollars. That’s not a typo nor a joke. She comes from wealth and has done very well for herself. Mr. DiCaprio is worth a modest $200 million dollars by Louis-Dreyfus standards. These are the people who made the decision for Obama by posting videos and speaking out. He needs their money for his re-election. We didn’t see their names on the ballot back in 2008 but they sure are running things now. I would love to know how many jobs THEY have created!!!!
Currently in third position in the GOP race, Newt Gingrich immediately came out and said, “”Only days after we learned that at least 9 percent of Americans were unemployed for the 30th straight month, the president has made a decision that will only prolong this suffering,” Threatening to make the pipeline a wedge issue in 2012, he vowed to “approve this project on the first day of my administration in 2013.”
That works for me!!
Coffee N Chat 