Posted by
Bert Chapman on Wednesday, January 18, 2012 7:08:48 PM
Barack Obama has often proclaimed his desire to create shovel ready jobs. He had an excellent opportunity to fulfill this rhetoric by approving the Keystone XL pipeline which would deliver oil and natural gas from Canada's energy rich province of Alberta to the Gulf Coast. This project was supported by the Canadian Government, the petroleum industry, and Obama's ostensible labor union allies. It would even have provided tangible political support to his reelection bid. If approved, Keystone XL would have provided numerous long-term jobs to assist the economy, decrease our dependence on unreliable petroleum from hostile countries, and have had significant environmental safeguards to prevent and/or mitigate environmental damage from pipeline spills. Contrary to what environmentalist extremist organizations like Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth tell you, oil companies actually care about the environment and strive to be responsible environmental stewards as they access and deliver their products and services.
Unfortunately, the Keystone XL Pipeline does not fit into Obama's green jobs fantasies. Even the fiasco of Solyndra has not erased the delusion of a predominately green economy from from the feverish imaginations of Barack Obama, Energy Secretary Steven Chu,, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, and their drooling advisors. Obama's decision to suspend work on this pipeline is a pathetic example of pandering to leftist environmental extremism. It is a slap in the face to those of us who want to create more high quality private sector jobs, enhance our energy independence, and a kick in the groin to our Canadian friends, headed by a Conservative Government, who would benefit enormously from this project. In response, the Canadian government has decided to increase its petroleum deliveries to China. Obama would rather be seen as "environmentally pure" in the eyes of his most militant leftist apologists, than a President who seeks to create skilled private sector jobs, enhance the development of our energy industry and untapped natural resources, and enhance our national security. Hopefully, all Republican presidential candidates will bludgeon Obama for his stupidity and voters should remember this imbecilic decision when they cast their presidential votes this November.