THE CURRENT CROP of Democrats in the House and Senate are rarely right on any issue, but when they are (even if their reason for being right is suspect), I'll be the first to say so and to commend them for taking the right stance. As conservative columnist Michelle Malkin noted in a column today (Jan. 20, 2012), three House and Senate Democrats got it right on the proposed construction of the Keystone XL pipeline which would bring crude oil from Ottawa, Canada's oil sands fields, where it is abundant, to Texas for refining, instantly creating thousands of real jobs and, over the longer term, enormously reducing America's dependence on Middle-Eastern oil while significantly reducing energy costs to U.S. consumers, truckers, farmers and businesses.

President Obama talks incessantly (between golf rounds) about creating jobs, but he fails to take action on any really viable, market-driven job creation initiative. The fact is that he is disdainful of the private sector and thinks everyone ought to either work for the government or for a government-owned or government-controlled-and-government-subsidized entity.

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Among those rightly taking the president to task for blocking construction of the Keystone pipeline by refusing to issue a permit, Ms. Malkin observed, are three members of his own party:

"President Obama's decision on the Keystone XL pipeline is a major setback for the American economy, American workers, and America's energy independence," Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., said.

"The rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline permit is a missed opportunity to drastically turn this economy around. This pipeline would have created thousands of new jobs and helped to ensure our energy independence," Rep. Jason Altmire, D-Pa., lamented.

"This delay is just playing politics with American jobs and American energy security," Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, pointed out.

They are right, and I do commend them for recognizing, and stating, the obvious.

Bloomberg.com, in a story posted yesterday (Jan. 19, 2010), stated that Obama's denying the permit "pushes a final decision on the pipeline into 2013, safely past this year’s presidential election." Which is to say that the president is putting politics ahead of the national interest, ahead of the economy, and even ahead of the creation of jobs.

A Houston Chronicle opinion piece on Wednesday (Jan. 18) stated:

President Barack Obama has made a shockingly shortsighted decision by rejecting a go-ahead for construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline. By doing so, Obama has openly proclaimed the primacy of his own re-election over the nation's long-term energy and economic security.

Congressional Republicans had given the president the opportunity to change his mind on Keystone after punting on it late last year, but on Wednesday Obama rejected the project again, saying there had not been sufficient time to resolve lingering environmental questions and concerns.

That is pure fiction. The 1,700-mile pipeline, which would bring 700,000 to 800,000 barrels a day of heavy oil from western Canada to the Texas Gulf Coast, has been studied to death over nearly three years.

The truth is, it offends a key Obama constituency, green voters. And so the president has done their bidding rather than allow Keystone to do its important work of strengthening our economy and national security by providing energy from our reliable friend and neighbor Canada in amounts that could replace half of that provided by the tinderbox known as the Mideast.

If Obama were serious about creating jobs and improving the economy, he would ease up on the burdensome taxes and regulations and bureaucratic labyrinths that stifle the private sector. But growth of the private sector is exactly what this president does not want to see, so do not expect, ever, any concessions from this president that will not, in his estimation, lead to a net growth in the size, reach and power of government.

If more Democratic voters around the country would come to realize that fact, perhaps they would pressure more of their party's legislators to take the right position on more issues, as Manchin, Altmire and Matheson have done in this issue -- or, failing that, to switch parties and vote for someone who will. — Perspicaciously Yours, Rand Green, Editor/Publisher, PerspicacityPress.com

Source: www.PerspicacityPress.com. Copyright © 2012 Rand Green Communications.
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