LAME DUCK CHAMBER FALLS ONE VOTE SHY OF SENDING BILL TO OBAMA’S DESK …
By FITSNEWS || Against the wishes of a desperate Democrat, the lame duck U.S. Senate killed legislation that would have authorized the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. Thus, U.S. president Barack Obama has been spared the public relations headache associated with having to veto the bill – which recently cleared the U.S. House of Representatives for a ninth time.
Democrat Mary Landrieu of Louisiana engaged in a full-court press to pass the bill – hoping to hang onto her seat in a runoff election scheduled for early next month.
The Keystone XL pipeline – which would add to an existing network transporting oil from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico – is a $7 billion, 1,600-mile project that’s supposed to create upwards of 300,000 U.S. jobs.
Landrieu joined 13 Democrats and 45 “Republicans” in support of the legislation – which fell one vote shy of the sixty needed to overcome a filibuster.
The final tally marked a big win for radical environmentalists and a major defeat for labor unions – two die hard Democratic constituencies that battled it out in an effort to sway fence-sitting Senators. When Maine’s Angus King came out against the bill, pipeline opponents had their victory.
Keystone XL is expected to receive another vote next month when “Republicans” take control of the U.S. Senate – in fact incoming “majority” leader Mitch McConnell has said it is a priority agenda item.
Of course the legislation still faces a likely veto from Obama – who has been blocking the pipeline for the last five years – and even in the new Senate there is not enough Democratic support to override a presidential veto.
Transcanada – the company pushing the project – may no longer care what Obama thinks, though. That’s because its leaders have figured out another way to get their oil – 168 billion proven barrels, at last check – where it needs to go.
It’s called Energy East, a proposed $10.7 billion, 2,858-mile pipeline that would carry 1.1 million barrels of crude oil every day from Alberta and Saskatchewan to refineries in eastern Canada. So instead of Louisiana and Texas providing supertanker access to Canadian crude – our neighbors to the north will “keep it in the family,” setting up tanker access at Saint John, New Brunswick.
This website has consistently supported Keystone XL. Multiple Transcanada pipelines already run through the United States, and it makes no sense for us to send this business (and the jobs that go with it) someplace else.
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52 comments
Good, it saved the Presidential veto.
For the time being.
The time being shortly after January 3rd…
Too bad the pipeline isn’t a government project, then all the naysayers would jump on board, like they do with green energy.
It will pass eventually. ISIS lover Obama will veto it and if the senate can’t override it they will combine it with other legislation and force the failed marxist to sign it.
Buffett wins again! All praise BNSF!
Who says it’s just Repubs that favor their crony businesses?
First Obamacare with the Dems getting into good graces with mega insurance companies, now this!
lol…now they are learning how to play in the others sand lot
Yep. But with lower oil prices, Pretty soon it does not make sense to transport via Rail. Also Canada is going to build their own pipeline to their own refineries and ship it from Canadian ports.
BTW, did you see Buffet’s P and G deal where he avoided 1 billion in taxes the way he structured it. The tax me more man uses every loophole in the books.
“The tax me more man uses every loophole in the books.”
Yep, he’s a disgusting hypocrite. If his father was alive today to see what Warren has become I have no doubt he’d put him over his knee.
It’s all ulitmately payback for being a good cheerleader during the last bank crisis and telling everyone it was necessary to “abandon the free market to save it”, a message liked by both Dems & Repubs.
btw, one other thing…it still takes time for Canada to do their pipeline thing…so Buffett’s got another decade to get out of BNSF before profitability is a problem…but he won’t be around to make that decision…it’ll be his entity.
No, Canadians are already angry because there is no plan to build new refineries in Canada. Most likely the bulk of the oil would be shipped by sea from Canada to the refineries in Texas.
The voters in Western Canada have made it clear the pipeline can’t go west. It might not go south. And the people in Eastern Canada are just starting to get organized against it. Maybe they could build a pipeline north to the melted Arctic Ocean. That would be ironic.
They’ll just try again in a few months anyways.
This pipeline isn’t going to do anything to help Americans, but it sure packs the power to fuck over Americans.
Tell all the construction workers it won’t help them.
Tell them construction workers to build something America needs, not Canada.
You mean like all the windmills popping up across America that are subsidized by the government?
Tell the Americans who could lose their property to eminent domain. Tell it to the American Taxpayer who will have to foot the bill for any cleanups. Have any of you read the bill? Do any of you know which politicians OWN stock in the company? Good damned grief.
Welcome aboard Charlie Brown.
A Democrat/Socialist talking about ’eminent domain’? Hilarious!
You would be all for it if the project exclusively hired gay perverts.
Why do you find the need to post asshat comments under the names: Sandi, Sandy Morals, Grand asshat etc? We all know who you are..the same idiot who tried to start a blog that no one reads and is a total failure which you must be getting used to by now..the total failure part.
What a damn fool. Using another bloggers name to stalk him.
Hey, did you know that Republicans have won 5 of the last 9 Presidential elections and would have won in 2012 if 4 million Christian conservatives wouldn’t have stayed home because Romney was a Mormon (they were wrong) and RINO idiots like ‘idcydm’.
You asked me a question yesterday-I just answered it.
You sure got that one wrong, and speaking of user names, guest how original.
That you are a RINO or idiot? Which one. You said you voted for Democrats on November 4th.
Read your own words and decipher mister original. You need to come out and see the light of day once in awhile.
LOLOL and i replied sandi but you ignored..i said they had only won one popular vote for presidency out of the last 6..fact you fucking idiot. And the hwole “should have won in 2012” is just plain ridiculous..man up and admit the issues ..seems to be the problem with the GOP they ignore facts and stick to bullshit. Blame it on Black panthers or voter fraud all of which is just plain idiotic but hey when you lose the Presidential vote in 2016 what will you blame that on? Face it..as long as extremist idiots like you keep voting for extremist idiots the moderates cant stand you will lose on national level..if it wasnt for gerrymandering you wouldnt have won half of what you won this
year..although like every presidents party in the 6th year midterms (remember Clinton then Shrub losing in 6th term) a trouncing is to be expected esp with a weak as prez like Obama. Keep wishing on fairy tales you fuckin idiot.
Ya damn moron.How does that fucking ‘6th’ year translate into losing over 1500 seats in state legislatures since Obama was elected?
All politics are local and you perverted,socialist clowns have scared the shit out of middle-America.
its called gerrymandering you uneducated dipshit. Try reading a politics 101 or in your case..politics for dummies. If all politics are local how come out of the last 6 presidential elections you have won the popular vote only once? Fucking idiot. Enough with the “well since 1980..” fact is the country has changed and your party has been taken over by freaks who think that anyone in the middle etc is a “socialist” ..see your comments..the GOP has become the party of racist bigot old white people who wish it was 1952 again. Good luck with that in the long run.
How do you ‘gerrymander’ a pick-up of 11 senate seats and 32 governorship’s ,dumbshit. 5 of 9 Presidential elections.
You really need a civics class and put away those fucking Rev.Wright sermons Obama mailed you for your $1 campaign donation! :-)
ahh once again ignore facts and stick with the faux news points: wright, Benghazi, black panthers, food stamps etc..you are a cliche who cant even come up with another name than guest. I guess your tiny mind stopped after sandi, Big Ass etc? keep proving my point asshat.
The Democrats won more of the votes for the House of Representatives in 2012. Yet the Republicans won a large majority of the seats. That’s how gerrymandering works. Never mind, it’s like trying to explain politics to my dog.
That would be Faux News scaring the shit out of morons…
You’re not helping, go troll somewhere else.
You own the blog ,faux Republican?
How is it going to fuck over Americans? You mean like oil spills and stuff?
The oil is being moved anyway, it’s just currently being moved by rail. What’s more likely to happen an oil spill from a leaking pipeline or a train derailment.
Ah, yes. All those jobs. The claims of 43,000 jobs must have been using the I-73 jobs calculator. Once the ditch-diggers, welders and ‘dozer operators have moved on, the number of permanent jobs would be lucky to go over double digits.
You could be right, since the numbers come from the State Dept, remember the CBO numbers on ACA.
Interesting read out by the Republicans.
39+00 temporary construction jobs.
25 permanent jobs.
Canada assumes no repondsibilty for leaks once the crude enters USA.
How could anyone believe that Canadians and others spending 7 billion on our nation’s energy infrastructure is not a huge economic benefit.
Saying that it only creates a few dozen permanent jobs is like saying Interstate 26 only creates a dozen jobs needed to the cut grass median and shoulders.
“How could anyone believe that Canadians and others spending 7 billion on our nation’s energy infrastructure is not a huge economic benefit.”
Please go on about our nation’s infrastructure…it’s not our oil.
And neither is the oil coming to our ports on tankers so what’s your point?
Hey, read more closely. I’m clearly asking him how our “energy structure” would benefit.
You also said it’s not our oil but the wages paid would go into our economy would it not? Or would you rather shut down the refineries and just go green?
Energy infrastructure??
It’s kind of like all those foreign automobile plants producing cars in the U.S., they aren’t ours but we are benefiting, right?
More like BP’s oil spill became our oil spill?
BP’s oil spill wasn’t good, I agree. The those highway death caused from automobiles built in the U.S. by foreign manufactures aren’t good either, should we eliminate them so we can just blame U.S. manufactures.
It’s fossil fuels you don’t like isn’t it.
True, I don’t like them. The oil lobby is damn sure going to flog away at the enviroment’s expense. Even the sensor patents for a double-sealed pipe can’t guarantee a leak won’t happen.
I don’t much like them either, they pollute and will not last forever but until the technology is there to replace them we have to use them as wisely and efficiently as possible. All the rhetoric about fossil fuels and green energy only muddy the waters.
The oil lobby like the green energy lobby have an agenda, they will push their agenda with lies and deceit, neither are without fault.
My father told me a long time ago figures don’t lie but lairs figure.
I heard on NPR this morning that the pipeline will create 50 permanent jobs when completed although it will create thousands of jobs during its construction. We have had spills before. Remember Exxon-Valdez? I am for the pipeline. We need permanently low oil prices and an environment conducive to not only drilling but to every alternative out there. We need it all, for jobs, for consumers, for national security.
Uh, ALL this oil is destined for China after refining.
Base stock is too dirty for any domestic use.
***….meanwhile, over in the Liz Gunn Garage….****
Jesus: “Wow, Liz, this hot tub you rigged up is sweet. Looks like you know how to pray during a cold snap…!”
Devil: ” Screw you Jesus….this water is no where near hot enough. Liz needs to feel the burn…….BURN…!”
Mrs Wil Folks: “Boys…play nice. If me and Liz knew you two were gonna show up we would have continued to watch the Keystone pipeline drama on C-Span…”
Devil: “Drama on C-Span..? Ha….drill baby, I love SLAVES to fossil OIL…!! You want DRAMA..? I’ll give you SLAVE drama..!!””
Liz: “Jesus…do something about this nut. I didn’t know the devil could be so devilish..?”
Mrs Wil Folks: “Wow Liz, you never had potted meat sandwiches before…that devil on the wrapping is so cute…..with his pitchfork and all…!”
Devil: “I am not cute…..and my pitchfork is not that big. Kind of like that Keystone XL pipeline….its not CUTE and its not that big of a pipeline. The XL stands for extra “little”..!!
Jesus: ” LOL…..well, Liz….oil is just million year old sunshine. My father has given you the WIND and Sun and tides and rivers and geo-thermal energy. Why do women continue to give birth to have their kids go off to DIE for fossil OIL sunshine. Have faith Liz, …ENERGY is all around you. Why ship OIL all over the world when all you have to do is ask for fine men to produce LOCAL energy that benefits everyone around you. ”
Mrs Wil Folks: ” Well, which men do we ask and how do we ask them…”
Jesus: ” Ladies……..you do realize why my father allowed the devil to be here today, don’t you..!”
Liz: ” I’m not running around naked….!”
Mrs Wil Folks: ” LOL…….hmm…..ya know, I’ve never felt more like a woman in my life than I do right now…!!”
Devil: ” Jesus, lets be clear here, I am not responsible for how Wil Folks gets tickled…!!”
Democrat Mary Landrieu of Louisiana has now lost her re-election to the senate = unable to perform for her state.