Thread: A San Francisco Billionaire Just Bought Obama and Delayed the Keystone XL Pipeline

A San Francisco Billionaire Just Bought Obama and Delayed the Keystone XL Pipeline

] 10 hours ago


While the media is obsessed with the Koch brothers this campaign season, a billionaire hedge fund manager from San Francisco just bought off the White House to the tune of $100 million in order to delay the Keystone XL pipeline decision.

From Fox News:

The Obama administration once again has punted on a final decision for the Keystone XL pipeline, announcing ahead of the holiday weekend it is extending a key review period indefinitely — a move that could push off a determination until after the midterm elections.

Republicans, as well as red-state Democrats who want the proposed Canada-to-Texas pipeline approved, slammed the administration for the delay. Democrats even threatened to find ways to go around the president to get the project approved.

“It’s absolutely ridiculous that this well over five year long process is continuing for an undetermined amount of time,” Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., said in a statement.

What you won’t hear about in mainstream media is how Billionaire Tom Steyer drove the decision by promising to spend $100 million to help Democrats in the midterm election who help defeat the project:

Tom Steyer @TomSteyer
Follow
Good news on Good Friday: the comment period for #KeystoneXL has been extended. Now @StateDept can address inherent flaws in its past work.
2:42 PM - 18 Apr 2014

With the decision pushed back probably past the election, this allows the Democrats to be for or against the decision depending on their election chances and how badly they need Steyer’s support. Given that a majority of Americans want the project to go through, this is good news for vulnerable Democrats. Meanwhile, American jobs suffer, and whatever economic impact the project might have had on Russia is ignored for the sake of Obama’s political gain.

http://www.ijreview.com/2014/04/130940-san-francisco-billionaire-just-bought-obama-delayed-keystone-xl-pipeline/

Keystone: Obama faces Dem revolt

Posted by Joe For America on Apr 19, 2014

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The Obama administration once again has punted on a final decision for the Keystone XL pipeline, announcing ahead of the holiday weekend it is extending a key review period indefinitely — a move that could push off a determination until after the midterm elections.

Republicans, as well as red-state Democrats who want the proposed Canada-to-Texas pipeline approved, slammed the administration for the delay. Democrats even threatened to find ways to go around the president to get the project approved.

“It’s absolutely ridiculous that this well over five year long process is continuing for an undetermined amount of time,” Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., said in a statement.

Republican Nebraska Rep. Lee Terry called the decision “shameful,” noting that another spring construction season will come and go without the project.

The administration had been in the middle of a 90-day review period for federal agencies assessing an environmental study from the State Department.

But the State Department said Friday it is giving agencies “additional time” to weigh in, in part because of ongoing litigation before the Nebraska Supreme Court which could affect the pipeline’s route. If the route changes, officials made clear the State Department reserves the right to conduct another environmental impact study to include more public comments, which could delay the process more.

Further, the department said officials need to go over the “unprecedented number” of new public comments — roughly 2.5 million of them — received during a separate comment period that ended in early March.

“The Permit process will conclude once factors that have a significant impact on determining the national interest of the proposed project have been evaluated and appropriately reflected in the decision documents,” the department said.

Keystone supporters in Congress were furious with the decision. Just days earlier, 11 Democratic senators had written to President Obama urging him to make a final decision by the end of May, complaining that the process “has been exhaustive in its time, breadth and scope.”

With the extension, the administration effectively has turned down that request. One of the letter’s signatories, Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., who is in a tough re-election fight this year, said the decision amounts to an “indefinite delay” of the project.

“This decision is irresponsible, unnecessary and unacceptable,” she said. “By making it clear that they will not move the process forward until there is a resolution in a lawsuit in Nebraska, the administration is sending a signal that the small minority who oppose the pipeline can tie up the process in court forever. There are 42,000 jobs, $20 billion in economic activity and North America’s energy security at stake.”

Landrieu, as chairwoman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, also threatened to “take decisive action to get this pipeline permit approved.”

This could put pressure on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to allow a vote on legislation to either force the president to approve the project or make a decision by a certain date.


Continue reading…
State Department

‘Ridiculous’: Administration punts on Keystone, Obama faces Dem revolt

Published April 18, 2014FoxNews.com


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FILE: February 17, 2012: Protestors rallied in front of the Lamar County courthouse before a hearing on the Keystone pipeline in Paris, Texas.REUTERS

The Obama administration once again has punted on a final decision for the Keystone XL pipeline, announcing ahead of the holiday weekend it is extending a key review period indefinitely -- a move that could push off a determination until after the midterm elections.
Republicans, as well as red-state Democrats who want the proposed Canada-to-Texas pipeline approved, slammed the administration for the delay. Democrats even threatened to find ways to go around the president to get the project approved.

"It's absolutely ridiculous that this well over five year long process is continuing for an undetermined amount of time," Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., said in a statement.

Republican Nebraska Rep. Lee Terry called the decision "shameful," noting that another spring construction season will come and go without the project.

The administration had been in the middle of a 90-day review period for federal agencies assessing an environmental study from the State Department.

But the State Department said Friday it is giving agencies "additional time" to weigh in, in part because of ongoing litigation before the Nebraska Supreme Court which could affect the pipeline's route. If the route changes, officials made clear the State Department reserves the right to conduct another environmental impact study to include more public comments, which could delay the process more.

Further, the department said officials need to go over the "unprecedented number" of new public comments -- roughly 2.5 million of them -- received during a separate comment period that ended in early March.

"The Permit process will conclude once factors that have a significant impact on determining the national interest of the proposed project have been evaluated and appropriately reflected in the decision documents," the department said.

Keystone supporters in Congress were furious with the decision. Just days earlier, 11 Democratic senators had written to President Obama urging him to make a final decision by the end of May, complaining that the process "has been exhaustive in its time, breadth and scope."
With the extension, the administration effectively has turned down that request. One of the letter's signatories, Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., who is in a tough re-election fight this year, said the decision amounts to an "indefinite delay" of the project.

"This decision is irresponsible, unnecessary and unacceptable," she said. "By making it clear that they will not move the process forward until there is a resolution in a lawsuit in Nebraska, the administration is sending a signal that the small minority who oppose the pipeline can tie up the process in court forever. There are 42,000 jobs, $20 billion in economic activity and North America's energy security at stake."

Landrieu, as chairwoman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, also threatened to "take decisive action to get this pipeline permit approved."

This could put pressure on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to allow a vote on legislation to either force the president to approve the project or make a decision by a certain date.

There is a wide bipartisan support in the Senate. Last year, the chamber voted 62-37 on a nonbinding amendment that called for the pipeline's approval.

A congressional source told Fox News that at this point, the administration is not giving a hard deadline, and the process appears to be open-ended.

The administration has faced pressure from both sides of the debate on the pipeline. Republicans largely are united in support of the project, but Democrats are sharply divided. Moderate Democrats, as well as labor unions, are pressing the State Department to give the thumbs-up, calling the project a jobs engine and a way to boost energy security. But environmental interests, and lawmakers allied with them, are strongly opposed -- citing its alleged impact on climate change and possible health risks.

One such environmentalist, California billionaire Tom Steyer, has been vowing to back vulnerable Democrats with big money if they oppose the pipeline. He called the latest announcement "good news on Good Friday for those who oppose Keystone as not being in our nation's best interest."

The State Department has jurisdiction because the Canada-to-Texas pipeline crosses the U.S.-Canada border. The drawn-out process has frustrated America's allies in Canada. Canadian Ambassador to the U.S. Gary Doer told Fox News after the announcement Friday that every day the project is delayed is a lost opportunity to put people to work.

He also said the oil is coming "whether it be by rail or truck."

In pointing to the Nebraska court case, the State Department was referring to a state judge recently overturning a law allowing the current path through the state.

But Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., charged that the strategy here "is clearly defeat through delay."
Fox News' Mike Emanuel, Doug McKelway, Kara Rowland, Justin Fishel and Chad Pergram contributed to this report.
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These Maps Destroy Any Objections to Keystone XL Pipeline

BY: Larry O'Connor // April 21, 2014 11:26 am

An activist dressed as a polar bear participates in a protest vigil in Lafayette Park across from the White House / AP


On Friday, President Barack Obama extended the decision on Canada’s Keystone XL pipeline until after the 2014 midterm elections. Announced on a Friday afternoon (the Good Friday holiday, no less) the story was barely covered by mainstream media outlets already heading out of town for their extended Easter weekend.
In a call with reporters on Friday, a Senior State Department official speaking on background said the administration “felt that it is important to have additional information and a better understanding of what that route might be, because it could have implications for the environmental, cultural and socioeconomic impacts that are being evaluated by the agencies.”
This explanation is spurious, at best. The U.S. portion of Keystone will consist of 1,078 miles of 30″ pipeline. Sounds like a major environmental issue, right? Not when compared to the already existing 2.3 million miles of pipeline already in the U.S. pumping petroleum, gas, and chemical products every day.
via ProPublica

To hear Obama warn against Keystone, you’d think this 1,000 miles of new pipe would be the deal-breaker in his campaign promise to slow the rise of the ocean’s tides. It defies any sense of logic or reason to suggest that 1,000 miles of new pipeline, installed with 2014 technology, would somehow endanger humanity when we already have 2,300 times that much already working without catastrophe.

So what is at play in this decision?
The answer could be found in the New York Times just two months ago:

A billionaire retired investor is forging plans to spend as much as $100 million during the 2014 election, seeking to pressure federal and state officials to enact climate change measures through a hard-edge campaign of attack ads against governors and lawmakers.

http://freebeacon.com/blog/these-map...e-xl-pipeline/

How would a billionaire environmentalist effect the President’s unpopular decision to delay the Keystone decision? Politico connected some of the dots:

He spent millions on the 2013 Massachusetts Senate and Virginia governor’s races, helping Democrats Ed Markey and Terry McAuliffe prevail, and has become one of the most outspoken opponents of the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline. The group has also showed signs it’s willing to go after Democrats who support Keystone, possibly including vulnerable Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu.

Bottom line: There’s money in them thar anti-Keystone hills!
Most observers believe Obama will eventually make the obvious decision to allow Keystone. Big Labor supports it as well as a majority of U.S. senators, including many from his own party.
That’s what makes the delay so transparently cynical: As long as the Keystone question is open, the big money from deep-pocketed donors who have an obsession with global warming will continue to gush into the Democrat’s coffers.

http://freebeacon.com/blog/these-map...e-xl-pipeline/

Sunday, 20 April 2014

Do you know who gave Obama 100 million reasons to delay Keystone XL again?

Money in politics is bad, unless it's used to help Democrats.

What you won't hear about in mainstream media is how Billionaire Tom Steyer drove the decision [to again delay Keystone XL] by promising to spend $100 million to help Democrats in the midterm election who help defeat the project:

Tom Steyer @TomSteyer Follow Good news on Good Friday: the comment period for #KeystoneXL has been extended. Now @StateDept can address inherent flaws in its past work.
2:42 PM - 18 Apr 2014

Depending on how you view money in politics, this is either a bribe or The Chicago Way.

With the decision pushed back probably past the election, this allows the Democrats to be for or against the decision depending on their election chances and how badly they need Steyer's support. Given that a majority of Americans want the project to go through, this is good news for vulnerable Democrats.

Pretend you're for it, while secretly being against it. Or, vice versa. But pledge undying fealty to Tom Steyer, and $100 million dollars can be yours for the asking.
Harry Reid was unavailable for comment, being too busy demagoging the Koch Brothers and all.

Meanwhile, American jobs suffer, and whatever economic impact the project might have had on Russia is ignored for the sake of Obama's political gain.

Everything Obama does is for political gain. Any resemblance between politics and something which helps Americans is purely coincidental. And definitely unintentional.

http://wyblog.us/blog/obama_watch/10...ystone-xl.html

I'm a registered Republican and I do not support the Keystone pipeline!

Originally Posted by MW

I'm a registered Republican and I do not support the Keystone pipeline!

--------------------------------------------------

I'll bite ...

Keystone XL For Billionaire’s $100 Million Bribe To Promote Democrats In Midterm Elections
Written By : Duane Lester
April 21, 2014

President Obama delayed the Keystone XL pipeline, yet again. Why? A billionaire environmentalist pledged $100 million to Democrats if the Keystone XL is delayed, that’s why:

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What you won’t hear about in mainstream media is how Billionaire Tom Steyer drove the decision by promising to spend $100 million to help Democrats in the midterm election who help defeat the project.

With the decision pushed back probably past the election, this allows the Democrats to be for or against the decision depending on their election chances and how badly they need Steyer’s support. Given that a majority of Americans want the project to go through, this is good news for vulnerable Democrats. Meanwhile, American jobs suffer, and whatever economic impact the project might have had on Russia is ignored for the sake of Obama’s political gain.[/COLOR]

Newsbusters has more:

On Squawk Box, Politico’s Ben White was the only persn to describe the Tom Steyer connection to Keystone:

It is bad for Landrieu, it’s bad for Mark Pryor in Arkansas. I think its net negative for Democratic candidates across the board. But that’s totally outweighed by the $100 million from Tom Steyer. He’s an environmentalist who says look if you approve the Keystone, my money goes away.
And the White House says that they need that money. The Koch brothers are going to spend like crazy, to win the Senate. We need to counter balance that with $100 million from Tom Steyer, whoever else we can get it from.

video at link below

As I wrote on All American Blogger, the unions are not happy with any of this.
But remember, the Koch Brothers are evil, or something.

Hat Tip: Weasel Zippers

http://www.rightwingnews.com/uncateg...erm-elections/


The want to push past the next election, it is damned if they do and damned if they don't so they punted!!!!

Originally Posted by HAPPY2BME

--------------------------------------------------

I'll bite ...

Give Me One Good Reason Obama Should Approve Keystone XL

By Brad Wieners March 07, 2014

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Photograph by Shane Bevel/Bloomberg

Tanks of unrefined oil in Cushing, Oklahoma, where there’s a glut of crude in storage

(Corrects the spelling of Stephen Kretzmann's name in the 12th paragraph.)
Really, there could be two:
1. President Obama, Secretary of State John Kerry, and economic growth-focused Washington want China as America’s new BFF and plan to let Beijing know by offering up an energy supply from our friends to the North.
2. Obama, Kerry, and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper have worked out a quid pro quo. The Yanks will accept a pipe carrying toxic sludge through America’s bread basket so long as Canada takes over counterterrorism in Afghanistan, sends peacekeepers to Ukraine, and Harper himself places Justin Bieber under house arrest so he can’t tour in the lower 48.
STORY: Silicon Valley's Elite Comes Out Against the Keystone XL
Some American teens might not find that last measure in the national interest, but some version of these realpolitik rationales—overture to China, huge favor to Harper—are about the only ones left to explain why Obama hasn’t killed the proposed 875-mile final leg of pipeline from Alberta to the Gulf of Mexico.
A number of strong arguments appeared to be in favor of Keystone XL when it first became a national story, beginning with jobs. Several U.S. representatives and senators testified that the pipeline would yield 20,000, 40,000, or even 100,000 new jobs. The recession made those prospects extra compelling. Turns out they were extra optimistic, too. Now we know the pipeline might generate about 3,900 temporary (two-year) construction jobs and about 50 permanent ones. (Should we really be surprised? The whole point of a pipeline is that it’s automated.)
The other big case for Keystone—also given full voice by pols who received campaign help from oil and gas lobbies—was the chance to rely on a friendly neighbor for oil rather than on an unstable Middle Eastern regime. But now, due in part to fracking and the Bakken reserve in North Dakota, U.S. oil inventories are at a 21-year high; a glut of unrefined oil is sitting in Cushing, Okla., and the U.S. is expected to become the world’s leading oil producer next year. Moreover, the sweet crude pouring out of the Bakken is of far finer quality than bitumen, the sour, thick oil sands extraction that is effectively steamed out of the soil beneath Alberta’s former boreal forest. What’s more, Keystone XL isn’t really designed to serve the U.S.; it’s meant to get Alberta’s tar sands to Texas refineries and ready for export. The Keystone XL would better serve China’s energy “independence” than America’s.
STORY: No Way Is Matt Power Gone
Oh, but surely a $5.4 billion infrastructure project would provide the U.S. economy a welcome boost and added tax revenues? Yes, more than $3 billion over its lifetime, according to the market analysis in the Jan. 31 Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement on the Keystone XL prepared by the U.S. Department of State [pdf]. Yet before the U.S. collects taxes from refiners, resellers, and exporters, it will first spend hundreds of millions on subsidies so these companies can invest in the technologies needed to make usable fuels out of bitumen. One example: Houston-based Motiva, which operates major storage facilities and scores of Shell gas stations and is slated to receive between $680 million and $1.1 billion from U.S. taxpayers so it can deal with tar sands oil. So in the near term, economic stimulus related to Keystone XL will come fromWashington, not be paid to the IRS.
None of these arguments should particularly matter, though, as Obama has indicated that impact on the earth’s climate is his pass/fail for approving the project. This has led to a ridiculous effort to prove that the pipeline itself will not lead to a great deal more carbon entering the atmosphere. That’s a feint. The real question isn’t how carbon-intensive the 3-foot diameter pipe is but how much carbon-polluting oil it brings to market.
Presuming the tar sands will be developed with or without the Keystone XL, State’s estimates of carbon emissions were modest in its Jan. 31 report. Even so, the report acknowledges that the project will accelerate climate change. Hence, says Susan Casey-Lefkowitz, international program director of the Natural Resources Defense Council, “President Obama now has all the information he needs to reject the pipeline.”
STORY: The Cult of Brompton Folding Bikes
A new report this week, using some of the same forecast formulas, is more damning yet. It suggests that State massively understated the consequences of the Keystone XL. According to Carbon Tracker’s analysis, by facilitating tar sands oil production the proposed pipeline will result in carbon emissions equivalent to 46 new coal burning power plants.

http://www.businessweek.com/articles...-a-good-reason