The Laborers International Union of North America, with about 570,000 members, wants the Obama administration to approve construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. The union has a lot of clout in Democratic circles; according to the Center for Responsive Politics, it has contributed $38,089,860 to political candidates since 1989, with just seven percent of it going to Republicans.The oil is going to be drilled and refined, whether we do it here in the US or if they do it, with much more pollution, in China. Which one's better for Mother Gaia, lefties?
Tom Steyer, the hedge-fund billionaire, wants the Obama administration to block construction of the pipeline. Although a relative newcomer to the political game, he has pledged to give Democrats $50 million, and raise $50 million more, to get his way.
Who has more clout on this issue, the longtime Democratic labor union that has contributed $38 million over the past quarter-century, or the guy who can come up with $100 million for this election cycle alone? The question answers itself. And so no one should be surprised that President Obama has again postponed a decision on the pipeline, and left the Laborers unhappy one more time.
We're going to use oil whether we get it from mean desert people who slice off heads, hang homosexuals, and require women to be covered from head to toe, or whether we get it from a people among whose biggest faults is adding "eh?" at the end of a sentence. Where would you rather buy from, lefties?
First ... adding 'eh' is less annoying than pronouncing 'about' as 'aboot'. And as a hockey fan ... I hear it all the time. To the issue, though? I have absolutely no idea why this isn't getting done. My understanding is that most of the oil would be shipped away, in any event, but any increase to the oil supply reduces costs ... and the pipeline in Alaska seems to have worked out pretty well, which also ships a lot of oil to firms not named ARCO. I think highlights the problem of private funds being viable campaign contributions ... but I believe the same about Soros, the Koch brothers, Bill Maher, and Stephen Colbert. And everyone else whom I don't know about enough to name. Public funding, with limits ... and access to TV.
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