A pipeline to dark side of politics

Once again, the Obama administration was supposed to make a finding on whether the best interests of the nation are served by permitting construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline. 

But at this point we think the question should be: Are the interests of the nation being harmed by the administration’s continuing delay in making that decision?

The reasons to support the pipeline have been piling up, while the administration appears to be haplessly stalling while it scrambles to find any defensible reason that the project should not be permitted.

Pipeline backers make many strong points, starting with the argument that the pipeline is a step toward U.S. energy independence. It will facilitate increased refinery operations and fuel exports from the U.S., with the accompanying benefit of thousands of jobs in construction and operation of the pipeline and at Gulf Coast refineries. That in turn, will generate increased revenues for government at all levels, in addition to the sorely needed economic activity it would generate for the private sector.

Then there are the arguments regarding safety. Every time a train loaded with oil derails, it’s a reminder that pipelines are a safer means of moving oil from one point to another. And remember, Keystone is hardly something new — there are hundreds of pipelines in the U.S. — and Keystone would likely be safer than all of them because of modern design and materials, not to mention the deep scrutiny of a sensitized public.

Pipeline backers also make the case, for those who are concerned about fossil fuels, that the pipeline would be “carbon neutral,” mainly because oil will be exported from Canada by one means or another, and a pipeline doesn’t involve carbon-spewing trucks, trains or barges. 

One of the more recent reasons the administration should perhaps consider permitting the pipeline is that unions normally supportive of Democrats are being highly critical of the continuing delays in approving it. 

But here’s probably the best reason to permit the pipeline: A new Rasmussen Reports survey finds that 61 percent of likely voters now at least somewhat favor building the pipeline, while just 27 percent are opposed, including 10 percent who strongly oppose it.

It’s not surprising that 61 percent of respondents support the pipeline, given all of the points on the positive side of the ledger. What is striking is that the administration’s position on the pipeline and other environmental policies, particularly those pertaining to climate change, are being driven by the tiny minority of 10 percent who strongly oppose the pipeline.

This is an abomination of a representative democracy, a democracy that even includes an increasingly vocal group of Democratic politicians who support the pipeline. But sadly it is self-serving politics — meaning the enthusiastic support of Obama’s environmental constituency and the money that those groups direct toward Obama and other Democrats — that seems to the best reason the administration has for continuing to delay the pipeline.

If something is not done soon to move the process ahead, we suspect the president will finally pull the plug on the project after the 2014 elections, when he has nothing left to lose.

Editorials represent the majority opinion of the Daily Inter Lake’s editorial board.