On The Keystone Pipeline, The Democrats Are The “Party Of No”
A slogan oft-used by our friends on the left, when they’re in power in Congress and/or the White House anyway, about the GOP is the “party of no.” They claim that that Republicans are obstructionist, spoil-sport grinches who won’t let the government do all the wonderful things the government can do.
Of course, those of us on the right would argue that it’s good to say no to tax hikes, overspending and unnecessary government growth.
But it’s interesting how the obstruction of the Keystone pipeline by Democrats contrasts with their “party of no” complaints.
Yesterday the Senate voted down legislation that would have allowed that the Keystone XL pipeline go forward. Senate Democrats, the target of a concerted anti-Keystone lobbying effort by President Obama himself, voted it down.
So, while Democrats accuse Republicans of being the “part of no” on growing the government, they themselves are the “party of no” when it comes to growing our economy and growing trade with our friends in Canada. They’re the “party of no” when it comes to facilitating domestic oil production in North Dakota’s Bakken oil fields.
The delays in building the Keystone pipeline are already hurting investment in oil production in the Bakken, and they’re actually making the environmental impact of the Bakken worse. The Keystone pipeline would take as much as 20% of the Bakken’s output. In the absence of the pipeline, all that oil must go on diesel-burning trucks or (given that western North Dakota’s roads are already running at full capacity) diesel-burning trains.
But that’s Democrats to you. “Yes” to bigger government. “No” to commerce and free trade and economic growth.
Tags: Barack Obama, democrats, keystone pipeline, keystone xl, party of no
