Keystone XL

A federal judge finds a way.

For a symbolic issue, the Keystone pipeline has sure caused a lot of damage—to Canadian-American relations, to Democrats, to President Obama. And it feeds, underscores, or reflects a variety of political divisions, some of them quite bitter.

Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Friday, President Donald Trump tied his loosening of energy restrictions with the greater goal of "[putting] the regulation industry… out of business."

Writing at National Journal, Josh Kraushaar suggests Democrats' far-left policies on energy and the environment have been a problem for the party at the ballot box. There are even some Democratic politicos, Kraushaar reports, who are discussing pulling back from the party's hard line on energy…

President Obama announced today to much fanfare (and to much angst on the right) that he is killing the proposed KeystoneXL pipeline, which would transport Canadian tar sands oil through the United States. But as much as he would like to claim the mantle of environmentalism (this is the man who…

A new advertisement by the Republican National Committee compares Hillary Clinton to John Kerry, the Democratic presidential candidate in 2004.

Former House speaker Nancy Pelosi was widely derided for saying Congress had to pass Obamacare "so that you can find out what is in it."

A new report by the American Action Forum, a center-right policy institute, details adverse economic consequences of the Keystone XL pipeline's delay. The report highlights billions of dollars in untapped economic activity, and the over $1 trillion the U.S. has paid other countries for oil. It also…

With hundreds of miles of shoreline and the world’s leading Navy and Coast Guard, the United States is the globe’s most logical stable exporter of energy. Too bad Congress effectively banned exports a generation ago. Lifting the ban won’t be enough to displace the Venezuelas and Irans of the…

THE WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with senior writer Mark Hemingway on Obama's Keystone veto, and the attack of the environmentalists on sensible energy policies.

The United State Senate voted down the Save Mary Landrieu Act of 2014 by one vote last night.  Senator Landrieu had hoped to persuade her constituents in Louisiana that she could bring home the pork owing to her seniority and her savvy in the ways of Washington.  She would get a pipeline bill…

The Wall Street Journal reports that:

Laura Barron-Lopez of the The Hill is reporting that:

Seems Canada is tired of waiting – and waiting – for a decision on the Keystone pipeline and has come up with an alternate plan for moving the oil to market.  As Bloomberg reports:

Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton has mocked President Obama's foreign policy of not doing stupid stuff. She has publicly undermined her former boss's Syria policy. But there's one issue where she won't voice an opinion: whether the Keystone XL pipeline should be built.

In Iraq: Sameer N. Yacoub and Qassim Abdul-Zahra of the AP report that:

Detroit

The Keystone pipeline has been under study for five years and will be studied further. It will be built, or scuttled, when the politics are right.  For now, the pipeline, as Coral Davenport of the New York Times reports:

The news that the administration would like kept quiet, and which it therefore announced in the afternoon, on Good Friday is that it has:

The Keystone pipeline has been studied longer than just about anything this side of the Dead Sea Scrolls.  And, still, the administration continues to weigh its merits.  The stall is making certain members of the political class uncomfortable.  As Laura Barron-Lopez of the Hill reports, several…

Thursday, the Washington Post published a piece titled "The biggest lease holder in Canada’s oil sands isn’t Exxon Mobil or Chevron. It’s the Koch brothers."

Could President Obama’s recent focus on climate change and the environment be a diversion?  A way of softening up some of his supporters for the disappointment if his administration should approve construction of the Keystone Pipeline?  

Curtis Williams, of Oil & Gas Journal, reports that former Energy Secretary Steven Chu had this to say about the Keystone pipeline project:

The Keystone Pipeline, which has been studied for more than five years, will be studied some more.  A State Department study was generally thought to be the conclusive and it has now been delivered. But we are told by the White House chief of staff, Denis McDonough, that there is more studying to…

The State Department releases its final environmental report on the Keystone Pipeline today. Justin Sink of The Hill reports:

In a speech to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Canada's foreign minister, John Baird put things plainly:

It's not often officials from the nation’s largest business lobby and an AFL-CIO-affiliated union speak to one another, let alone work together. But last week, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and North America’s Building Trades Unions held a joint press conference on Capitol Hill in support of the…

Democratic senator Heidi Heitkamp "is ready to take on President Obama over the long-delayed approval for the Keystone XL Pipeline — and she predicts her side will prevail," according to USA Today.

But preferably after the next election.  For a decision on the Keystone pipeline, that is.  As Zack Colman of The Hill reports

Remember the Keystone pipeline  Well, if you had forgotten about it, no matter. There has still been no decision on whether or not to go ahead with construction. This, in spite of the fact that:

In President Obama's climate change speech set for later today, he'll reportedly say that the Keystone pipeline shouldn't be built if it hurts the environment.

One price, however, has recently spiked dramatically according to this Bloomberg headline

At last night’s debate, President Obama said gas prices were under two dollars per gallon when he took office because the “economy was on the verge of collapse.” And that if Mitt Romney were elected he “could bring down gas prices, because with his policies we might be back in the same mess.”

Warren Buffett expressed support for the Keystone Pipeline on Fox News last night. "I'm not an expert, but it certainly seems like it makes sense to me,” said Buffett. He added: "There are an awful lot of pipelines running in the United States and net, they've certainly been a huge plus for the…

The New York Times reports: 

The Massachusetts state Republican party has a new ad highlighting Democratic Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren's opposition to the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. "Keystone Pipeline Means Thousands More Jobs and Cheaper Gas," the text of the ad reads. "Yet, Warren Opposes It." Watch the…

Gallup finds that an overwhelming 57 percent of American adults believe "the U.S. Government Should Approve of the Keystone XL Pipeline."

CNN reports:

President Obama is digging in on the Keystone XL pipeline. He is "personally lobbying Democrats to reject an amendment calling for its construction," Politico reports.

The Hill: "TransCanada Corp. to begin construction of Keystone pipeline"

Politico: "Worry over Mitt Romney sparks talk of Tampa"

Joe Nocera, an op-ed columnist for the New York Times, has an astonishing piece titled, “Poisoned Politics of Keystone XL.” Most of the piece rehashes criticism of President Obama’s decision to reject the Keystone XL pipeline, which is designed to bring oil from the tar sands in Alberta, Canada, to…

Buzzfeed: "Romney, Eyeing Blowout, Keeps Foot To Newt's Neck"

Is Barack Obama pinning the blame for his failure to approve the Keystone XL pipeline on Hillary Clinton? Look at this White House statement from yesterday (emphasis mine): 

American energy policy is increasingly defined in terms of what is prohibited, not what is promoted. Coal, nuclear, and natural “shale” gas all have been hampered by the current administration. And the last three weeks have offered two more examples of how America’s byzantine energy laws and policy…

The American, the online magazine of the American Enterprise Institute, has an article that's an absolute must read on the Keystone XL oil pipeline. Obama's decision to postpone a decision on building it until after the next election has been in the news a lot lately, but precious little of that…

Speaker John Boehner and Alberta premier Alison Redford met yesterday to discuss the proposed Keystone XL pipeline project--and how President Obama has delayed his decision on the pipeline until after next year's election. As the speaker's office explains: