As the White House’s Keystone XL decision looms, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is blasting the “radical left” for blocking the pipeline.
Jindal told an audience that the “sad truth is that the Democrat Party in America is the party of energy austerity, and is holding America hostage to their extremist and unscientific views.”
“Opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline represents the ultimate example of placing politics and political ideology over common sense,” Jindal said, adding that attacks on the pipeline represent “an irrational liberal ideology that blindly and unscientifically opposes all forms of energy which they themselves do not deem to be sufficiently ‘green’ or ‘renewable.'”
The Keystone XL pipeline has been delayed for nearly five years and has become a heated political topic, especially in the wake of President Obama’s new plan to tackle global warming. In the unveiling of his plan, Obama said he would not support the pipeline if it significantly contributed to carbon dioxide levels.
Environmentalists argue that Keystone would be harmful to the environment due to oil spills that could occur along the more than 2,000 mile route from Alberta, Canada to the Gulf Coast.
“A vote for Keystone is a vote to raise gas prices on Americans and send the profits to a foreign oil company,” said former hedge fund manager and anti-Keystone activist Thomas Steyer, whose former hedge fund has investments in Keystone XL competitors.
However, pipeline proponents point to the State Department’s review, which found that the pipeline would not significantly add to carbon dioxide emissions because oil would be extracted regardless of whether it is built.
The demand for cheap tar sands oil is high, and if Keystone isn’t built demand will be met by rail and trucks, which are far more likely to cause spills than the pipeline is.
“According to the Association of Oil Pipe Lines, accidents are 1,000 times more likely to occur with a large truck, 13 times more likely to occur by barge, and five times more likely to occur by rail than they are on a pipeline,” writes Ken Cohen for ExxonMobil.
“The blind left-wing ideologues have thrown out a number of arguments against the pipeline in an attempt to shroud their real motives,” Jindal said “But we all know their opposition is purely based on the fact they oppose all forms of fossil fuel energy.”
Proponents have also touted the pipeline’s potential to create 20,000 jobs, but President Obama recently downplayed Keystone’s economic impact and mentioned that Canada could potentially do more to curb emissions from tar sands oil extraction.
“The left is not arguing against Canadian tar sands — they know they cannot control Canada’s sovereign right to utilize its God-given resources for its own economic security… What the extremist left is arguing against is affordable energy,” Jindal said.
“They want the government to tell Americans to live in smaller houses, drive smaller cars, set their thermostats higher in the summer and lower in the winter,” he said.
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallrnewsfoundation.org.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.