Obama’s Keystone cop-out

President Obama has done everything in his power to keep oil from flowing through the Keystone XL pipeline. TransCanada says this $13 billion project would put 20,000 to work immediately, but the Obama administration wants none of it. House Republicans have come up with a clever strategy to get around the blockage. The House is expected to pass legislation Tuesday tying the 1,661-mile pipeline delivering black gold from Alberta, Canada, to the Gulf Coast to the Democrats’ favorite - but failed - “job creators”: the payroll tax holiday and extended unemployment benefits. Doing so puts the ball in the court of Democrats, who will be forced to choose between getting the desired benefits and appeasing environmental extremists. Mr. Obama said last week he will “reject” a payroll tax package that includes the pipeline. On Monday, White House spokesman Jay Carney said the Keystone pipeline is just “a political gift or an ideological item” for Republicans. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said he opposes the two items tied together, but his own caucus members are starting to question his rationale. The Teamsters and AFL-CIO back the Keystone project because it means jobs for their members, but Mr. Obama punted the pipeline decision until after the election to avoid angering radical greens while still holding on to Big Labor’s campaign cash...more