Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Jay Carney spins Keystone Pipeline rejection without challenge from reporters

I suppose that the job of White House Press Secretary Jay Carney is to spin the actions of President Barack Obama in a favorable light. But out and out lies, unchecked by the media, are beyond what Americans should expect - especially with an economic project as critical as the Keystone Oil Pipeline.

Real Clear Politics reports that in yesterday's press briefing, Carney was spinning away:

White House press secretary Jay Carney first says Republicans "forced" President Obama to deny the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline. Later in his press briefing, Carney says Obama didn't turn down the pipeline.

"In terms of Keystone, as you all know, the history here is pretty clear. And the fact is because Republicans decided to play political with Keystone, their action essentially forced the administration to deny the permit process because they insisted on a time frame in which it was impossible to completely approve the pipeline," Carney said when asked about the pipeline by ABC News' Jake Tapper.

The problem is that the Keystone Pipeline has been under consideration by Pres. Obama since 2009. The only reason Republicans resorted to a 'deadline' for making a decision is because the president hadn't made one in over three years!

Or, as Michael Chamberlain at the Cranky Hermit said, "So President 'Pass This Bill Now' is telling Congress not to rush him?"

Isn't this also the President who said, "We can't wait"?

Carney later explains that the State Department didn't have time to do a proper review and that this was all about Republicans playing politics.

But what he fails to share, and what reporters either don't know or don't want to ask about, is that 10 other agencies had enough time to do a review, and - approve the pipeline!

The Corps of Engineers approved it.

The Department of Agriculture approved it.

The Department of Commerce approved it.

The Defense Department approved it.

The Homeland Security Department approved it.

The Department of Interior approved it.

The Justice Department approved it.

The Department of Transportation approved it.

The Environmental Protection Agency approved it. Yes, the EPA - certainly not an agency known to issue approvals in a timely manner.

If all these agencies could approve the pipeline in three years, why can't the State Department?

And why don't reporters call Carney on this fact?

As Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) said:

"Well, we fought and won World War II in less time than it’s taken so far to evaluate this project. I mean, with all due respect, it is an insult to the American people to say that you need more time."

An insult, indeed!

Sadly, the only one playing politics with the pipeline is Obama.

But will the American public ever know if reporters fail to challenge the spin and lies?

4 comments:

Mad Jack said...

I started reading about the pipeline, and while you're quite right to criticize The Anointed One for not making a decision, approving the project is something that I hope never happens.

I don't know if you've read up on this mess, but if the pipeline is built it will, beyond any shadow of doubt, leak. When it does, the United States has no way at all to contain the spill - check 30 miles of polluted river up in Michigan due to the Keystone pipeline.

There are alternatives to this, and I do not mean alternate energy sources (none of which actually work as advertised).

Maggie said...

Mad Jack,

There are alternatives, I agree. But this is the most cost efficient one. And while there is certainly a chance - albeit slim considering all the new technology (my engineer brother in law works at a refinery) - a spill on land is much better than a spill at sea. It's easier to contain and causes less damage.

So this pipeline is a better option than the one the Canadians are now considering, which is to sell the oil to China and ship it there for processing.

Mad Jack said...

There is no guarantee that the oil coming through that pipeline will remain in the United States. That condition has already been tried, and the Canadians rejected it so the US withdrew it. Nor is there any guarantee that if the pipeline is built our gas prices will decline.

Just collecting this oil left a mess in Ontario that is absolutely criminal, so much so that I'm surprised the Canadians would actually allow it to happen. Over 1000 acres of wilderness got turned into a HAZMAT spill that is truly unbelievable, even if you see the photos. The holding ponds of poisonous chemicals are getting to be the size of lakes.

As far as spills go, we've already had one spill in Michigan from the first Keystone pipe, and it was a 30 mile disaster. The damage is still with us and no one knows just what has happened to the ground water. And yeah, the spill does compare to the Exxon Valdez; generally it's worse.

No - this is about as bad as it gets. We in the US will derive no benefit from the pipeline and we risk destroying entire aquifers just by having the pipeline operate.

Maggie said...

Mad Jack - I'll just agree to disagree. There are more benefits than just expecting the construction of this pipeline to lower gas prices....

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