Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) was on CNN’s New Day on Wednesday to discuss a number of topics, namely the situation with Russia and Ukraine, but also in regards to the President’s recent budget proposal. In regards to the Obama Administration’s response to Putin’s actions against Ukraine, Ryan made sure to heavily criticize the President before finally giving him a backhanded compliment and admitting that Obama is not to blame for the current crisis.
RYAN: There are a lot of moves that this administration has made in the area of foreign policy with respect to the Russians, Syria, missile defense, that I think has projected weakness. And, I think when you have the world superpower having a foreign policy that, in my opinion, is weak and a defense policy now that shows weakness, I think it invites aggression. I think that it creates a vacuum that is filled by these types of actions.
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But, let’s be really clear. Who is to blame for this? Vladimir Putin is to blame for this. And, I think the administration is making the proper responses.
Obviously, Ryan felt compelled to take the position that many Republicans have taken in the past few days, which is that Obama is ‘weak and indecisive.’ This has already grown beyond tiresome. Considering the amount of blowback that Obama and the administration received by even suggesting that military action might be needed in Syria, it is apparent that this nation is extremely war weary. The American people want a President who is going to push for diplomatic measures rather than military aggression when it comes to international situations.
You have to think that most Republicans know that. They know that Obama has taken the right course of action on foreign policy since coming into office. Also, it seems a bit silly to state that Obama has been weak and indecisive when he has taken a lot of appropriate flack from the left and right alike regarding the use of drone attacks on terror organizations. On top of that, Republicans really seem to forget that Obama brought down Osama bin Laden, something that our cowboy ex-President George W. Bush wasn’t able to accomplish.
Still, the GOP needs to somehow undermine this President every chance they get. The current course of action revolves around using the talking point that Obama’s has shown weak leadership when it comes to foreign policy and that has led other countries to be more aggressive. Ryan was obviously playing to the base and following orders by making that statement.
However, later in his interview, Ryan really made sure to bow to his masters when he suggested that the crisis in Ukraine meant that the US had to approve the Keystone XL pipeline now. His reasoning was that the pipeline would provide much needed oil to Europe and allow them to not be as dependent on Russia for their energy needs.
RYAN: We should move forward on natural gas exports very quickly. I think we should approve an LNG terminal on the East Coast to go to Europe. I think we should approve the Keystone Pipeline. I think we should show that the U.S. is going to be moving forward on becoming energy independent and supplying energy to Europeans –
BOLDUAN: Moving forward with the Keystone Pipeline –
RYAN: Absolutely.
BOLDUAN: – that development would take years though to actually make that happen.
RYAN: Kate, the signal that America is open for energy business and America is going to be helping our allies with energy resources so that they can be less dependent on Russian energy resources. The signal is very, very important.
Even Kate Bolduan seemed a little surprised by Ryan shoehorning the Keystone pipeline in there. As you can tell, she told Ryan that it would take years before the pipeline would become operational and transporting oil. However, by him using this international crisis as justification for the pipeline, he is basically admitting that Keystone XL has nothing to do with American energy independence. While he mentioned that the pipeline would allow America to be energy independent, he let loose the real reason for approving the pipeline–importing oil to the world market to benefit the energy companies.
As anyone who understands how the oil market works, just because this oil might be transported to and refined in the US, doesn’t mean that it will only be for American consumption. In regards to the extension of the pipeline, this oil is located in Canada and the proposal is that the pipeline will carry it down through the US to different distribution or refining facilities. The product will then be sold to whoever purchases it. It isn’t going to do anything to make America less dependent on foreign oil.
In trying anything possible to justify the need for the Keystone XL pipeline, Ryan just opened Pandora’s Box and revealed the real reason behind it. He admitted that it is all about making more oil available on the market so the energy companies can profit. By making it easier to transport and distribute dirty tar sands oil, it allows energy companies to keep the world dependent on oil as its primary energy source as long as possible.
Justin Baragona is the Managing Editor at Politicus Sports as well as Senior Editor at PoliticusUSA. He was a political writer for 411Mania.com before joining PoliticusUSA. Politically, Justin considers himself a liberal but also a realist and pragmatist. Currently, Justin lives in St. Louis, MO and is married. Besides writing, he also runs his own business after spending a number of years in the corporate world. You can follow Justin on Twitter either with his personal handle (@justinbaragona) or the Sports site’s (@PoliticusSports).
