Senate Democrats Betray Their Supporters By Scheduling A Vote On Keystone XL

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In a move that mirrors their failed midterm election strategy, Senate Democrats are trying save Sen. Mary Landrieu’s job by voting on approval of the Keystone XL pipeline next week.

The Senate will vote on Tuesday on whether or not to greenlight construction of the Keystone XL pipeline.

National Journal reported,

The vote could come as early as next Tuesday, after Landrieu succeeded in acquiring unanimous consent to move forward. Such a move had appeared unlikely, as Majority Leader Harry Reid, who still controls the floor until January, had repeatedly denied requests to take up the legislation.

But things have changed for Democrats since Republicans won the majority, and the party made clear early that they were not going to stand in the way of a vote. “The Senate has reached an agreement to debate and vote on Senator Landrieu’s Keystone bill,” Reid spokesman Adam Jentleson said on Wednesday.

The vote on the Keystone XL pipeline is an attempt to save Mary Landrieu’s job. Landrieu still needs five Democrats to join her in supporting the bill, or it will fail next week. The problem with the vote is that it is an obvious betrayal of the values that Democrats have been championing for years. With their majority gone in January, Harry Reid is allowing a vote on a bill that he has refused to bring to the floor for years.

The vast majority of Democrats are still opposed to Keystone, but this is an obvious ploy to boost Mary Landrieu’s chances in her Senate runoff. What is frustrating about this vote is that it is another example of Democrats refusing to act like Democrats. Their willingness to go back on years of arguments against this pipeline in order to help one senator save her seat is discouraging.

Democrats lost the midterm election because they adopted a strategy of running away from their president and the successes of the last six years. They have upped the ante on that losing hand by holding a vote on an issue that most of their caucus have spent years opposing.

The message that Democrats still have gotten from their defeat is that their voters want them to stick to their beliefs and principles. Democrats already lost one election by trying to be Republican lite. Now, they are betraying the values of their supporters by holding a vote on Keystone XL.

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Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

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Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association

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