The following Democrats voted for the Keystone XL pipeline:
Sen. Mark Begich of Alaska
Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado
Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware
Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania
Sen. Joe Donnelly of Indiana
Sen. Kay Hagan of North Carolina
Sen. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota
Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana
Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia
Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri
Sen. Mark Pryor of Arkansas
Sen. Jon Tester of Montana
Sen. John Walsh of Montana
Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia
The advocates of the pipeline needed fifteen votes and they only got fourteen. The most surprising ‘no’ vote was from Sen. Tim Johnson of South Dakota. He and Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia voted no despite representing energy-rich states. But they were retiring and not seeking lucrative post-government careers. I suppose Kay Hagan and Mark Pryor expect higher paying jobs, and I am sure they will get them.
On the NSA vote, only Bill Nelson among Democrats voted against cloture. The following Republicans crossed over to cast a vote that made a lot of the Intelligence Community very unhappy:
Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas
Sen. Dean Heller of Nevada
Sen. Mike Lee of Utah
Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska
The Keystone bill failed with fifty-nine votes and the NSA bill failed with fifty-eight.
Whatever you think about these two bills, the most appropriate thing for this Congress to do was to filibuster them both and accomplish nothing.
Why change now?
The intelligence community was happy either way the vote went. With a Yes vote, a lot of illegal practices became legal and the Constitutionality of those legalities would never be questioned because current suits would be vacated. With a No votes, it is the status quo with all of its overreach.
Most impressive action of the day was Patrick Leahy’s comments to an almost empty Senate after the vote.
What did he say?
Marcy Wheeler summarized it here. I haven’t found a transcript yet. There is something ditzy about CSpan’s video.
31 Senate employees tested positive for anthrax, but there were no reported deaths among Senate employees. Did Leahy publicly reveal that the official report had covered up a death?
He’s probably talking about the two postal workers at Brentwood.
emptywheel’s article says the death was of a Daschle aide.
Was that covered up at the time and later came out?
Not disclosed in real time and couldn’t find where it was disclosed later. If true, a huge error on the part of Daschle not to become unrelenting in demanding that the FBI find the perps.
What do “energy rich” states get out of a pipeline to transport Canadian “tar sands?”
It’s my understand that the pipeline would also transport oil from North Dakota; so, Heitcamp’s vote isn’t odd. Nor Landrieu’s because some portion of the pipeline gunk would be processed in LA.
Tim Johnson’s vote may have been his parting gift to the Native Americans in SD that were instrumental in winning his first election to the Senate. They are also needed if a Democrat is ever to win the state in the future election and were supportive of Rick Weiland.
Rockefeller Heirs Divest from Fossil Fuels. Some would say, “Yeah, after they got theirs.” But there have been a large number of environmentalists in the family for some time now.
Energy-rich states and their energy corporations must hang together or they will surely hang separately.
There’s so little overlap between coal and natural gas production companies and oil companies (Chevron is an exception), that it seems irrational to me. More oil = less demand for coal and gas. Less demand = lower prices.
Don’t the energy companies in general have an interest in the symbolic value of establishing the principle that the economic argument (however weak) always overrules the environmental one (even though it has huge economic elements)? Because I don’t get the impression that Keystone is important enough to oil interests financially to justify their insisting so hard on it–more that rightwing “populism” trying to shape the broad discourse as pitting good old boy construction workers against snotty intellectuals.
I imagine the coal senators help the oil senators on oil issues with the expectation that the oil senators will help the coal senators on coal since all of them are trying to kill renewables and the EPA.
Harper’s Index:
A worldwide 21% gender gap on conservation! If only we could get 68% USian women on the right side of all other issues. Then the dumb men would be outnumbered.
determine what might motivate them to turn out for midterm elections.
I suppose Kay Hagan and Mark Pryor expect higher paying jobs, and I am sure they will get them.
Is that just because they will soon be ex-Senators? If I’m Sheldon Whitehouse or Bernie Sanders, why would I give a shit what Pryor or Hagan have to say about anything?
Can the people in the path of the pipeline now get injuctions to stop the eminent domain process and to stop construction on their land?
Is construction already underway? I saw large pieces of pipeline pipe, looked XL, being trucked north in SD. thought they were for Bakken though
I just don’t trust the pipeline. I just don’t. There are not enough assurances that have been given. No to the pipeline.
It’s my understanding that the pipeline bill was not filibustered. There was a rule that passed with Unanimous Consent that the bill had to achieve passage with 60 votes, which it did not get.
The Keystone bill failed with fifty-nine votes and the NSA bill failed with fifty-eight.
Does that sound strategic, or am I just being paranoid?