Democrat vs. Democrat

The Keystone XL Pipeline came up one vote short in the U.S. Senate Tuesday night, after a debate requested by Senator Mary Landrieu, who faces losing her seat in next month’s runoff election in Louisiana.

She begged her fellow Democrats to treat this pipeline as a pipeline. “This has absolutely nothing to do with climate change.”

But for other Democrats, Keystone XL is hardly just a pipeline – it’s a symbol of everything evil. They described it as a giant underground straw, sucking up dirty Canadian oil and spitting it into tankers that would spread the sticky poison all over the globe and belch the toxic exhaust into the lungs of little girls.

Yes, I am paraphrasing, – but not by much.

“I want to show you the picture of a little girl, and she has on an oxygen mask. This pipeline is going to unleash 45 percent more of the dirtiest, filthiest oil,” proclaimed Senator Barbara Boxer. “That’s why I call the Keystone ‘extra-lethal’ Pileline.”

Boxer prevailed in the final vote.

But for Senator Landrieu, facing a runoff election next month, the debate did what she wanted. She was able to portray herself as a vigorous defender of a project that will create jobs for Louisiana. “That’s why I’ve been fighting for a debate, and vote on the Keystone Pipeline. (Aside:) How much time do I have remaining?”

That’s a question which, in her case, is more than just a routine parliamentary inquiry.