I don't really care what brought Hillary to oppose Keystone

[bigtree]

...mainly just happy to hear she's opposing it.

I suspect it was the political pressure of a close fight in Iowa and NH with a rival who opposes the project, and the pressure of opposition from the other leading candidate, O'Malley, which brought her to this. It's a welcome development, though, and worth celebrating the successful effort by opponents of the pipeline to garner the opposition to the project from the leading Democratic candidates. This is what primary elections are all about - forcing candidates to make firm commitments and moving the political debate forward.

...anyway, here's where this particular magic moment occurred:

Clio Cullison, a student at Drake University in Iowa, stood up during a Clinton event Tuesday and asked her point-blank, whether she supported the construction of the pipeline.

Clinton had telegraphed that she might take a firm position soon. She decided to make that day Tuesday, saying she opposed the pipeline's construction.

"I've got a responsibility to you and voters who ask me about this," Clinton said. "I think its imperative that we look at the Keystone Pipeline as what I believe it is — a distraction from important work we have to do on climate change. And unfortunately, from my perspective, one that interferes with our ability to move forward with all the other issues.

"Therefore, I oppose it."

...Cullison, a self-described climate activist, said she attended the event specifically to ask Clinton about the pipeline.

"It's good for me to be informed as to where a potential president stands on those issues," Cullison told Business Insider in a phone interview. "I could not in good faith vote for someone who did not oppose the Keystone pipeline."

"I think she was very genuine — I thought her answer was most likely planned, as she is a politician, but I think it was genuine," Cullison said. "It is definitely a plus in the Hillary column for me as a voter."

But the Drake student added that she did not think Clinton's current climate plan — which proposes increasing renewable-energy sources and moving to incentivize solar-panel installation, among other points — goes far enough.

"Implementing solar panels is great. However, adding renewable energy is only half the solution," Cullison said.

read: http://www.businessinsider.com/hillary-clinton-keystone-pipeline-position-student-question-2015-9

[Scuba]

1. Then there's that trust issue.

[bigtree]

2. I don't really 'trust' any politician

...I put my trust in our advocacy and activism. That's what makes politicians pay attention to and support progressive agendas, not trust.

[Scuba]

5. I trust some a lot more than I trust others.

[Snotcicles]

21. I want a candidate who fights the pressure facing them, not the pressure backing them. nt

[CanadaexPat]

3. She had to get past her 'I'll tell you when I'm President' comment.

Her poor campaigning skills forced her into a position. That will continue to happen, and should be concerning.

[bigtree]

6. she's never had a perfect hand in this match

...and she should be well aware of it. She's caught between the conflicting roles of a member of the Obama administration and a candidate advocating for changes which will eclipse or contradict that association. She's navigating those obstacles as well as she can, imo.

Before anyone actually imagined Sanders or any other candidate in a competitive position against Hillary, the idea was to have primary challenges which forced the establishment candidates to adopt more progressive positions. I'm less 'concerned' about her being 'forced' into this position, than I'm satisfied our strategy for influencing her campaign and the Democratic bid for president, overall, is bearing fruit.

[Bonobo]

4. Strange. The "why" is always important in judging a person and their values.

I find your supposed lack of interest bizarre given that now is the time to judge what kind of a person she is and would be as president when such pressure does not exist.

[Hortensis]

7. I'm also glad Hillary is against it. I've tried telling pubs here

that if God (theirs, of course) meant there to be a pipeline He'd have swept Canadian voter opposition out of the way. After all, He gave Canada coasts on the Atlantic and Pacific, ports on the Great Lakes, and even all-year ports in the Arctic.

[HereSince1628]

8. I do care what brought her to it.

Because, what brought her to it likely impacts how committed she is to whatever this commits her. That has implications not immediately apparent.

I don't mean anything personal about Clinton in saying that.

Politicians regularly change their minds, either as open reversals or as parsings that protect the politician from accusations of flip-flopping. Sometimes this is because they sense a need for compromise or give and take, sometimes it's simply that an immediate circumstance requires a different message.

As stated in the response, her objection of Keystone XL isn't that it's a bad idea on any specific grounds. Keystone construction is a problem because it's created a distraction. Well one could argue that in addition to being a distraction its also a barricade on the path to a truckload of things people object to in addition to the grand, yet very nebulously stated , notion of moving forward on climate change. What does -that- mean?

suppose the following...you object to the nation invoking eminent domain to take your land, or perhaps you object to the risk of contamination of groundwater/your source of drinking water that obtains from the transportation of corrosive crude via pipes. Looking at Clinton's comments you don't get a sense there is much commitment to protecting you and your interests. Indeed taken at face value, your interests are part of what is creating the distraction.

[Chan790]

9. I don't trust her to remain opposed to it one day longer than she needs to.

In general, I only trust Hillary Clinton to run as a moderate or progressive and govern as a RW corporate shill. I don't really want that...I think it should be grounds for expulsion from the Democratic party, so I just can't find a path to vote for her.

[bigtree]

11. your theory about some future reversal is emerging as a popular hedge against her statement

...but it's really not going to be as easy as some are making it sound for her to backtrack and start another bid for the pipeline in the future. Environmentalists and activists will nail this shut over the weeks and months of this campaign. She stuck with this decision and there will be almost no room or support, at least among Democrats and activists for any hedging or renewal of the project. This effectively kills it. That doesn't make her an unabashed environmentalist or anything of the sort, but our activism against support for the project from politicians like Hillary has always been tenuous and dependent on our vigilance in holding these politician's feet to the fire. I have more faith in that effort, perhaps, than I put in expecting politicians to automatically be honest and consistent.

[joshcryer]

16. No, it's not viable to be built.

It's job was to help build out US shale production, based on fracking.

Clinton has clearly done the numbers or one of her advisors has.

[cali]

10. there's a lot of wriggle room in her statement.

[bigtree]

12. that's not exclusive to Hillary

..there's still a lot of room in Obama's position, for example.

What this statement does is move the Senator past her straddling and challenges us to hold her feet to the fire. Clearly there are other candidates with more solid opposition, but this isn't just a matter of rhetoric on Hillary's part. It allows opponents of the project to dig into those remarks and solicit more substantial opposition from her.

It's responsible to be cynical about these politicians' rhetoric, but brushing this off as prevarication or a ruse is only as real as we allow it to be. She'll be pressed on this and it's going to be nearly impossible to backtrack on her opposition and revive a pipeline project as president without sparking a firestorm of protest from environmentalists and most of her own party.

Pointing to 'wriggle room' may serve some political purpose, but this stance of hers advances the opponents' cause and should be welcomed and advantaged by those who have interest in driving a stake through the heart of the pipeline.

Campaigners said Clinton’s about-face gave Obama additional reasons to reject the project. “We’ve taken a top-tier presidential candidate’s ‘inclination to approve’ Keystone XL, and turned it into yet another call for rejection,” May Boeve, the director of 350.org, said in a statement. “Today’s news is a huge win for our movement, and ups the pressure even more on President Obama to reject the Keystone pipeline once and for all.”
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/sep/22/hillary-clinton-opposes-keystone-xl-pipeline

[joshcryer]

13. The Saudis killed Keystone XL.

Clinton is following trends. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. She just isn't leading on issues like this.

[bigtree]

14. I think the 'leadership' charge is valid

...I'm less interested in pursuing that, though, than I am in promoting her opposition.

That will do two things - cement Hillary into this stance; and provide more pressure for the administration to reject the project, outright.

[joshcryer]

17. If you can't "trust" on a simple policy issue like this...

...then you would have serious trust issues. I've been predicting this for awhile, it's probably the least controversial of topics she has touched, the timing is probably because of the Popes visit, but it came as no surprise.

[bigtree]

18. well, I do have 'serious trust issues' with politicians

...I don't intend to change; I don't see any responsible reason to trust politicians.

Nothing these pols do or decide happens in a vacuum of trust. Changes and action from our political class require vigilance and constant advocacy and activism. Anything less is an abdication of our own responsibility.

[joshcryer]

20. Yeah, but Trans Canada said its costs were skyrocketing.

Just google my name and keystone, particularly after the Saudis lowered oil prices.

[NCTraveler]

15. All of this talk is proof that she is now the leading voice of opposition.

Some don't get how powerful they are making her look with their knee jerk reaction.

[JRLeft]

19. I doubt she will continue to oppose it if she wins.

She's corporate

[NorthCarolina]

22. I don't believe she is against it like you think. Rather, she's just against

talking about it at this time as, to her, it has simply become a "distraction". Read her response...she just believes it to be a distraction right now. Don't worry your head, you'll get your pipeline come hell or high water.