GOP/Koch:

"...We don't know where the route is, so we can't tell you how big the pipeline will, be or where it's going to be delivered to."

But Boehner & the Braggadacio's want Approval...for what?

Ain't nothing to be approved of yet.

Whats the rush? The oily sand isn't gonna just walk off. Threaten to sell it to China; gasoline is this year's biggest export anyway so whats the big deal?

If that's true, it makes the Republicans look really silly on this issue. They are jumping up and down to criticize the president for not approving a pipeline route that hasn't yet been fully planned out.

He added, “These jokers in Congress that are trying to force the president to approve of an incomplete application are just making mischief. They’re not helping us develop energy,” he said.

Thank you, Governor Schweitzer, for telling it like it is. The American people deserve to know the reality of this situation, not just the negative "job killing" soundbites from the GOP and Big Oil.

I find it ironic that suddenly our president, much out of character in light of past speeches and actions, is suddenly acknowledging and supporting state sovereignity. Although individual states did not want the right of decision wrested from them regarding public access to health care, the Obama health program did just that, and when states tried to have their cause heard by the supreme court under state sovereignity as granted in the constitution, it was shot down unceremoniously.....but the pipeline and the little matter of an incomplete application-well, suddenly, we are all about the rules, aren't we?

Interesting that the governor who has self appointed himself as the guardian of the truth is also a Democrat who might just have a bit of a political agenda aside from providing less costly energy and jobs....also, stop and look at the industries that are prevalent out in Montana......isn't coal producing high on the list of resources? And a pipeline would probably eat into the coal producing profitability...and if the pipeline goes through Nebraska (or they would like it to go through Nebraska) doesn't that kind of bypass Montana entirely (mind you, I haven't seen the proposed maps for the pipeline route, but am wondering is sour grapes is a motivation for calling out the governor of Nebraska for "leaving our president with not alternatives")

hope your right, but i believed the gov recieved so much backlash that they were afraid they would lose their jobs! don't know many pubs who turn down money coming in the back door?

Simple solution, build a refinery in Montana or the Dakotas. There hasn't been a refinery built in the US since the 70s. The only reason they want to build a pipeline to the gulf coast is so the refined products can be exported to South America. But yes our government should approve a pipeline that will literally divide the country in two as it will extend from the Canadian border all the way to the gulf of Mexico. The pipeline will not benefit the US beyond creating a few hundred jobs to maintain the pipeline. It will for a very limited time create a few thousand jobs while it is being built. While it creates some jobs, it does so at what expense? If the pipeline is only going to create a negligible amount of jobs, then is it going to have an impact on the price of gasoline for consumers? No, it won't. Most if not all of the gasoline is going to be exported. Maybe you missed the story, but in 2011 the US actually exported gasoline. Unless exportation is prevented, which we all know will never be allowed as it is anti-free market, this pipeline will have no impact on the price of gasoline.

To me it sounds a lot like the oil companies raping the American population yet again, so they can add a few billion more dollars to their pocket at the potential expense of water supplies in the center of American along with our food supply. Brilliant idea, protect the interest of oil billionaires at the risk of our food supply.

Are you calling the Governor of Montana a liar?

Are you telling us there was no special session of the legislature in Nebraska just before Thanksgiving?

(There was.)

Are you asking us to believe that the legislature did not pass two bills that directly affected the Keystone XL project?

(They did.)

Are you suggesting that Governor Heineman, a Republican, didn't sign those bills into law?

(He did.)

Here...allow yourself to be enlightened.

www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2011/11/01/nebraska-legislature-begins-special-session-on-keystone-xl/

www.kfbb.com/news/local/Nebraskas-Special-Session-Over-Keystone-XL-Pipeline-Ends-Tuesday-134221938.html

www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/22/us-oil-pipeline-nebraska-idUSTRE7AL1M120111122

Oh, my...it appears that Nebraska exercised a little "States Rights" on Keystone XL!

Oh, my...it appears that Nebraska exercised a little "States Rights" on Keystone XL!

And why would the people of Nebraska do this? Because they realize the pipeline to be the sham that it is. They know it will not benefit their state and will actually pose a risk to them.

I bet if the pipeline was in Bob's backyard then he would be objecting. Amazing how people are for something as long as it does not impact them directly.

Thank you Greg in New York! No doubt, if the new jobs are this important then we need to build those refineries in states directly across the border from Canada - no need to tear up the middle of the US by running the pipeline all the way to the gulf coast and texas. There would be no new jobs in texas as they would use refineries already in place, if you are gonna preach new jobs, then walk the walk don't just talk the talk. Isn't it funny, republicans are all for states rights until it upsets their oil cart!

Potentially rewarded for taking one for the team and then promptly thrown under the nearest bus after the election season is over and usefulness is completely forgotten. If you have noted, Obama's "closest advisors" don't have a long political lifespan before resigning, stepping down, or otherwise being absented from his exalted presence

If we are going to complain about the pipeline being used as a route to send the oil to South and Central America....I can only ask, to what purpose as it certainly cannot be done more cheaply than oil is being produced in Venezuela already....And what about NAFTA. The big impetus for that was because our "good neighbor" Mexico has a ton of petroleum reserves and was going to provide us with energy to make us less dependent upon the Middle East, and they were going to provide markets for our manufacturing and consumer goods and they were going to provide markets for our farmers, and it was going to be so great for the American economy....Under NAFTA, we are forced to take substandard import goods into competition with our own manufacturing-and I assure you that the businesses in Mexico and Central and South America do not pay workers what would be deemed as a "fair wage" in this country, so the products are undermining our economy. We are hurting our own farmers because we have to take so much produce from these other sources....And by the way, has anybody noticed how often salmonella is in the news relating to produce products? Doesn't anyone remember the scandal about tainted grains coming from China, showing up in dog food and killing off pets???? What if those grains had shown up in human consumption products? Anyway, why should the Pipeline be the specific province of Conservative scam....NAFTA was a democratic project all the way.

But which folks in Washington are choosing to make it another political game? There is only one party that is pushing the immediate approval of the pipeline. The other is saying the application is not yet ready and therefore rejecting it as it currently exists.

I concede, the GOP. They want something to look like they are creating jobs (even if the number is much lower than they are claiming). Hey, I agree they need to halt the pipeline until all the facts are in. A lot more needs to be known about it. I just hate the partisan politics of it all, that's all. And partisan politics is the game currently being played.

"They want something to look like they are creating jobs (even if the number is much lower than they are claiming"

And how is that different than the current administration spinning the monthly unemployment figures to not include those whose unemployment benefits have expired, or who didn't qualify in the first place, or who accepted work at a much lesser pay level than previously, or were employed in seasonal or temporary work only?????

Re-read the Constitution of the United States please. Obviously, you were absent when they discussed the forming of this country which was predicated on the states being able to maintain individual identity and creating a union with one another. It is called state sovereignity and is a large part of why people choose to live or locate their work and companies as they do. States have the ability to competitively offer alternatives in lifestyle and resources.

Interesting that you ignore the fact the Republican Governor of Nebraska has repeatedly said no to the current route for months.

Our government has been about shutting down refineries...."we want the oil, but we don't want the mess that goes along with making it usable" "We don't want the environmental responsibility" and that translates into, we don't want the oil at a reasonable price and we don't want the jobs that go with it. The supposed "green" politicians are actually pushing for alternative energy sources that they can control to the same extent that they accuse the oil industry of controlling and profitting. Oil and coal are villified, because they can't rake in the profits for themselves. So we have to force new technologies (which are largely inefficient and haven't yet had the bugs worked out) to make people buy our stuff and make us rich instead of the "evil robber barons" of the fossil fuel industry. Who cares if the cost of the "green" energy puts it well beyond the reach of most working Americans, because they can force us to buy it and thereby enrich their coffers through legislation designed "to protect the environment".....The only environment being protected is the oppulence of the ruling elite in Washington.

So, in essence, the state of Nebraska wanted a second opinion on impact to the environment, if I understand correctly....and the liberal, environmental protectionists, are going to lynch the governor of Nebraska as the bad guy, so Obama can look like the hero for shooting down the pipeline....Talk about spin doctoring.