Keystone XL and Landrieu

So 41 Democrats voted yesterday to block a vote in the Senate on the Keystone XL pipeline. This is significant because Senator Mary Landrieu, a Democrat, was pushing the vote. The vote, which failed 59-41 (I know, utterly ridiculous), means the Keystone XL pipeline is dead- until January.

One thing that I defy though is that this vote somehow means "Mary Landrieu is dead." From the Washington Times:

Senate Democrats filibustered the Keystone XL pipeline on Tuesday, in a vote that reverberated from Louisiana, where a key senator’s career is now likely doomed, to the broader national Democratic Party, where environmentalists have emerged triumphant in a divisive internal battle with labor unions.

First off, Landrieu was probably already dead. Yes, already. Senate Dems had pulled down their ad buys right after election day, and Landrieu's situation in Louisiana is only marginally different than say Mark Pryor's, and probably not as good as Kay Hagan's, and both of them lost southern states. To the extent this vote will have any impact at all, it's probably helpful to Landrieu- she is seen as pushing this vote, and she can now claim real separation with her national party in a deeply Republican state. If the vote has any impact at all, it gets her from 44% to maybe 47% in the end. Maybe. I don't actually think the Keystone XL pipeline matters at all in that race in the end, and I think she was just going to lose.

I think that's a crying shame, because Landrieu was a damn good Senator. That aside though, voting through Keystone XL would have been stupid for Democrats. For one, you gain nothing from it politically. Second, it's bad policy. Third, make the next Congress pass their own damn initiatives so we can draw the contrast with Republican governance.

The Democratic Party does not support projects like Keystone XL. It's not safe for the environment, as the original Keystone Pipeline had 33 spills last year. It creates virtually no permanent jobs. It ships Canadian oil across our land, to be sold in foreign markets, so it also won't lower our costs at the pump. If it's so safe, why won't Canada build it through Canada? There's not really many positives to be seen here from passing a policy that only furthers the use of oil at a time when the world needs to turn away from this. I hate that people perceive this as hurting Landrieu, but the Democrats did the right thing. I hope the President vetoes this next session too.