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Darren Littell: Why Gary Peters won't back the Keystone Pipeline
As the 2014 election gets underway, folks in Michigan are starting to focus on what candidates are saying. They are looking for candidates who share their interests and concerns, especially on the economy. Moving Michigan past the policies that created the Lost Decade is a top priority for our families. That’s why many are confused about Gary Peters’ stance to block the expansion of the Keystone XL Pipeline.
Peters has strongly opposed constructing the oil pipeline that would run from Alberta, Canada, to the Gulf Coast in Texas. Peters has voted against constructing the Keystone XL Pipeline seven times since 2011.
President Barack Obama recently decided the issue was too much of a political hot potato, and brushed the decision to build the Keystone XL Pipeline over to the State Department. This moves comes as little surprise.
President Obama and Gary Peters share many characteristics, but perhaps their most obvious is their love for big-money Democrats. Peters and Obama have been cozying up with Democratic billionaires like Tom Steyer, a strong opponent of the Keystone XL project, for years. Steyer is urging Democrats like Peters to kill the Keystone XL proposal so he can make even more money from its competitors.
Steyer’s $100 million campaign contributions are a welcome gift for Democrats, especially Gary Peters. Recent finance reports show Peters is struggling to raise money for his Senate bid. A strong supporter of Obamacare, Peters is finding it hard to get supporters to rally behind him.
Peters’ attraction to billionaires is well documented. His campaigns have been bankrolled by billionaires like Tom Steyer and George Soros for most of his political career.
Support for the Keystone XL project is high among Americans, including Michigan. A recent poll showed 70 percent of Americans favor building the Keystone XL Pipeline, with 60 percent of Michigan residents supporting it.
Studies show building the Keystone XL Pipeline would create thousands of jobs in the U.S., including here in Michigan.
During a 2013 hearing before the House of Representatives, Keith Stelter, co-owner of Delta Industrial Valves in Niles, Michigan, testified that his company could double in size over the next 10 years if the pipeline project were to move forward.
Peters has been consistently wrong in representing the interests and concerns of Michiganders. One look at his voting record shows he would rather support billionaires and special interest groups than Michigan families.
Peters has rubberstamped President Obama’s agenda, voting with Obama an average of 87.5 percent of the time.
It’s clear Peters doesn’t stand with Michigan families. As a career politician, he believes you have to talk-the-talk, but not walk-the-walk. While Peters’ campaign benefits from his relationship with billionaire Tom Steyer, Michiganians are being left behind.
Michigan deserves a new voice in Washington, it is clear that Gary Peters is not that voice.
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