Confronted With Keystone XL Quandary, Hillary Clinton Refuses to State Position
The presidential contender insists she'll keep mum about where she stands on the controversial oil pipeline project until the Obama administration weighs in.
Hillary Clinton is in a bit of a tough spot when it comes to stating her position on the planned Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. As secretary of state, she had a hand in revving up the controversial project, and now that involvement isn’t exactly going to make her popular among some members of her constituency.
One way around that problem? Refuse to answer questions about it.
That’s just what she did Tuesday during a question-and-answer session in Nashua, N.H., after one voter in the audience point-blanked her, as CNN reported:
“I am not going to second guess (President Barack Obama) because I was in a position to set this in motion,” Clinton said, referencing environmental reviews conducted by the State Department that began when she was secretary of state. “I want to wait and see what he and Secretary Kerry decide.”
She added, “If it is undecided when I become president, I will answer your question.”
[…]In a conversation with reporters after the event, Clinton stood by her decision to not answer the question.
“I’ve been very clear: I will not express an opinion until they (President Barack Obama and John Kerry) have made a decision, and then I will do so,” she said. “If this is the number one issue on people’s minds, then they’re going to have to wait to see what Secretary Kerry and President Obama decide to do about it.”
That Clinton would be versed in the art of the non-answer should come as no surprise, given her years of experience as an observer of the political process and, more recently, as a practitioner.
Meanwhile, one Bruce Blodgett, who posed the question at Tuesday’s event, remained unsatisfied following his encounter. “I just thought that was a very weak answer,” he told CNN.
Clinton rival Bernie Sanders took the opportunity to turn up the heat on his competition, which he has generally stopped short of doing thus far. “It is hard for me to understand how one can be concerned about climate change but not vigorously oppose the Keystone pipeline,” Sanders said.
–Posted by Kasia Anderson
Independent journalism is under threat and overshadowed by heavily funded mainstream media.
You can help level the playing field. Become a member.
Your tax-deductible contribution keeps us digging beneath the headlines to give you thought-provoking, investigative reporting and analysis that unearths what's really happening- without compromise.
Give today to support our courageous, independent journalists.
Economic Justice
Without patent monopolies and related protections, drugs would almost invariably be cheap.
Politics
One campaigner said Biden must "use the full might of the federal government" to cancel student debt "in the face of this lawless and shamefully political ruling."
Economic Justice
The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pension (HELP) Committee has released a report revealing how Big Pharma is "ripping off" Americans.
Labor
Rail workers are fighting for better benefits and wages.
On Tuesday, I cast a joyless vote for the very much politically doomed Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the Illinois primary, in an elementary school where hushed whispers and fearful glances had replaced the normal din of an election day. There was no one standing just outside the perimeter hustling me to vote for this […]
Bernie Sanders gave form and focus to a left that badly needed it. Where does it go from here?
You need to be a supporter to comment.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.