Republican political strategist Karl Rove didn’t pull punches while responding to President Obama’s failure to approve the Keystone XL pipeline, calling it a “stupid move” firmly entrenched in politics and aimed fully at appeasing the environmentalists.
“Of course it was about politics,” Mr. Rove said Monday on Fox News. “It’s all about politics. The president’s concerned about the enthusiasm of Democratic voters going into the 2014 midterm elections and he doesn’t want to do anything to depress that turnout.”
Mr. Rove charged that the president specifically didn’t want to ruffle feathers of billionaire Tom Steyer, an anti-Keystone activist and prominent Democratic Party donor.
Mr. Obama’s decision is also “stupid move politically,” Mr. Rove opined, because the job creation from the pipeline development would help Democrats who are currently campaigning in states with hefty Republican populations.
“The president would be smart” to approve the pipeline particularly to aid Mark Begich of Alaska and Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Mr. Rove said.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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