Hillary Clinton has ben under a lot of pressure to reveal how she truly feels regarding the Keystone XL oil pipeline, and on Tuesday, she finally gave her answer to the hungry environmental groups and liberal voters.
While campaigning in Iowa, Clinton clearly stated that she was opposed to the idea of the Keystone pipeline after being asked about it from an audience member.
Environmentalist have been calling on Clinton to oppose the pipeline for months on end and since she is one of the only Democratic candidates to not have a solid stance on the pipeline, it was a major point of contention between Clinton and other candidates in the Democratic primary, according to Time .
Hillary Clinton refused to give her stance on the Keystone XL oil pipeline because she said it would be inappropriate given her recent service as Secretary of State. Clinton never fully committed to the Keystone pipeline while in President Obama’s cabinet, but did indicate support for the project to transport crude from the Alberta tar sands to refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast.
“I was in a unique position as secretary of state at the start of this process, and not wanting to interfere with ongoing decision making that the President and Secretary [of State John] Kerry have to do in order to make whatever final decisions they need. So I thought this would be decided by now, and therefore I could tell you whether I agree or disagree, but it hasn’t been decided, and I feel now I’ve got a responsibility to you and voters who as me about this.”
Both Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley have strongly been against the Keystone XL oil pipeline and that left Clinton open to criticism from her reveals and liberal Democrats, which could be why she had a change of heart and broke her since on the pipeline.
While in Iowa Clinton said , “I think it is imperative that we look at the Keystone pipeline as what I believe it is, a distraction from important work we have to do on climate change. And unfortunately from my perspective, one that interferes with our ability to move forward with all the other issues. Therefore I oppose it.”
Clinton’s opponents had mixed feelings about her decision on the pipeline, with O’Malley saying that she “followed” the public opinion instead of forged it, while Sanders was glad that Clinton came out against the pipeline.
[Image by Scott Eisen/ Getty Images]
