Since it was proposed in 2008, the Keystone XL pipeline has generated enormous amounts of controversy, especially in Washington, DC where it has become a political and partisan nightmare.
The proposed pipeline would stretch nearly 1,200 miles from oil fields in Canada to refineries on the Gulf Coast. Advocates say the pipeline will bring in jobs and that the oil would be produced and shipped anyway via other means, while opponents decry it as an environmentalist’s nightmare because of its carbon footprint (estimates of which vary), and its potential to spill.
In February, President Obama vetoed a bill that would have allowed the pipeline to move forward. But the pipeline isn’t dead yet, and advocates hope that a new occupant of the Oval Office might be more amenable to their plan. Now, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton has stated her unequivocal opposition to the product.
Bernie Sanders, another Democrat in the Presidential race, has criticized Clinton’s lack of a stance on the issue in the past, and seemed pleased that she’d picked a side.
On the other side of the campaign trail, Republicans generally favor the pipeline deal. Among the leading candidates, Donald Trump, Carly Fiorina, Ben Carson, Jeb Bush, Rand Paul, and Chris Christie have all said they support the pipeline’s construction.