Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I thank the Senator from North Dakota, and I acknowledge and thank the distinguished majority whip for allowing us extra time to talk about a subject he would probably prefer us not to talk about, but I appreciate it very much. So I will be very brief and succinct. For this administration and our country not to build the Keystone Pipeline or delay it is at best professional malpractice. There are three reasons for that. We are a country that 40 years ago was held hostage by OPEC. We had our parents waiting in line to fill up their cars. Businesses closed because there was no oil supply, and prices went through the roof. With the Keystone Pipeline and its capacity added to the Marcellus and the Haynesville shale, America will truly be independent in its energy and never be held hostage again by someone like OPEC. That is No. 1. No. 2, it is important for our diplomacy around the world. Soft power is always preferable to hard power. And one of the best soft powers you can possibly have is having energy. Think about it for a second. If Russia were not a factor in Ukraine because America could supplant their natural gas, think what that would do to what is happening right now in that part of the world. We need it for our soft power and for our diplomatic power. Lastly, it is environmentally the thing to do. That oil is going to be refined somewhere in the world, and it is going to be delivered in some way.…”