Carper’s office has not yet released a statement, but his ardor for the Keystone tar-sands oil pipeline is well known, making his a target for Republicans seeking to override yesterday’s presidential veto.
Andy yet, there is does not appear to be much upside for Carper if he votes, once again, for this ecological cluster-fuck.
Sens. Joe Manchin (W.Va.), Claire McCaskill (Mo.), Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.) and Bob Casey (Pa.) will vote to override Obama’s veto, according to aides, and it’s possible that several other Democrats will follow suit.
Heitkamp, who has voted to approve the pipeline multiple times, said Keystone supporters need to fight on.
“We must continue to look for other avenues and also work for more votes and compromises on legislation that would ultimately approve this project,” she said.
Sens. Michael Bennet (Colo.), Tom Carper (Del.), Joe Donnelly (Ind.), Jon Tester (Mont.) and Mark Warner (Va.) were the other Democrats joining Heitkamp, Manchin, McCaskill and Casey in voting to approve Keystone.
Even if all nine Democrats who voted to approve Keystone in January support overriding Obama’s veto, the Senate would still fall short.
Getting a two-thirds majority would be even tougher in the House, with Republicans needing scores of Democrats to buck the president.
I see a no vote in Carper’s future. But I continue to hold out the hope that the vote will be accompanied by some whack-ass statement about how eager Republicans are to work with the President if only the President will meet them halfway.