The anticipated powerhouse for the Democrats’ presidential hopes, Hillary Clinton, has a clear stance on some issues. However, she’s remained uncharacteristically quiet on environmental issues, reported The Washington Post.
On Monday, Clinton spoke to two different groups with vastly different opinions about the Keystone XL pipeline: the first group supports its construction, the other, two hours later, opposes construction citing environmental concerns. Clinton played it safe and said not a single word to either group about the issue. Instead, she keyed in on a less divisive issue.
“The science of climate change is unforgiving,” Clinton said to the League of Conservation Voters, the second event on Monday. “The political challenges are also unforgiving. There is no getting around the fact that the kind of ambitious response required to combat climate change is going to be a tough sell at home as well as around the world.”
While once being a mere fringe issue, the environment has become a mainstream talking point with Keystone and climate change being the linchpin issues among the environmental conversation. However, with Clinton being buddied close to Democrats who support the pipeline, like Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), and trying to win the support of the staunch environmentalists who oppose it, Clinton has a choice to make.
Clinton’s reluctance to take a firm stand on such a divisive issue like the Keystone pipeline just illustrates the kind of candidate she could be: a monkey that will dance for whichever organ grinder generates the most money and votes. The former First Lady has proven in the past that she will speak to any group of people as long as they pay well.
Charging around $200,000 per speaking appearance, Clinton has spoken to bankers and Wall Street CEOs. It’s worth noting that every group that’s willing to pay such extravagant amounts of money do expect some Clinton support for its causes.
What’s most appalling is that because the pipeline crosses an international border, Clinton said her former position as the Secretary of State makes it “inappropriate” for her to take a stance. Considering that Clinton is no longer in that position, it looks pretty safe for her to now have an opinion. That excuse is a blatant copout.
If Clinton is going to run for president in 2016 (she probably will), then she can’t afford to sit on the fence about such big issues. The environment, economy, healthcare, and foreign affairs are the biggest issues going into 2015. But, considering it’s Hillary we’re talking about, it’s likely she’ll shill for Wall Street and the big corporations on each issue. We can only hope that she doesn’t.
