Obama's pipeline delay pander

The Hill:

Republican lawmakers who supported the Keystone XL project are slamming President Obama’s delay of the Dakota Access Pipeline, calling it another example of his harmful approach to energy production.

Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) said it is “astonishing” that the administration delayed the Dakota project despite a federal court ruling it could move forward.

“The courts have ruled, the permits were there, the permission was given, and then the president comes in and intervenes in something that his own department had won the court case on it. So it just shows how anti-energy and anti-economy President Obama is,” Barrasso said.
Activists, environmentalists and American Indians have mobilized opposition to Dakota Access in recent weeks, hoping to recapture the energy that helped grind the Keystone XL pipeline to a halt.

The administration gave the effort a jolt of momentum earlier this month when it delayed final approval of Dakota Access for an agency review.

GOP supporters of Keystone lamented Obama’s decision but are not yet preparing legislative action, with some noting that the administration’s time in office is drawing to close.
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This is a typical Obama pander to the anti-energy left.  It makes no sense otherwise.  The pipeline is actually a better method of getting the oil to market, and it is silly to think that the delay is going to make people rush out and buy electric cars or start walking everywhere.  Even if they were willing to go on such a long walk, they would probably do it on shoes whose soles are made from petrochemical processing.