One really has to hand it to the Green Antifa types that seem to have taken hostage a handful of liberal Northern Virginia legislators in Richmond, with a definition of “clean energy” that seems to scream “no energy” at this rate.
Thus far, the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and Mountain Valley Pipeline have been overwhelmingly received by policy makers in Richmond. Unless one hails from a political religion that believes any energy production is bad, the production of clean natural gas transported to Virginia markets to help reduce costs and provide more resources to areas such as the Port of Virginia makes total sense.
…that is, unless you’re hanging from the rafters opposing the very clean energy projects you claim to support.
The good news here is that the traditional left-wing coalitions are starting to splinter apart, as the pipefitters union LiUNA (Laborers International Union of North America) is tearing down the curtains on how extreme and unreasonable the demands from the hard left truly have become. From their press statement:
The legislators who spoke today against building clean natural gas energy infrastructure aim to distort and politicize the regulatory process, and in doing so threaten to slow America’s transition to a renewable energy economy and to take food off the tables of working class men and women in Virginia. Their statements are at best unrealistic and at worst disingenuous.
What is most revealing is these legislators call for a “stream by stream” review, echoing the step-by-step war some extremist environmentalists have used to block all energy projects. No doubt, the next thing they’ll demand is a pebble-by-pebble analysis. This is clearly an attempt to politicize and distort the regulatory process.
Ouch.
Welcome to the leftist tactic of “question until it fails” — a war game of attrition designed solely to delay and obfuscate in an effort to hijack the regulatory and legislative process.
Of course, this meddling in the American energy industry isn’t just happening on its own. Russian influence — well documented — pays lavishly to activists whose sole purpose is to drive up the cost of American energy and prevent clean energy from reaching the American consumer.
Nevertheless, one doubts that a “pebble by pebble” analysis is in the cards, much less a stream-by-stream analysis. Not only is the pipeline the safest way to transport energy, the project alone translates into billions of dollars in economic activity and 6,000 new jobs.
Who could oppose that? Well… we know who could. They are wrong to do so, and thankfully are being called out by sound voices from the honorable middle of Virginia politics.
