Clinton-Sanders Fracking Fracas Heats Up

[Purveyor]

Their feud is exposing a rift among Democrats that could haunt Clinton beyond the party’s convention in July.

By Elana Schor
04/14/16 03:13 PM EDT

Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are feuding over fracking as they head toward primaries in gas-rich New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland — exposing a rift among Democrats that could haunt her at the party’s convention in July and beyond.

The presidential hopefuls’ positions don’t seem vastly different on the surface: Sanders vows to ban the controversial oil- and gas-production technology outright, while Clinton has said she would regulate it so thoroughly that “I do not think there will be many places in America where fracking will continue to take place.” But Sanders’ pledge is the one that has caught fire with grass-roots green activists, who feel emboldened in their crusade against fossil fuels after pushing President Barack Obama to kill the Keystone XL oil pipeline and block drilling off the East Coast.

Sanders’ supporters hope his message will be especially powerful in Tuesday’s primary in New York state, where Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo banned fracking in 2014 as a risk to public health.

But even if Sanders doesn’t seize the nomination, the fervor surrounding the issue threatens to back Clinton into a corner, toward an uncompromising anti-fossil-fuel stance that could harm her with moderate voters in November — especially in states like Pennsylvania and Ohio, where the fracking boom has created thousands of jobs.

The split could also hamper efforts to unify the squabbling Clinton and Sanders camps at the Democratic convention in Philadelphia, where green groups plan to bring thousands of protesters to press the party for a nationwide fracking ban.


Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2016/04/clinton-sanders-fracking-rift-221959#ixzz45puXNyzj

[Kittycat]

1. One of many key issues that flatly divide us.

ETA: Thank you for posting this Issues oriented thread.

[Buzz Clik]

2. Considering the nearly 50/50 split about fracking, I don't see why this is an issue at all.

Sanders hates it and will ban it (meaning he will lose votes in states he'll never win anyway).

Clinton vows to regulate the industry to make it fully responsible and accountable. I cannot imagine this attitude being unacceptable to any other than those who already despise her.

[Politicalboi]

5. Lose those states that want it?

What states want fracking? What states want TPP? Only big oil and those that SUPPORT them want this. There is no safe regulation of this industry. You have heard of the Porter Ranch Gas leak. How many months was that spewing before anyone noticed? Regulated my ass. It's the money she's after. She doesn't care about the environment and the people who will have to put up with all the polluting. Be real.

[Buzz Clik]

6. States that support fracking: Texas, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Colorado...

[Octafish]

3. Banks Behind Hillary Clinton's Canadian Speeches Really Want The Keystone Pipeline

by Paul Blumenthal and Ryan Grim
The Huffington Post, May 31, 2015

WASHINGTON -- Two Canadian banks tightly connected to promoting the controversial Keystone XL pipeline in the United States either fully or partially paid for eight speeches made by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the period not long before she announced her campaign for president. Those speeches put more than $1.6 million in the Democratic candidate's pocket.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and TD Bank were both primary sponsors of paid Clinton speeches in 2014 and early 2015, although only the former appears on the financial disclosure form she filed May 15. According to that document, CIBC paid Clinton $150,000 for a speech she gave in Whistler, British Columbia, on Jan. 22, 2015.

Clinton reported that another five speeches she gave across Canada were paid for by tinePublic Inc., a promotional company known for hosting speeches by world leaders and celebrities. Another speech was reported as paid for by the think tank Canada 2020, while yet another speech was reportedly funded by the Vancouver Board of Trade. But a review of invitations, press releases and media reports for those seven other speeches reveals that they, too, were either sponsored by or directly involved the two banks.

Both banks have financial ties to TransCanada, the company behind the Keystone XL pipeline, and have advocated for a massive increase in pipeline capacity, including construction of Keystone. Further, Gordon Giffin, a CIBC board member and onetime U.S. ambassador to Canada, is a former lobbyist for TransCanada and was a contributions bundler for Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign.

It is not immediately clear what the sponsorship of speeches by the two banks entailed. Did they pay upfront costs to tinePublic to cover Clinton’s fees? Did they purchase a large number of tickets to underwrite the event? The banks themselves were not helpful on that score.

CONTINUED...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/31/hillary-clinton-speeches-keystone_n_7463108.html

[Politicalboi]

4. Let's hope this get talked about in tonight's debate

He needs to get mean and expose the truth about her.