House passes Keystone XL bill without veto-proof majority as Nebraska court approves route

On the 9th of January, there were two ugly developments in the fight to stop the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline: The Nebraska Supreme Court overturned a lower court case rejecting the route and eminent domain procedure, and the US House of (mis)Representatives passed a bill to force a quick decision on the pipeline, but thankfully NOT by a veto-proof majority. Obama has gone on record saying he will veto this bill.

Here is the roll call on who voted for and who voted against the pipeline in the House. The Blue Dog Dems broke ranks and voted with the GOP, but the final total was well short of a veto-proof majority, meaning the outcome of SB1/HR3 is now known: The bill will pass, be vetoed by Obama, and the veto will not be overriden.

We still do not know if Obama will reject the pipeline itself, either on its merits or as a result of being pissed about the GOP's brazen attempts to force him to ignore the process. To approve the pipeline would be to commit the continent to another expansion of output from the Alberta Tar Sands pits, assuming plunging oil prices don't cause the pipeline to be abandoned before construction anyway. It would also commit the US to another war with the Lakota Nation, which has sworn to close all reservation borders to TransCanada, all their contractors, and all their equipment. Lakota leaders are on record as saying they would be "dead or in jail" before this infernal pipeline ever touches Lakota land.