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Originally Posted by dyna mo
I get where you are coming from but here't the thing, it's not nitpicking to think BO should not use veto power to block a bill that has very little consequence and was at the very least and for whatever reason, something the people wanted and Congress actually worked together to pass. It was a step in the right direction and BO could have gone that route and joined in with Congress and shown he is willing and able to compromise.
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Here's the thing, though, and I've seen very little mention of it. BO never said he would ALWAYS veto the bill and that he was opposed to the pipeline in any way, shape or form.
Look at his statement, and Pelosi's (who, a lot of times I think is bat shit crazy, just for the record):
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Pelosi:
Pelosi Statement on President Obamaâ??s Veto of Keystone XL Pipeline | Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi
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?This bill was just another Republican special-interest giveaway. It would have handed a foreign company a license-to-leak on American soil because it keeps the special favors and exemptions that allow companies that ship or refine tar sands oil to dodge paying into the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund ? leaving American taxpayers to foot the bill in the event of a spill. And it would have exempted Keystone from all federal permitting requirements ? including those that apply to every other construction project in the country.
?Today, President Obama stood up for our families, our economy and our environment: vetoing a bad bill that brazenly circumvents a longstanding and proven process already underway to ensure that the Keystone XL Pipeline is good for our country. Whatever one?s position on building the Keystone XL Pipeline, we cannot afford to cut corners on a process that protects our communities.?
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Yeah, she took a stab at the Republicans. But the key thing is that last part of her statement:
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"...Whatever one?s position on building the Keystone XL Pipeline, we cannot afford to cut corners on a process that protects our communities."
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So, it appears to me that the veto was because shit wasn't done the right way, and things aren't properly addressed in the bill. I don't think it's an abuse of power to reject something done half-ass. I really don't think he should have signed it to "show he was a team player" if there's things in it that need corrected/fixed/addressed.
To me, this veto and the statements that followed don't say, "fuck you, I'm not working with you on this" They say, "look, I can't accept this the way it is. There's just some more stuff that we need to work out and research that needs done before we can roll with this." But sadly, in our "my team vs your team" mentality, lines were immediately drawn in the sand.