The Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank for which former Ohio Democratic governor Ted Strickland worked up until March of this year, celebrated President Obama’s decision to reject the Keystone XL pipeline Friday.
Strickland, who headed the Center for American Progress Action Fund for less than one year and earned $250,000 for his work there, has refused to take a position on the Keystone project, drawing criticism from his opponent for the Democratic nomination for Senate, P.G. Sittenfeld.
In a statement Friday, Center for American Progress President Neera Tanden commended Obama’s rejection of the TransCanada proposal, which would have supported thousands of jobs in the United States.
"President Obama rejected more than a single pipeline; he rejected a future in which the country doubles down on the most-polluting fossil fuels available. Development of tar sands crude--the most carbon-intensive oil on the planet--is wholly inconsistent with averting the worst impacts of climate change," Tanden stated.
"Today’s decision reaffirms the U.S. commitment to addressing climate change. I commend the president for leading the nation down this path toward a cleaner energy future."
In August, Strickland reportedly said he was "staying out" of the Keystone debate because the pipeline "doesn’t involve Ohio" and is "too divisive." That provoked criticism from Sittenfeld, a 31-year-old Cincinnati city councilman, who Strickland has refused to debate ahead of the Democratic primary.
"Since when did it become acceptable for Senate candidates to avoid dealing with issues because they are controversial and divisive?" Sittenfeld told reporters in August. " Leaders lead--they don’t bob, weave, evade, and equivocate"
The Center for American Progress has fought against the Keystone pipeline, which the State Department has been reviewing for seven years. In November 2014, when Strickland was working for the organization, the think tank pushed experts who were available to comment on the "dangers" of approving the proposal.
Multiple Center for American Progress employees have made contributions to Strickland’s campaign for Senate.
Obama said Friday that the pipeline would not have had a substantial long-term impact on the U.S. economy. His decision drew heavy criticism from Republicans and a large union of construction workers, the Laborers’ International Union of North America, which accused the president of putting special interests over blue-collar workers.