Presidential contenders pick up on LNG debate

The Clinton campaign has been fighting to find traction in the remaining primary states, and in Oregon, one issue that has always provided traction is the environment. 

Clinton’s strategy thus far has often involved selecting local issues and discussing them in smaller town hall style gatherings, where she can interact one-on-one with voters. In her town hall meeting in Hillsboro on Saturday, the Senator called on Anne Berblinger, an organic farmer, who talked about the threat her family farm faced from the proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) pipeline.  

Three LNG terminal proposals have been put forward in Oregon, and the issue has become a hot topic both among property owners in the affected areas and environmental groups.

The Clinton campaign has been drawing on these concerns, highlighting the differences between her and Sen. Barack Obama on the issue. With Berblinger at her side, Clinton noted that she voted against the 2005 energy bill which put decisions regarding siting of LNG terminals at the doorstep of the federal—as opposed to state—government. Obama, she was quick to point out, voted for the bill. 

The Clinton campaign continued to put LNG in the limelight yesterday, on the heels of the introduction of Sen. Ron Wyden’s bill which would return LNG licensing authority to the states, and was backed not only by Clinton, but by her rival, Obama. 

“It is a little inconsistent, to say the least, for Senator Obama to tell the people of Oregon that he supports giving them the power to make these decisions when he voted to let the federal government decide where to site these facilities in the first place,” said Clinton domestic policy director Catherine Brown.

Nick Shapiro, Obama’s Oregon’s Communication Director, had a two-pronged response to the LNG portrait painted by Clinton’s campaign. He derided her for launching a baseless attack and defended Obama’s 2005 vote. 

Shapiro called it “yet another in a long line of Washington political attacks that Senator Clinton knows is not true.” 

“Senator Obama believes we need to obtain the meaningful input of governors and local communities before siting natural gas facilities like pipelines. He voted for the 2005 energy bill because it was the largest investment in renewable and clean energy in history and because it does nothing to restrict the rights of coastal states like Oregon to consult on the placement of pipelines,” Shapiro said.