The Keystone XL pipeline vote fell one short of the 60 needed to overcome the Democratic Senate filibuster on Tuesday, likely leaving Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu's career in the dust.
Fourteen Democrats backed all 45 Republicans in favor of the Keystone project, which would see crude transported from the Canadian tar sands of Alberta down to refineries in the U.S., reported The Washington Times.
In recent weeks, Landrieu made a huge push to garner support for the bill among her fellow Democrats, and was hoping that her success in getting enough support for the project would translate into increased voter support in her re-election against Republican opponent Rep. Bill Cassidy. But now, that one missing Democratic vote has likely doomed any chance she may have had for re-election.
While the Democratic Party may have bought some time, and President Obama won't have to make any difficult decisions on whether he should veto the Keystone bill, Senate Republicans said they will pass a new version once they take control of the Senate next year, according to The Washington Times.
"Based on Tuesday's vote and Senate balance next year, Republicans should have enough support to overcome a Democratic filibuster but not enough to override a presidential veto," the Times wrote.
Blue-collar labor unions joined Landrieu and Republicans in support of the pipeline, and said it tested whether the Democratic Party could be trusted on jobs, reported the Times.
"The majority of Democrats in the Senate and the White House just don't get it, even though the recent election results surely should have sunk in by now. They have lost their way, their purpose and their base," said Laborers' International Union of North America President Terry O'Sullivan, as quoted by the Times.
One of the major groups opposing the pipeline, Bold Nebraska, said the vote challenged Democratic values.
"The Democratic Party must lead on energy in order to not only win elections but to protect our land and water," the group's director, Jane Kleeb, told the Times. "There is no place in the party to keep on the outdated mantra of drilling more. We've done that for 100 years, it's time to diversify our energy base. Sen. Manchin can represent coal jobs and families. He just can't do that at the expense of others. That type of horse trading has to be over."
