Republicans knock Clinton on Arctic drilling, Keystone

Republicans hit Hillary Clinton for her Tuesday tweet opposing oil drilling in the Arctic Ocean, tying it to her refusal to say where she stands on the Keystone XL pipeline.

Clinton tweeted that drilling in the Arctic is “not worth the risk,” echoing many environmentalists who say a potential oil spill there would be devastating to the area’s ecosystem and especially hard to clean up. 

{mosads}Republicans said Clinton, the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, should also say where she stands on the Keystone pipeline, something she has resisted because of her role in early Obama administration reviews of the project.

“Hillary Clinton’s politically-motivated silence on the Keystone pipeline is even more untenable in the face of her opposition to yet another job-creating energy project,” Republican National Committee spokesman Michael Short said in a statement. “Once again, Hillary Clinton is reminding voters she’ll say or do anything to get elected.”

Republican presidential candidates took aim as well.

“Still waiting to hear your position on Keystone…” New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie tweeted to Clinton.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush moved beyond Keystone, and said Clinton was “wrong” on Arctic drilling. 

“Being more-anti energy than Obama is extreme,” Bush tweeted to Clinton. “We should embrace energy revolution to lower prices & create US jobs.”

Green groups that blasted President Obama on Monday for allowing Royal Dutch Shell to drill for oil in the Arctic praised Clinton for coming out against the plan. 

“Hillary Clinton got it right on the Arctic,” Greenpeace USA executive director Annie Leonard said. Greenpeace activists have led protests against the drilling plan and worked to physically block important equipment from reaching Shell’s drilling site in the Chukchi Sea.  

“Shell and President Obama have ignored the world’s best scientists, as well as millions of people around the world, who have all said repeatedly that the melting Arctic is a dire warning, not an invitation. The next President will be responsible for saving the Arctic, so it’s vital we hear where all the candidates stand.” 

Michael Brune, the executive director of the Sierra Club, said Clinton is “standing up for what science, the will of the American people and common sense demand.”

“She’s exactly right: everything we know about dangerous oil drilling in the Arctic indicates it imperils a national treasure and is guaranteed to make our climate crisis worse,” he said.