Virginia’s Top Liberal Blog: Ralph Northam’s Pipeline Problem “Isn’t Going Away”

Virginia Democrats’ anger over Ralph Northam’s support for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline continues to dampen enthusiasm, weakening the party’s chances of victory in November. Virginia’s top liberal blog, Blue Virginia, which has published a steady stream of columns this summer bashing Northam for supporting the pipeline, recently noted that the “controversy isn’t going away” and that it could end up becoming the story of the election. While Northam continues to face harassment from anti-pipeline Democrats who have booed him at campaign events, protested his office openings, and even interrupted him at a debate, it’s clear that a large part of his base find his support for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline unacceptable.

Blue Virginia writes:

“We heard it from Gov. Terry McAuliffe. We heard it repeatedly from Lt. Governor Ralph Northam during his primary campaign against pipeline opponent Tom Perriello. During one of the debates, Northam refused to say whether he was for or against the pipelines, falling back on the notion that his hands are tied: ‘At the end of the day, FERC, a federal agency will be the one to make the final determination,’ he said. ‘It’s not something that a Governor or a Lt. Governor can make a decision on.’ On July 15, Ralph Northam told a group in Charlottesville the same thing, “At the end of the day it’s an interstate project and that means that FERC is going to making the final decisions.’ Just a few weeks ago, he told the Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions to focus on FERC, ‘If there is attention that has to be given to someone that’s gonna make the decision, it should be at the federal level.’

I’ve even heard it from some local delegates and non-elected Democratic party leaders. To a one, the message has been loud and clear: We can’t do anything about the pipelines so you might as well be quiet. After all, we have an election to win.

Yes, we do have an election to win. But this controversy isn’t going away. In fact, the issue is just starting to heat up. And if our political leaders don’t start being a bit more candid, this issue could be the story of the November elections.”