Oil is a national security issue. Without oil, America does not move. There’s a scene in the film Battle of the Bulge showing Nazi efforts to commandeer a huge fuel depot. In order to advance their ground troops, the Nazis had to secure Allied fuel supplies for their tanks, trucks, and planes. Germans lacked sufficient fuel reserves to reach Antwerp. Armies and economies run on fuel. Wind, solar, and battery power will not cut it.

The majority of Americans seem to understand this. It’s a huge campaign issue. Not only is oil the lifeblood of our nation’s economy, it’s a huge job producer as well. The oil and gas industries employ, on the low side, 2.2 million people. This doesn’t count the thousands of jobs that depend on petroleum products for their industries:

It might be one of the biggest issues in the upcoming presidential election. . . . CBS News exit polls found 77 percent of those voting in seven Super Tuesday states say rising gas prices were an important factor in their vote.

The poll reflects growing consumer anxiety as gas prices have risen nearly 50 cents a gallon in just over two months.

Consumers have been telling us they are cutting corners because for most driving is a necessity.

Obama and company know all of this. They’re political opportunists. There are votes in “black gold.” So why did a majority of Democrat senators vote against the Keystone XL Pipeline? Why did the president lobby hard against it?

A vibrant economy is a less dependent economy. There is little reason to push for more government dependency programs when an economy is booming. Obama and Company like high unemployment. It gives them the opportunity to create party loyalists for each election.

Some Democrats are worried. That’s why 11 of them sided with Republicans. But don’t be fooled by this. Harry Reid most likely told them that they could vote for the Pipeline because the Democrats had enough votes to stop passage. Even though the Democrats are in the majority, 60 votes were needed to pass the amendment to the transportation legislation.

I suspect that these 11 Democrat seats are in jeopardy. They can now go back to their states and tell their people that they voted for the pipeline against the party establishment.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said that pipeline might be a “worthy” project, but it won’t lower gas prices. This is idiotic and irrelevant. Certainly less gas won’t lower prices. In addition, we’re back to the security issue. Her next statement is beyond absurd:

“There are those who are saying that this pipeline is necessary … [as] a source of energy for our country. The fact is there’s no evidence to support that.”

 “No evidence”? More domestic oil production won’t serve as an energy source? How does this woman stay in office? Haven’t her husband and film-maker daughter told her how stupid she sounds?

The Democrats are making America vulnerable.