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Factually it will cause the price of gasoline to rise in the Midwest which currently enjoys an oversupply of product from Canada.

The bottleneck in Cushing is going to be eliminated regardless of this pipeline going in or not. That price differential between WTI and Global supply is not goint to last much longer. It has already begun to reduce and other pipeline projects are proceding anyways. This was just another red herring thrown up to scare people without looking at what was happening outside this one pipeline project.

For example:

http://fuelfix.com/blog/2011/12/21/seaway-pipeline-reversal-project-announces-open-season/

The USA is nothing but the conduit to enable unrefined Canadian oil

More nonsense designed to scare people. There is already planned a project for even more oil to export on the Gateway pipeline. Transcanada is not building a longer pipeline to farther away port from other markets just to export. That export will happen but it will be with the Gateway pipeline. Shipping oil through the Keystone XL to Gulf Coast would not be competitive with the Gateway pipeline.

The only “advantage” for the USA that this pipeline offers is from short term employment while they are building it.

Perhaps you've heard of OPEC? We buy more oil from them than Canada or any other country. Perhaps you think that is good for us, but I would rather send more dollars to Canada than to OPEC.

Why no beneficial guarantees to the USA that all output from this pipeline will stay in the USA? The pipeline creates some obvious risk and potential environmental cost to the USA with spills etc. and the common good needs met if eminent domain is ever used. Sorry profits for Canada (or USA) oil companies and risk to environment don’t equate to common good in USA.

Congress has a history of giving away the benefits that we Americans should expect from any such deal because most of them are leased from interest groups, and not working for US citizens. I could use the example of free trade as they gave away our huge market and economy to Asia and other countries asking for nothing in return.