Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) on Keystone Pipeline: 'Twenty Thousand Jobs Is Really Not That Many Jobs'

This morning, Rep. Jan Schakowsky appeared on the Don Wade and Roma show on WLS-AM Chicago to comment on President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address. Schakowsky praised the president’s green energy initiatives, claiming that the (recalled) Chevy Volt “is doing pretty well” and defending Obama’s failed investment in Solyndra.

When the hosts asked her to defend President Obama’s decision to block the development of the Keystone pipeline, Schakowsky did not dispute that the project would create jobs, but denied that these jobs were significant:

Twenty thousand jobs is really not that many jobs and investing in green technologies will produce that and more. But I’ll tell you what, you know it seems to me that the Republicans would rather have an issue than a pipeline.

When the hosts pointed out that Schakowsky’s union allies support the pipeline, she was speechless. (The full audio from the interview is available here.)

Later in the program, the hosts interviewed Sen. Dan Coats (R-IN), who responded to Schakowsky’s comments:

Tell that to the twenty thousand people that woke up this morning and didn’t have a job to go, “Well, these don’t really matter.” I mean this not only is jobs, this is less dependence on Middle East oil. And here we have you know, the President talking about becoming energy independent but he turns down the easiest way to do that.

Update: Let it be noted that Schakowsky is Chief Deputy Whip of the House Democrats–a core leader of her party in Congress, not just a marginal representative.