Every Mardi Gras in Louisiana, groups of friends, colleagues, neighbors, and fans join to form an organization called a “krewe.” These krewes put on masquerade balls, build floats to march in high energy parades, and toss beads and painted coconuts. This Mardi Gras, there’s a new krewe in town, dubbed the “Krewe of Landrieu,” and their activities can be tracked, thanks to the new website, www.kreweoflandrieu.com. 

Krewe members include Sens. Barbara Boxer, Dianne Feinstein, Patrick Leahy, and Sheldon Whitehouse, to name a few. What’s the unifying characteristic of all these members? They’ve received some serious Mary Landrieu cash–and they’re all opposed to the Keystone XL Pipeline.

The Krewe of Landrieu has led quite a parade of opposition to the Keystone. Sen. Boxer (D-CA) said the Keystone is “not in the nation’s interest,” and Sen. Whitehouse (D-RI) said the “pipeline takes us in the wrong direction” and “supports the wrong kind of energy.”

Not in the nation’s interest? Taking the U.S. in the wrong direction? Last week the Wall Street Journal reported an estimated 830,000 barrels of oil would be headed to Gulf Coast refineries if the Keystone was approved. Clearly, the pipeline is in the interest of Louisiana. Furthermore, construction of the pipeline would immediately ease America’s dependence on foreign oil.  According to the American Petroleum Institute, Keystone approval means the U.S. could be completely energy independent by 2024.

Landrieu, who calls herself “indispensible” to her state, has effectively pulled off an energy shell game, taking major donations from oil and gas companies along the Gulf Coast and discreetly funneling them to energy’s top opponents. Landrieu’s JAZZ PAC has been supporting the election efforts of anti-oil and gas senators for the past ten years. While Landrieu claims to be a friend to the energy industry and a defender of her state’s interests, this decade-long pattern of behavior undermining energy interests in the Senate speaks volumes about her true priorities.

Is anyone surprised by the Krewe of Landrieu? Probably not, since their sponsor, Landrieu herself, has a record of voting with President Obama 97 percent of the time. Landrieu’s nearly unfaltering support of a President who has a 39 percent approval rating in Louisiana paints a clear picture that Landrieu seeks membership in liberal Senate cliques while disregarding her home state.

The “Krewe of Landrieu” has been killing jobs and hopes for Louisiana citizens for far too long. 

Doesn’t sound very festive to me.

Mark Meckler is the President of Citizens for Self-Governance