Clinton breaks with Obama on Arctic drilling Hillary’s statement brought swift attacks from the GOP but praise from Greenpeace.

Hillary Clinton distanced herself Tuesday from President Barack Obama’s decision to approve offshore drilling in the Arctic — a move that quickly drew attacks from the GOP but may shore up her support among skeptical environmentalists.

“The Arctic is a unique treasure,” the Democratic front-runner wrote on Twitter in the morning. “Given what we know, it’s not worth the risk.” The message was signed “H.,” indicating Clinton’s personal endorsement.


She later repeated that sentiment in person during an appearance in Las Vegas. “I have been to the Arctic. I have been to Barrow, [Alaska],” she said, adding: “And I think we should not risk the potential catastrophes that could come about from accidents in looking for more oil in one of the last remaining pristine regions of the world.”

Clinton’s comments, a day after the Interior Department gave Shell permission to drill for oil off Alaska’s coast, represent one of her clearest breaks to date with the Obama administration. It contrasts with her refusal to take a stand on the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline — or to break explicitly with the administration on Pacific trade, though she has raised reservations about the White House’s proposal, or the Iran nuclear deal, which she supports.

Her statement comes as she struggles with less-than-enthusiastic support among Democratic voters in key early states, especially in the face of the progressive challenge from Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. And Arctic drilling is a relatively safe issue on which to get to the left of the White House, allowing her to earn plaudits from environmentalists without much risk of stirring animosity from the rest of her party.

Greens see it as something bigger — the latest sign that Clinton will make the environment a core part of her presidential campaign, reflecting a growing sentiment among Democratic operatives that climate change is a winning issue against the GOP.

Either way, Republicans swiftly bashed her Arctic stance Tuesday — something that will certainly not hurt her standing with Democratic primary voters.

“Wrong,” GOP presidential hopeful Jeb Bush tweeted back at Clinton. “Being more-anti energy than Obama is extreme. We should embrace energy revolution to lower prices & create US jobs.”

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie jumped on Clinton’s continued silence on Keystone, a project that has been awaiting a decision from Obama for more than six years.

“Still waiting to hear your position on Keystone,” Christie tweeted. “#AnswerTheQuestion”

Republican National Committee spokesman Michael Short piled on as well, saying in a statement: “Hillary Clinton’s politically-motivated silence on the Keystone Pipeline is even more untenable in the face of her opposition to yet another job-creating energy project. Once again, Hillary Clinton is reminding voters she’ll say or do anything to get elected.”

Greens mainly cheered her, however.

“Hillary Clinton got it right on the Arctic,” Greenpeace USA Executive Director Annie Leonard said in a statement. She added: “The next President will be responsible for saving the Arctic, so it’s vital we hear where all the candidates stand.”

Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune said in an interview: “It’s huge. If Secretary Clinton were to be elected president we would expect this would mean a rejection of any application to commercially drill” in the Arctic.

“If someone were looking for a clear and unambiguous dividing line between Democrats and Republicans on energy, the environment and climate, this Arctic dispute is a perfect one,” he added.

Still, Clinton hasn’t erased all the skepticism she has faced from environmental activists, especially on Keystone. Clinton, who was secretary of state when her department seemed on the verge of approving the Canada-to-Texas oil pipeline in late 2011, has faced pressure from green groups for refusing to say what the president should do.

Jane Kleeb, a leading anti-Keystone activist in Nebraska, said Tuesday that Clinton’s Arctic comment “conflicts with her statement about how she can not comment on policy decisions that she once had a role.”

“[Secretary] Clinton needs to show leadership across the board on climate change and the risks pipelines and drilling brings to our land and water,” Kleeb added. “It is no time to pick and choose which issues she feels safe talking about to the American people.”

Clinton’s main opponents in the Democratic primaries, Sanders and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, have staked out ample ground to her left on environmental issues by opposing Keystone, Arctic drilling and offshore drilling in general. And the speculation that Vice President Joe Biden may jump into the race would certainly revive hopes from green groups who see him as a likely Keystone opponent. (A Keystone opponent in South Carolina stirred up excitement two years ago by reporting that Biden had told her that “I share your views — but I am in the minority.”)

Even Clinton’s tweet on Arctic drilling left wiggle room on how strong a position she was taking. She didn’t explicitly disagree with the Obama administration’s decision Monday to allow Shell to drill for oil and gas in Alaska’s Chukchi Sea, for example —or even mention Shell by name.

Still, her remark expands upon “doubts” she expressed about Arctic exploration in an interview last month with a New Hampshire television station. “I will be talking about drilling in general, but I am skeptical about whether or not we should give the go-ahead to drill in the Arctic,” she said at the time.

Brune, the Sierra Club leader, doubted that Clinton’s opposition to Arctic drilling would add to her pressure on Keystone. He said it was important for Clinton to outline her stance on Arctic drilling because it will be a major policy decision facing the next president.

“I think they’re different things,” he said. “Keystone will be decided under this administration, that’s pretty clear. But the ability of Shell or any other oil company to extract oil from the Arctic is up to the next president, not the current one.”

Brianna Ehley contributed to this report.