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• n  a central cohesive source of support and stability
  the keystone of campaign reform was the ban on soft money
• n  the central building block at the top of an arch or vault

• Biologists talk about keystone species essential for the proper function of an ecosystem; Suzuki is a keystone guy.
• These neighbors, edgy of late about China's new military strength, see Vietnam as a keystone to regional stability.

• anchor
• mainstay
• backbone
• linchpin
• lynchpin
• key
• headstone

News & Articles

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• Obama Tells Keystone Foes He Will Unveil Climate Measures
  With his administration under pressure from environmentalists to reject the Keystone XL pipeline project, President Barack Obama plans to unveil a package of separate actions next month focused on curbing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.
  June 13, 2013 - Bloomberg
• Keystone Sports to pay city of Chester $500K
  CHESTER — Keystone Sports and Entertainment will pay the city of Chester $500,000 over the next four years to square up on a payment originally due in 2010.
  June 12, 2013 - Delaware County Daily Times
• Keystone XL: the 'Kim Kardashian of energy'?
  Keystone XL plays an outsize role in US energy discourse, earning the nickname "the Kim Kardashian of energy" from one US senator. But Keystone XL serves as an important touchstone for both its supporters and detractors. 
  June 12, 2013 - The Christian Science Monitor

Quotes

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• Gordon Brown in BBC News
  At a press conference after the meeting with Speaker Michael Martin and the leaders of major and minority parties, Mr Brown said: "I believe that the keystone of any reform must be to switch from self-regulation to independent external regulation."
• John Howard in Hindu
  To call the federal police Keystone Kops is disgraceful. The federal police are integral to the fight against terrorism in this country,Howard said.
• Peter Beattie in The Age
  The federal police clarified that that report wasn't correct,Mr Beattie said. "Now my comments in relation to Keystone Cops were made prior to that being clarified by police."