Republicans Blast “9,000 Leases” Talking Point: “You Guys Are Smarter Than This”; Inflation Hits 7.9% — 40-Year High

On 3/10/2022, inflation hit 7.9% — the highest in 40 years — as Republican lawmakers slammed the administration’s “9,000 unused leases” talking point. “You guys are smarter than this. I know you are. I really know you are. I can’t believe you let them get away with that kind of baloney,” one Republican said. VP Harris stumbled through a press conference in Poland, saying “a friend in need is a friend in need.” CNN acknowledged the inflation numbers were “going to be tough for the administration” and noted that messaging had shifted from “transitory” to “inflation is good” to “corporate greed” to “Putin.”

7.9% — Worst in 40 Years

CNN broke down the inflation data in stark terms. “Year over year, 7.9% is the inflation number. That is a 40-year high. Month over month, up eight-tenths of a percent. That shows even month to month, inflation is accelerating,” the analyst said. “It is gas. It is shelter. It is food. It is groceries. All these things you basically can’t live without are rising.”

Used cars were up 41% from the prior year. Gas was up 38%. “And again, these numbers don’t capture the big disruption in the economy from Putin’s war,” the analyst noted.

“Nothing has been more politicized than inflation. Let’s harken back to all the things we’ve been through. First it was transitory, then inflation is good. Then we went to corporate greed, now we’re at Putin,” the analyst said.

”You Guys Are Smarter Than This”

A Republican lawmaker delivered the most forceful rebuttal to the administration’s “9,000 unused leases” defense. “You guys are smarter than this. I know you are. I really know you are. I can’t believe you let them get away with that kind of baloney that they’re peddling,” the lawmaker said to reporters.

He laid out the math. “Prior to the Ukrainian war, in the last two weeks in February, zero Russian oil came in. The private sector shut it off themselves. Prior to that, we were bringing in 600,000 barrels a day from Russia,” he said.

“I watched Biden get sworn in. An hour later, he walked into the president’s room, took his papers and started signing executive orders. And one of them was, he shut down the Keystone Pipeline — 700,000 barrels a day,” the lawmaker continued. “Would you rather have 600,000 come in from Russia, getting them rich, or would you rather have 700,000 barrels a day coming in from Canada and having our workers be employed?”

“This is outrageous. Absolutely outrageous for them to try to point the finger and say, ‘Oh, this is somebody else’s fault.’ It’s the Biden administration’s fault,” he concluded.

Harris in Poland: “A Friend in Need Is a Friend in Need”

VP Harris appeared at a joint press conference with Polish President Andrzej Duda and delivered an awkward exchange when asked about accepting refugees. “A friend in need is a friend in need,” Harris said — apparently mangling the idiom “a friend in need is a friend indeed.”

When asked about Putin’s political future, Harris stumbled over who should answer first. “Okay, I can first. Okay, so this time,” she said, prompting Duda to step in.

Harris: “Graduate From Gas”

Harris also made a revealing comment about the gas tax. “When it comes to the gas tax, look, the reality is we are going to have to graduate from the gas tax because we’re going to have to graduate from gas,” Harris said — framing the eventual elimination of gasoline as the administration’s goal.

”Energy Policy Dictated by Children”

Republican energy policy advocates laid out a comprehensive case against the administration’s approach. “We’re sleeping in the bed that we made,” one said. “That’s what happens when you allow energy policy to be dictated by children in Europe, by woke investors on Wall Street, and by politicians who actually think that electric passenger vehicles are going to solve an energy crisis and a climate crisis.”

Another Republican noted the Keystone Pipeline would have used renewable energy. “Union welders in my district lost their job when that pipeline was closed. They said, did you realize this pipeline was going to use total renewable energy to pump the oil? It was actually green jobs being used to transport the oil,” the lawmaker said.

A third connected energy costs to food prices. “Natural gas is the key ingredient to nitrogen fertilizer, which allows us to produce the food to feed the world. As energy cost goes up, the cost of everything is going to go up,” the lawmaker warned.

Key Takeaways

Inflation hit 7.9%, a 40-year high, with used cars up 41% and gas up 38% — and the numbers didn’t yet capture the impact of Russia’s invasion.
CNN catalogued the administration’s shifting inflation messaging: “First transitory, then inflation is good, then corporate greed, now Putin.”
A Republican told reporters “you guys are smarter than this” regarding the “9,000 leases” talking point, contrasting 700,000 barrels/day from Keystone with 600,000/day from Russia.
Harris said America needed to “graduate from gas” and stumbled through a press conference in Poland with “a friend in need is a friend in need.”
Republicans argued energy policy was being “dictated by children in Europe, woke investors on Wall Street, and politicians who think electric vehicles will solve the crisis.”

Transcript Highlights

The following is transcribed from the video audio (unverified — AI-generated from audio).

You guys are smarter than this. I can’t believe you let them get away with that kind of baloney.
7.9% is the inflation number. A 40-year high. Month over month, inflation is accelerating. Gas, shelter, food, groceries.
First it was transitory, then inflation is good, then corporate greed, now Putin.
He shut down the Keystone Pipeline — 700,000 barrels a day. Would you rather have that or 600,000 from Russia?
We’re going to have to graduate from the gas tax because we’re going to have to graduate from gas.
Energy policy dictated by children in Europe, woke investors on Wall Street, and politicians who think EVs will solve the crisis.

Full transcript: 1122 words transcribed via Whisper AI.