Gas Skyrockets: Will Biden Shutdown Another Pipeline?

This is Logan Sekulow.

As gas prices skyrocket, will President Biden shut down another pipeline? Keeping you informed and engaged, now more than ever, this is Sekulow. We want to hear from you. Share and post your comments. Recall 1-800-684-3110.

And now your host, Logan Sekulow. Been to the pump lately? Well, I don't know if you guys have noticed, I'm topping out. I'm going to the point, I have maybe a larger SUV, so I'm getting to the point where my gas station, my area will be like, there's clearly a problem.

You spent too much money trying to fill up your tank. Two transactions. Two transactions because it's hitting that $100 sometimes limit that a lot of your gas stations have. And obviously we've seen gas prices skyrocket throughout the country. I know we were looking at the news just yesterday. And I believe in the more, you know, California and those areas, you're seeing six, seven dollars, five, six, seven dollars a gallon.

So we are closer in the three to four dollar range, depending on where you want. But we are seeing this and people are asking, you know, is this directly influenced by decisions? And we also know that there's a lot of doublespeak happening. There's a lot more going on. And we're going to talk about that as we progress. And Will said you were in the Gulf Coast of Florida, maybe a more conservative area of Florida, not to Florida.

Florida now has more Republicans, Democrats first time ever, but maybe a more conservative area of Florida. You said even on the gas pumps. Someone had some playful vandalism. I don't endorse it, but it was humorous. And I got to the pump because there were stickers that were President Biden pointing at the price per gallon portion of the pumps.

And it said, I did this. And so it was people are feeling that across the country, though. That's a humorous instance where people are pointing out that the policies of a President are affecting the economic pocketbook of everyday Americans. But while we can laugh at that, it's not really a laughing matter because we're seeing record inflation. We're seeing record prices rise across food industry. We see the slowdown of the supply chain. Yeah, we've seen the inflation culture.

This is happening. Biggest inflation in years and not necessarily going to be benefit to a lot of normal Americans who are having to see these issues, not just at the price at the pump, but how that affects even beyond that. And there's been threatens in conversations that have happened. Well, about even more pipelines being shut down. I'm not going to pretend to sit here with you and pretend that I'm an expert in this. I actually know very little about this. You may say, why are we listening? Well, we got people who know a lot more about the economy.

We got people who know a lot more about that industry. We're going to break it down because a lot of people even wonder, well, how a President even impacts this. We obviously saw a year, a couple of years there of Trump presidency where you were seeing the what felt like the early 90s and the late 90s, early 2000s of pre-Obama years, which were gas prices at $1, $1.50. And all of a sudden that was back to normal. Now we're seeing what feels like, again, what happened sort of about a decade ago, which was when the prices started cresting three into $4 and a lot of sort of mid-America states.

And then obviously on the coast, it was significantly higher. And another problem that comes out of this whole discussion, which we're going to get into, we've got Professor Hutcheson who's an expert in economic law. And we've got Wes Smith who understands the national security implications of having the economy strong or weak and how that can affect different things. But we're going to get into that today. And also the way that the administration is responding to some of the criticism or even questions about how they're handling this, it shows that they're out of touch with what the American people are wanting and needing at this time. And we're going to break it down and maybe what should be done. Yeah. What about your local area? Have you seen this start happening?

Not just gas prices, but just the inflation heading towards Christmas time really starting to take place. I'm curious where you are in the country. If you're feeling the same tight squeeze that is happening to a lot of Americans, that's at 1-800-684-3110, 1-800-684-3110. If you want to be on the air, this is the time to call. Once again, 1-800-684-3110. We can break down if you have questions about all this works.

I think a lot of us do. This would be a great time to call as well. 1-800-684-3110. Get your comments in on Facebook and on YouTube. We'll take some of those as well. Again, we'll be joined by Mike Pompeo later in the show. We have Than Bennett in D.C. and our whole cast of regulars here at Harry Hutchinson. Wes Smith, obviously Will's here joining me today. Executive producer of Sekulow now in the studio with my host, which I appreciate.

We'll be right back with more. At the American Center for Law and Justice, we're engaged in critical issues at home and abroad. Whether it's defending religious freedom, protecting those who are persecuted for their faith, uncovering corruption in the Washington bureaucracy, and fighting to protect life in the courts and in Congress, the ACLJ would not be able to do any of this without your support.

For that, we are grateful. Now there's an opportunity for you to help in a unique way. For a limited time, you can participate in the ACLJ's Matching Challenge. For every dollar you donate, it will be matched. A $10 gift becomes $20.

A $50 gift becomes $100. This is a critical time for the ACLJ. The work we do simply would not occur without your generous support.

Take part in our Matching Challenge today. You can make a difference in the work we do, protecting the constitutional and religious freedoms that are most important to you and your family. Give a gift today online at ACLJ.org. Only when a society can agree that the most vulnerable and voiceless deserve to be protected is there any hope for that culture to survive. And that's exactly what you are saying when you stand with the American Center for Law and Justice to defend the right to life. We've created a free, powerful publication offering a panoramic view of the ACLJ's battle for the unborn.

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Request your free copy of Mission Life today online at ACLJ.org slash gift. Welcome back to Sekulow. Phone lines are lighting up. We appreciate all of you calling.

There are a few open at 1-800-684-3110. Give our phone screen a few minutes to get through all these calls that are coming in because obviously a lot of you have a lot to say. And we got to make sure we get into the computer system and get through it, get to us.

It's a whole process. So if it's ringing, just wait. If you're on hold, just wait. We'll get to you.

Just give it a minute here. Will, I think we're good. We're good. We're good. We're good. We're good. We're good. We're good. We'll get to you.

Just give it a minute here. Will, I think we should start this segment off with some sound so people know that we're not just talking here, that there is some real interesting conversations happening. And maybe we'll kick it to Than after this, talk about the implications of it in DC.

Right. So last week there was a report by Politico that the administration was studying the impact to energy prices if this pipeline, I think it's called Line 5, would be shut down in Michigan. Now, this is a pet project of the governor of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer. She wants this shut down. She's written op-eds about it. It has international implications because there are treaties with Canada.

So it gets very messy and that's why the federal government has to really look at this as well. But in a press conference, this was yesterday, Peter Ducey asked Corrine Jean-Pierre, who is the deputy press secretary. She has been giving these daily press briefings while Jen Psaki is... You said that very well. I was gonna say, you said the name very well. Well, you know, I tried. I tried.

I mean, it was perfect. But she's been doing the press briefings while Jen Psaki is out. And so this is the question from Peter Ducey and then her first answer, and then we'll do a follow-up after that. So first, let's go to bite two.

The energy secretary says about the cost of Americans heating their homes in the winter will be more expensive this year than last year. So why is the administration now considering shutting down the Line 5 pipeline from Canada to Michigan? So Peter, that is inaccurate. That is not right. So any reporting indicating that some decision has been made, again, is not accurate.

But what I will say is, I'll lay this out for you for a little bit here. Where we are with this is that Canada has decided to invoke dispute resolution provisions of the 1977 Transit Pipelines Treaty. We expect that both the U.S. and Canada will engage constructively in those negotiations. Yeah. So she didn't really answer his question because he said, why are they considering shutting down?

She said it's inaccurate, but then also kind of confirms it by saying that Canada's invoking a treaty. I will say. And we're having to deal with this. We're having to say, I will say, it sort of infers that maybe there's a little bit more to be discovered.

But he pushes back, Peter Doocy does. He doesn't let her get away with kind of glossing over his comment and saying it's inaccurate because he would take issue with that saying it wasn't inaccurate. So let's play Byte 4 when there's some follow up. The current Line 5 pipeline is subject to litigation between Enbridge and the state of Michigan. So again, it is inaccurate what you just stated, but the reporting, the reporting about us wanting to shut down the Line 5.

Is it being studied right now, is the administration studying the impact of shutting down the Line 5? Yes, we are. We are.

What's inaccurate? Well, I thought you were saying that we were going to shut it down, but that is not inaccurate. So just the conversation is happening of, are we going to shut it down?

No plans have been made, no guarantees, but it's at least on the table. So that's what's kind of been the problem with the press shop at the White House thus far is that we're constantly getting told things that are inaccurate. The reporting is wrong. This is something that if it was President Trump's press shop, they would say this is fake news. But what we're then seeing is then they end up confirming it many times in the same discussion. So they're not prepared to handle these questions about real policy issues that American people are seeing every day when they go to the gas pump. But then they're having to quickly turn, and so they look ill-prepared.

They look like they either don't care or they don't know, and that's a problem to show confidence in our administration, in our government, when they're not even prepared to handle the basic questions. Yeah. And people were asking specifically who this was. Now, this is just assistant, essentially. This is the deputy press secretary. She's still recovering from COVID?

That's right. Jen Psaki tested positive for COVID, and so she's in the quarantine period. She is expected to be the replacement for Jen Psaki. Which is fairly soon, right? Jen Psaki had said she was only going to be the press secretary for the first year, and then there will be a replacement. She was obviously the press secretary during the Biden campaign, and then took this role and said, I'm only doing it for a year, then I'm going to pass it on. Yeah.

Which is not uncommon. Jen Psaki is very much expected to be that replacement. She has not been named that yet, but she is the most out there face when you see Jen Psaki out of the podium.

So get used to hearing from her, get used to the name, and Dan, I want to kick to you. Washington DC, obviously, everyone's known for doublespeak. There's a lot of people talking about both sides of their mouth, but when it comes to this, it just seems like not only doublespeak, just sort of nonsensical words that are coming out of the mouth of the Biden administration, because it is just, again, it seems like a game that we're playing. You know, we didn't talk about it, but we did talk about it. We're not doing it.

Maybe we are. It's on the table, but not discussed. Go ahead. Yeah, you just have to read through it a little bit, Logan. I mean, I would say a couple of things.

First of all, to set the foundation. I mean, it would be the worst possible time to lose access to a crude oil pipeline. It comes at the same time that the President is actually asking OPEC countries to increase production.

So we clearly need more production. We need to bring it in from overseas, and yet it might be a time to consider shutting down a so-called domestic pipeline. But let me explain something to our listeners here, Logan, and I think they probably already get this. But let's just say, hypothetically, the administration was going to shut down this pipeline. How would they go about doing that? Logan, they would have to comply with a process. That process would start with the Army Corps of Engineers doing a study to assess the economic impact of that. Well, what are they doing?

They're doing that study right now. So they are engaging in the first step of the process that if carried to its completion, what would it do? It would shut down the pipeline. So that's what the press secretary said there, Logan. She tried to say it in a way that says we're not going to do it, but they have initiated the process of shutting down a pipeline.

That's just what has happened. And Harry, we look at this and we know, as people point out sometimes, the hypocrisy, that the Biden administration walked away from putting a hold on the pipeline, the Nordstream 2 pipeline, which is Russia and Germany's big pipeline. So he's fine with them getting energy for their people. But then here they're in discussions to deliver a victory for Gretchen Whitmer in Michigan who wants this pipeline shut down at a time when we're seeing the prices across the board record inflation. What impact economically does this have to everyday Americans when they're even putting out there that they're studying how this would affect things?

I think it will have a massive impact on Americans. So we should keep in mind that the Biden administration first decided to shut down the Keystone pipeline. They then gave permission to Russia for its Nordstrom 2 pipeline. Meanwhile, in the United States, inflation is exploding, energy costs are rising and energy costs are a substantial component of inflation. This policy by the Biden administration shutting down pipeline 2, or at least considering that, in the midst of a gasoline crisis is driven by the dry wood of elites disdain for the common folk mixed with the high octane jet fuel of ideology and moral superiority.

This is so because climate change has become little more than a secular religion on steroids for billionaires and the organizations they control. So meanwhile, guess what? The common folk, they have to pick up the cost. So the Biden administration, I believe, is prepared to see an acceleration in fuel costs. That will cost jobs.

That will drive up the prices of goods. Keep in mind, we have tanker ships off the coast of California. They are burning fossil fuel. Also we should keep in mind that 60% of the electricity generated in the United States comes from fossil fuel.

So at the end of the day, I think the Biden administration is confused and incompetent, and they demonstrate that on a daily basis. I mean, you brought up that it's become sort of, as you said, like a religion of some form. You do at least have to get, you know, there was the whole big climate event that happened last year.

In Glasgow. And you had everyone's out there, all the big names, your Greta Thunbergs, all the people are out there. You got to give it to her because she at least went out there and I don't necessarily agree with her on a lot of things and said, you know what, this is a big show for a lot of these people. And as much as I don't agree with her point of view, I also don't agree with the theater of the environmentalism. I believe you, if you want to go full out environmentalist, do everything you want to do, replace your straws, do all those things.

Totally fine with it. I'm not necessarily agreeing with you, but at least you have convictions. What I don't have time for is people who talk a lot, which I think is what she actually claimed, which is, this is just a lot of blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I don't necessarily disagree because I think these corporations and the government, and we're going to get into it and I have a fan wants to break down fossil fuels and you want to talk to me, Wes, about how that's going to work in the military.

I don't know a lot of this. Let's find out, let's go deeper into this because I think there is some hypocrisy that happens because it looks good. It's good PR. It's good PR to shut down a pipeline. It's a good PR to say we're going to all electric vehicles, which again, don't have a big problem with that.

I may have an electric vehicle or a pre-ordered an electric vehicle. I like the idea. I like tech moving forward regardless.

But I think there's a lot of, you know, green hyperbole that comes into, it's not necessarily accurate. So we're going to get into that. Give us a call too. We want to know about state of affairs in your area, or if you have any question or comment related to this.

I know the audio probably do. I do. 1-800-684-3110.

We have a few lines open 1-800-684-3110. We'll be right back. Only when a society can agree that the most vulnerable and voiceless deserve to be protected.

Is there any hope for that culture to survive? And that's exactly what you were saying. When you stand with the American Center for Law and Justice to defend the right to life, we've created a free powerful publication offering a panoramic view of the ACLJ's battle for the unborn. It's called Mission Life. It will show you how you are personally impacting the pro-life battle through your support. And the publication includes a look at all major ACLJ pro-life cases, how we're fighting for the rights of pro-life activists, the ramifications of Roe v. Wade 40 years later, play on parenthood's role in the abortion industry, and what Obamacare means to the pro-life movement. Discover the many ways your membership with the ACLJ is empowering the right to life.

Request your free copy of Mission Life today online at ACLJ.org slash gift. At the American Center for Law and Justice, we're engaged in critical issues at home and abroad. Whether it's defending religious freedom, protecting those who are persecuted for their faith, uncovering corruption in the Washington bureaucracy, and fighting to protect life in the courts and in Congress, the ACLJ would not be able to do any of this without your support.

For that, we are grateful. Now there's an opportunity for you to help in a unique way. For a limited time, you can participate in the ACLJ's Matching Challenge. For every dollar you donate, it will be matched.

A $10 gift becomes $20, a $50 gift becomes $100. This is a critical time for the ACLJ. The work we do simply would not occur without your generous support. Take part in our Matching Challenge today. You can make a difference in the work we do, protecting the constitutional and religious freedoms that are most important to you and your family.

Give a gift today online at ACLJ.org. Welcome back to Secular. Will, I know you wanted to play a bite pretty early on to kind of piggyback off of what Professor Hutcherson had to say, so I'll let you take it.

That's right. Professor Hutcherson was saying that there's a disdain from the elites, especially with the religion of climate change and this whole narrative that they've constructed. But the Secretary of Energy, she was on Bloomberg News just a couple days ago and was asked about this energy crisis. So this is a cabinet member who's tasked with this. Her entire bureaucracy is built on energy policy of the United States. So he asked a very interesting question about the increase in energy prices and gas prices, and her response shows the out-of-touch nature of the administration perfectly summed up in one bite.

So let's go ahead and play bite 14. In Sturgis, Michigan, it is $2.89 a gallon. I guess that's better than in California. What is the Granholm plan to increase oil production in America? That is hilarious.

Would that I had the magic wand on this. As you know, of course, oil is a global market. It is controlled by a cartel.

That cartel is called OPEC, and they made a decision yesterday that they were not going to increase beyond what they were already planning. It's hilarious. So funny. And energy crisis is funny to our secretary of energy, clearly. It's ridiculous.

I mean, one of those Marie Antoinette moments, let them eat cake, you know. I mean, this is insane, and the climate craziness has become a religion, but prices climbed last month, 6.2%. This affects little people, the average American like you and me, at the highest increase in one month in 30 years. And Biden's own Bureau of Labor Statistics says the biggest part of that increase is oil and gas. That's what's causing, you know, prices to go up. Fuel oil for heating homes in the north and northeast went up 12.3% in October alone. And whenever he talks about closing down a pipeline, it's not just about, you know, the price of gasoline. It's jobs. When he closed down the Keystone pipeline, over a million people were put out of work immediately. There will be more put out if he closes down line five.

And yet he's not a monarch, but President Biden is acting like he is a monarch. Let's go ahead. I think you're right. Let's go ahead. Take a phone call. Let's go to Anita in California.

You're on line three and you are on the air. Anita, what's your comment? I have a major concern in regards to the gas prices as well as the prices going up for food. I mean, we're barely coming out of COVID and barely going back to work. So this is a major concern. And as a society, what can we do to overpower or whatever it is that we need to do in regards to the protocol of having a voice so we could be heard and things could get changed? Yeah, I think there is that concern in general that we can talk about this all we want, but what can really be done if you're an average American? Where are decisions made? Where do you dealing with this at the ballot box?

Are you, are there actual action items that can be made? Well, and that's one question I would, I would push to fan because right now we're hearing the rapid speed at which the Democrats are going to push forward their social spending bill. At a time when people need, they need relief from whether it be the job market craziness, whether it be the, whether it be the energy crisis that we're facing, the supply chain issues that we have, the American people need help now.

They don't need these theoretical social spending plans that in the words of the deputy press secretary will transform and be transformative. What they need is an administration that has a policy focused on today. And so fan, is it the job of people like our organization and people contacting their representatives to say, Hey, we need DC to focus on today, not the theoretical. Yeah, I mean, America needs to get back to work will, I mean, just the bottom line they do.

And look, that's part of the reason that secretary Graham Holmes comments there are so offensive. It's literally her job to do a couple of things on these very issues. Number one, yes, it's fine to develop alternatives.

Logan spoke to this just a minute ago. It's a good thing to proactively seek new sources of energy and constantly, constantly be looking to the future. But will she's also has an obligation to recognize what is producing the fuel for our economy today. Harry referenced the 60% of homes are heated by fossil fuels. And if we have just a moment, I actually would make the case that fossil fuels have demonstrably been a moral good over the course of human history. I think it's an indisputable fact, but to your point specifically, if they're going to focus on a social spending bill that will just bring more dependence on the federal government rather than recognizing that we've got to both increase production domestically and make sure that our sources to be able to access it through things like pipelines from Canada and even importing it from overseas, will they're going to exacerbate the problem. They have to recognize the realities of where our energy sources are today and how those directly derive, drive our economy. Absolutely. And look, we had a caller on Anita who just said, you know, that she's noticing that the prices are skyrocketing gas.

And look, there's someone who also agrees with you, it's going to bite 18. I know the cost of gas, groceries and rent seems to be harder and harder to handle. That seems like the emotion you want out of your President, out of your leader, you know, things are harder and harder and harder to handle.

No kidding. I think people are seeing that everywhere. You're seeing that whether you're the employer trying to find people to work or you're seeing the employee who doesn't have enough money to be able to pay for the gas or the food to put on their table. And if you are saying that gas, groceries and rent seem to be harder and harder to handle, those are kind of the three essentials.

And he's not wrong. I agree with President Biden with that statement that gas, groceries and rent, the prices and costs seem to be harder and harder to handle. Here's the problem. They're spending all their time focusing on the climate summit in Scotland or pushing forward a social spending bill that won't address these very issues. And after the elections last week in Virginia, the very close one in New Jersey, referendums that weren't passed in Michigan, all of these things were a rejection of the way that the administration is trying to push America forward in a different and non-conservative way for sure, but in a more progressive way. And instead we have the President saying this, but he's not doing anything to do that. Yeah. And then brought up something that I think a lot of people maybe cause just new cycle change you forget is of course, earlier this year we had the hacking of one of the major pipelines that threw everything into chaos or thought there was going to be a gas shortage. They ended up having to pay like a ransom to get it unlocked. It does show then that the vulnerability of this system is pretty, it's pretty much there. Yeah. I think it opened American's eyes, Logan.

I really do. I mean, I think they saw that at a moment's known as if there's an interruption in supply chain or even just a temporary drawdown, you might not just experience higher prices. You might not be able to get gas altogether. I mean, I can tell you here on the East coast, we had two to three days, Logan, where it was very, very difficult to find a gas station that had gas.

Look, I've got a very small farm operation. I can tell you right now, today, I make sure that those gas cans for my mowers and small farm equipment, Logan, they don't run dry. I'm not going to trust the fact that we don't have another interruption. Yeah, and people panic and they go get gas and you can't blame them when you know this stuff can happen. You know, a lot of people were saying that, well, don't go get gas right now.

Well, if everyone else, you know, there's this sort of cascading effect, because you get concerned because again, we've seen the infrastructure fail us on multiple occasions. Look, we got another half hour coming up, support the work of the ACLJ at ACLJ.org. We have a matching challenge going on right now. We'll discuss more of the work of the ACLJ later on, especially with Mike Pompeo coming up with the last segment of the show.

So stay tuned for that. In about 25 minutes, he'll be joining us, but until then, we do have another half hour. If you don't get us on your local station, find us broadcasting live right now on YouTube, on Facebook, and on ACLJ.org. We do have a few phone lines open, and hey, for those waiting on hold, we'll get to you as well. 1-800-684-3110. It takes some calls a little earlier than we usually do even. 1-800-684-3110.

We'll be right back with more on Secula. At the American Center for Law and Justice, we're engaged in critical issues at home and abroad. For a limited time, you can participate in the ACLJ's matching challenge. For every dollar you donate, it will be matched. A $10 gift becomes $20. A $50 gift becomes $100. You can make a difference in the work we do, protecting the constitutional and religious freedoms that are most important to you and your family.

Give a gift today online at ACLJ.org. Keeping you informed and engaged, now more than ever, this is Sekulow. And now your host, Logan Sekulow. Welcome back to Sekulow.

This is Logan. We're talking about a lot of issues, but mainly energy and gas, and the gas prices skyrocketing and the inflation that's happening over this holiday season, and particularly one of the worst times this could be happening for a lot of people. We have a lot of phone calls. A lot of people are calling right now. I want to jump to one of those real quick before the end of this segment, as long as this first segment's a little shorter. So let's take one of those. Let's go start with Kevin, who's a truck driver, who's out there on Line 4.

I don't want him holding too long. He's a truck driver. We respect him. Kevin, you're on the air. Hi.

Thank you for the good work you do on ACLJ, and I pray for your folks each and every day and support you. I was just in Circleville, Ohio about a week ago to get fuel, and they said they didn't have fuel there for two days. We're shut down with fuel, no fuel, and I know in Kingman, Arizona, the petrol is only allowing truckers to get 60 gallons of fuel at a time, and that takes usually 150 to fill your tanks.

Yeah. You got to sell that. I mean, that's very hard on your job, I can imagine. When you think about your average commercial car, it's probably a 15-gallon tank. You got the SUVs, you get the 30-gallon tank, and you're talking about these guys who have up to 140, and they're having to stop every 60 gallons.

That can change. I mean, you're talking about the supply chain and all those issues. And why prices rise because you're having to stop more, you're having to... It takes longer for things to get places. It's not an instant thing filling up 140 gallons. It adds time to the delivery of things.

It adds cost because you're hitting different prices in different markets. Just the whole thing, we think of the supply chain issues, we think of the ships out in the sea that can't get to port because there's labor shortages, the offloading of those containers, but it's not just there where the supply chain issues are hitting hiccups. It's hitting it with this energy crisis, with the ability to get the fuel even at the gas stations where they need to fill up. So it's not just a... We see the images of the offshore boats waiting and think, that's the supply chain issue, but it's throughout the entire infrastructure of the nation of trying to get goods and things delivered. And that's a very scary place to be in if the administration isn't able to focus on it in the appropriate way.

Yeah. When you have the President saying, yeah, we know that this is happening. It's no longer a theory or a conspiracy or potential happening. It's happening. Everyone's admitting it.

We all know. We all see the prices go up. We all see these issues. And it can't be moved to a political point of view. I feel like we're beyond now a right and left. We have to figure out a solution. And Wes brought up a good point during the break that just a year ago, the United States was energy independent.

Yeah, absolutely. And now we're begging for more from OPEC just a year later. And OPEC, as far as refusing to increase production, which would lower the prices, we were completely energy independent one year ago, not needing to import any oil for the American people. And now we're totally dependent on OPEC.

This is craziness writ large. And I think there are actually three things coming together that President Biden, his administration seemed to be oblivious to other than I think there's this elitist mentality has exhibited by the energy secretary that they do not understand what the average American is struggling with. But in addition to their three things coming together, inflation, which is out of control, highest in 30 years, people can't afford to buy the things that they're used to buying. There are fuel prices. In January, when Biden took office, fuels has gone up since then a dollar and 30 cent a gallon on the national average is 59 percent increase in fuel. And then the supply chain. So you take inflation, fuel prices, the supply chain, put those three things together. And we are on the verge of a crisis.

And it appears based on projected policies like we're talking about with Line 5, that the administration is totally oblivious to the convergence of these issues. It's the crisis upon the crisis upon the crisis that sadly we've been kind of dealt with the last 24 months or so. It seems like I can't catch a break in America, but some of that decisions, sadly, maybe of those in charge, we do have some phone lines open and here's the deal. We're going to be taking a lot more of those calls next segment. We typically do because we're rounding out the show of Mike Pompeo at the end, which is usually want to take calls.

So if you want to call in, this is kind of your last opportunity. I want to know how things are looking. You're part of the country and your thoughts on this in general, 1-800-684-3110. If you're watching right now on Facebook, share this with your friends and also give us a call as well, 1-800-684-3110.

Like and subscribe on YouTube. We'll be right back. At the American Center for Law and Justice, we're engaged in critical issues at home and abroad. Whether it's defending religious freedom, protecting those who are persecuted for their faith, uncovering corruption in the Washington bureaucracy and fighting to protect life in the courts and in Congress, the ACLJ would not be able to do any of this without your support.

For that, we are grateful. Now there's an opportunity for you to help in a unique way. For a limited time, you can participate in the ACLJ's matching challenge. For every dollar you donate, it will be matched.

A $10 gift becomes $20, a $50 gift becomes 100. This is a critical time for the ACLJ. The work we do simply would not occur without your generous support.

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Request your free copy of Mission Life today online at ACLJ.org slash gift. We were just talking about at the break how things are starting to feel. Again, I wasn't there, but I've heard the stories of the Jimmy Carter era of the 70s where a President would come out and say statements like he said, put on a sweater, turn your thermostat down, conserve energy, do these things because we're having so many problems. It doesn't sound unlike something you'd hear from a President Biden. Now you think we learned our lesson, but you know, it's been long enough because again, I wasn't there. I was, I came along about 10 years later, but I've heard the stories.

I feel like those are the stories you're always told as a kid. You didn't have to live through the Biden era, the Carter era of America, which had a bit of a Soviet feel to it. But there is a place to hope, right? Because our system is built upon government for the people and by the people where we have elections and if the content or the policies of an administration are failing or not delivering to the people what they are supposed to be delivering, there is an opportunity for change. We saw in the Carter years, it was a drastic shift from the Carter presidency to the Reagan presidency and a reversal of a lot of damaging policies. There is always hope in America that things can be changed and that it is not an authoritarian nation where you're never getting rid of that leader. And but just to all that back to say, we still do have an administration for at least another three years that are implementing these policies. Harry, do you see any sort of potential for them to see the light and maybe start delivering on these things, especially when they're having poll numbers where the approval rating, according to USA Today, Suffolk University, his approval of the Biden administration is just 38%.

When do they start listening? Well, I think the Virginia election has sent exactly the wrong message to the Biden administration. You would think that if they were rational, they would reverse some of these left-wing policies.

And I think many people expected that. But instead, what have they done? They have doubled down on their ideology, their commitment to progressivism, green energy, and they've also doubled down on their commitment to incompetence. So you have Michigan Governor Whitmer and Joe Biden driven by this incompetence. They now seek to shut down Michigan's pipeline five in the middle of a gasoline and energy crisis. They don't seem to recognize what a 12-year-old recognizes, which is if energy prices go up, then costs rise.

It drives up inflation. And in addition to that, many people in the northeastern parts of the United States, they risk freezing to death. But what has the Biden administration done? President Biden has said, well, it's a problem.

There is absolutely zero urgency. And quite uncomfortably, the Biden administration is equally blinded by its own decision-making process. So here we have the deputy press secretary denying a published media report and then having to contradict herself essentially in the same sentence. So in addition to incompetence, in addition to ideology, they're blinded by their own contradictions. And I think the American people are in for a very bumpy ride going forward.

And I hope the American people will take an object lesson from this and that they will react in 2022. Let's go to the phones. Let's take as many of these calls as we can in this segment because, again, in the next segment, we're going to be joined by Mike Pompeo, and that will take up that whole segment. So let's get through as many of these as we can. Let's just go in order. As they've been on hold, let's go to Pam in Illinois, line one.

You're on the air. Yes. I believe that this administration knows exactly what it's doing, that it's all on purpose, whoever it is running our country. Because our country has survived because of capitalism, and they are trying to take us to the socialism, which destroys the country and makes it dependent on the government.

And I believe that's what they want to do is they want to destroy it and make us dependent on the government. Yeah. Pam, I think that's an interesting point of view. And Sam in Washington, it's kind of hard not to believe sometimes that when all the predictions start to come true, within a year, all of the doomsday scenarios that seem to be conservative talking points all start becoming reality, and we start seeing the earliest sense at the gas pump.

Yeah. And you know, Logan, I think maybe the only debate in Washington, even from the left on what Pam had to say, might be the label. I mean, some might not like the label socialism. Some might like a different label. But Logan, there's a pretty universal agreement on the left that they are in favor of sort of the benevolence of government, that they do want the government to play a big role in the lives of daily Americans that you know, a wide social safety net, big, strong, well funded government programs. So again, they might not put the label socialism on it, but I don't even think they would dispute the idea that they do want the federal government to play a bigger role in the lives of everyday Americans than I think is wise. And so when you start trending this direction, and then you come back with real problems that that creates, and the answer from the Secretary of Energy is, I can't do anything about that.

Logan, I think that's what makes people upset. You said you wanted control, and now you said you can't do anything about these problems we're facing. All right, let's keep going. Eric in Minnesota, line two, you're on the air.

Hey there. Just wanted to comment, just share with you what it's done for my business. Last fall, I was $100 a day to fill my truck up. I am now $200 a day, and... $200 a day to fill, you're guessing, double what you're paying? Double.

It's double what I paid, yes. This is why, I mean, people are having, you're talking about the crisis that are happening throughout society. People aren't expecting in a year for their cost of living, which is essentially his expenses, to just double.

So again, sad state of affairs, we hate it for you. Especially there's stuff that can be done, I know this is not heading into a time where that's an easy thing, especially towards the end of the year when it seems like nothing can get done. And to Pam's point before, there is an argument that could be made that there are members of the progressive left that are pushing big items in this trillions of dollar reconciliation bill that they're going to vote on as soon potentially as Monday, that they want those costs to double.

They want filling up to be twice as expensive, so that when their plan for relief is passed of spending trillions of dollars and shifting to different energy, then you can feel a sense of relief, not because it should have been that way, but because they forced that upon you. Yeah. You hate to think that way, but it's clearly what's happening. Let's move on, continue on.

Steve, Pennsylvania, you're on the air. Yeah, good afternoon gentlemen, thanks for all that you do for us, we appreciate it very much. We appreciate you supporting it and thanks for calling in. Just a quick comment, one of the issues with this administration is back to the Trump hatred syndrome, anything that Donald Trump did for this country that was good, it didn't matter if it was good because Donald Trump did it and he didn't belong there, it's been removed from the program. Absolutely, that label seemed to haunt them and they were going to undo things regardless of how that changed what happened in Afghanistan, what happened in Israel, what happened throughout the Middle East, what happened now with this situation if it had a, whether good or bad, if it had the President Trump's name on it, Harry, they were willing to undo it for the better or worse of the country. I think that's correct, so what we have is a knee-jerk reaction by the Democrats. If Trump was in favor of it, they were opposed.

So if Trump favored energy independence, if Trump favored confronting the Chinese directly, then the Biden administration made a knee-jerk reaction to that and they've backed away from good policies, why? Because it had the Trump label on it and so if you go back to the earlier caller whose Phillips were costing an additional $100 per day, that is roughly $30,000 to $37,000 per year and so if you run a small business, if you operate a truck, a trucking enterprise, that is a huge, huge cost but in Washington DC, they don't care. Yep, let's jump quickly, I want to take this call quickly from Glenn who's calling on Line 1, works at an oil company.

Glenn, you only got like a minute but I want you to explain what you just explained to our call screener. We deliver fuel to all kinds of small companies, truckers, construction people, whatever and we have a set margin, it's 30 cents on a gallon. It doesn't matter whether the price is $1.99 or it's $3.50 to us which are a fair price to run our company, the higher the price goes, the less we can depend on that margin because everybody's shopping or they're using less or they're doing whatever they got to do and it hurts us just as bad as it does the pipeline workers. You're spending more money to get it delivered as well, your costs are going up to even deliver the product. Exactly. Yeah, so it's a no-win situation, so don't come in here thinking that the oil companies are like sitting there rubbing their hands together in secret little villain labs.

This is not, I mean Glenn can tell you this is affecting them just as much except getting delivery because it doesn't really change their bottom line and it's unfortunate. Look, we come back in the next segment, we're going to talk about a new blog written by Mike Pompeo and he's going to be joining us live, so stay tuned for that. Thanks again for your support of the ACLJ, you can do that at ACLJ.org, we're in the middle of a matching challenge and we appreciate any donation that can be made, it will be effectively matched.

We'll be right back. Only when a society can agree that the most vulnerable and voiceless deserve to be protected is there any hope for that culture to survive and that's exactly what you are saying when you stand with the American Center for Law and Justice to defend the right to life. We've created a free powerful publication offering a panoramic view of the ACLJ's battle for the unborn. It's called Mission Life, it will show you how you are personally impacting the pro-life battle through your support and the publication includes a look at all major ACLJ pro-life cases, how we're fighting for the rights of pro-life activists, the ramifications of Roe v Wade 40 years later, the play on parenthood's role in the abortion industry and what Obamacare means to the pro-life movement. Discover the many ways your membership with the ACLJ is empowering the right to life.

Request your free copy of Mission Life today online at ACLJ.org slash gift. At the American Center for Law and Justice we're engaged in critical issues at home and abroad whether it's defending religious freedom, protecting those who are persecuted for their faith, uncovering corruption in the Washington bureaucracy and fighting to protect life in the courts and in Congress, the ACLJ would not be able to do any of this without your support. For that we are grateful, now there's an opportunity for you to help in a unique way. For a limited time you can participate in the ACLJ's matching challenge. For every dollar you donate it will be matched, a $10 gift becomes $20, a $50 gift becomes $100. This is a critical time for the ACLJ, the work we do simply would not occur without your generous support. Take part in our matching challenge today. You can make a difference in the work we do, protecting the constitutional and religious freedoms that are most important to you and your family. Give a gift today online at ACLJ.org.

Welcome back to Secula, we have joined this final segment with Senior Counsel for Global Affairs and you know him. Mike Pompeo is joining us and his brand new blog on our website, you can find it right at ACLJ.org, called On This Election Day, Americans Voted for Common Sense, obviously referring to the election that happened last week in Virginia and even the close call that happened in New Jersey, Secretary Pompeo I wanted to just get your general thoughts and obviously tell us about the blog, but on your thoughts last week was a pretty celebratory week for a lot of people. It was and it was more than celebration, it was good news for kids across America, parents who were beginning to reclaim their central understanding of what it is their children ought to be taught in schools. We saw in Minnesota, we saw common sense prevail, they weren't going to defund their police like the radical left wanted them to do. In places like my home state of Kansas, there were school board incumbents who lost because they had lost their way. It was around the country, people walking away from this woke ideology that indoctrinates and divides us, protesting the rising cost of living and higher taxes, and defending our police. This was a good day for the United States of American people all across it.

Craig Simon. Secretary Pompeo, you bring up the rising costs of living and higher taxes and something we've been talking about on this show for the past hour now is specifically the reports that the administration are looking into shutting down Line 5, this Canada and Michigan pipeline, which while we're already in an energy crisis in our country, that they are potentially exploring things that can make that problem even worse. How dangerous is it to our infrastructure?

Someone who has obviously served in the capacity of the Secretary of State, you know the needs of our country very well. How dangerous could a move like this be when we're already experiencing an energy crisis in this country? It is really dangerous, it's even dangerous to talk about it because markets respond to that.

Gas prices reflect the anticipated cost for the product. It also makes no sense, my piece this week's about common sense, it makes absolutely no sense to beg the Russians to deliver more energy while denying Americans the capacity to do it in a way that'll be, and if the environment's your thing, it'll be done a lot more cleanly here in the United States to shut down a pipeline, to not be able to transport good American energy that creates American jobs and provides affordable natural gas for people to heat their homes this winter. This is crazy stuff, I hope the common sense will prevail in a Biden administration.

So far on energy policy, we've seen none of that. We had a caller that just reminded me of it, saying it seems like a lot of those doomsday scenarios that maybe conservatives put forward and some people said were acts of fiction, were works of fiction, that this is how things were going to unroll, they seem to clearly be happening. And you do wonder why the common sense that you're talking about, whether you're right, the fact that the markets control a lot of this, so it's, you know, how it's talked about in the press, how people react, whether they're laughing about it as we've heard, or whether there's a President Biden going out there even defeated saying, yeah, we know it's going to be tough. You would think that the common sense philosophy in this would not be to 100% essentially take authority and take the blame for what's happening when this is exactly the scenarios that everyone said were just doomsday scenarios that conservatives were, were running. It's so true. We're often mocked, but this is just the basics. This is economics 101.

If you're a single mother trying to raise two children or three children, and somebody tells you that the cost to heat your home this year is going to go up 5 or 10% or put gas in your car to get to work is going to cost 15, 20, 25, more percent than it did a year ago. This is real. This is not fiction. This isn't made up by some right-wing cabal. This is the reality that people are experiencing, and you can see across America that they've had about enough of this silliness. They didn't expect President Biden would govern in the shadows of the progressive left. That's what he has done so far, and to close down this pipeline at this incredibly important time, and to deny America the capacity to deliver its own energy to its own people at an affordable price is just really bad for the average, ordinary, everyday, hardworking American.

And, Secretary Pompeo, last week you had an article up at ACLJ.org, which if people haven't gone and read these pieces, they're very informative and very great that we have Secretary Pompeo on the team and putting forward this great information. But it was that the Biden administration's focus on climate change continues to undermine American prosperity was the headline of this one, and it was talking about the Biden team in Glasgow for the COP26 conference. And when you put together what Professor Harry Hutchison of our team calls almost the religion of climate change, when they're unable to see what needs to happen in the country because they're so blinded by this devotion to the climate change ideology, is there hope when someone has almost a religious conviction to this path forward on their climate change policies, is there a hope for them to understand the common sense of what the American people need? No, it's irrational. Your description of this as having replaced their religion, I think for many in the climate change movement, that is absolutely the case.

They are secular, they have adopted this vision. It is hard to reason with them, but it's not hard to reason with most people all across the country who may well believe that we need to do something about carbon reduction. So be it. We ought to chart a clear pathway towards that if we think that risk is there. But you cannot shut down the very fuel that creates prosperity that builds jobs, agriculture industry or the fertilizer industry or the plastics industry, everything that kids wear to school has a petroleum fossil fuel component to it. These are basic needs for the American people and to drive that cost ever higher is a massive reduction in their pay every week and every month.

It really changes their standard of living and jeopardizes so much food security here in the United States if we think for a moment that allowing pork or chicken or beef to go up by 10, 15, 20% won't matter to these kids who are living in homes where every single dollar counts. Absolutely. Yeah. Secretary Pompeo Wesley. Yeah, I think it's interesting too how our foreign policy and our national security policy is part of this energy issue as well. I think it's interesting that President Biden has begged OPEC countries to produce more oil to bring the price down.

They've refused to do that. In the meantime, we see Saudi Arabia really engaging with China and backing away from the US. And oh, by the way, we removed our Patriot missile batteries from Saudi Arabia and we're not, we've suspended some of our weapons contracts for their own defense and yet we wonder why they're backing away from us. Do you see any play between those issues?

Oh Wesley, they're, they're deeply connected. You raise a really important point. When I was a secretary of state, one of the most important tools that I had in diplomacy was American energy countries that wanted American LNG. They didn't want it from the Russians.

They wanted it from the United States of America because they could count and rely on it. Now the Biden administration has walked away from that. They've walked away from our important partners, the Saudis, the Emiratis in the Middle East in ways that are unconscionable. This will put America at real risk.

It will force them, those countries to make really difficult decisions and it reduces security for us right here at home. All right, well I appreciate you spending the last segment with us, Secretary Pompeo, as we wrap up today's show and appreciate everyone say thank you to everyone who's listened, everyone who has engaged. All of you who've called in, our crew, everyone who has been on the panel today. It has been an excellent show. Hopefully you learned a lot.

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We'll see you tomorrow. At the American Center for Law and Justice, we're engaged in critical issues at home and abroad. For a limited time, you can participate in the ACLJ's matching challenge. For every dollar you donate, it will be matched. A $10 gift becomes $20. A $50 gift becomes $100. You can make a difference in the work we do, protecting the constitutional and religious freedoms that are most important to you and your family. Give a gift today online at ACLJ.org.