Senator Ted Cruz is among the Congressional leaders who are seeking to inject common sense legislation into the national dialogue. Earlier this week, Senator Cruz introduced the Energy Freedom Act which seeks to overhaul American energy policy and reassert this country’s energy dominance. The bill is wide ranging and encompases several important common sense solutions that promote the American energy industry and making that energy affordable as an important counter to the President’s policies that are consistently raising costs.

Unexpectedly, Tesla CEO, Elon Musk posted on Twitter that “we need to increase oil & gas output immediately.” Despite running counter to the principles behind electric vehicles and even though it would be a potential threat to his business of promoting those battery powered vehicles, he recognizes the common sense behind bringing down national gasoline prices.

A frequent feature in the common sense energy newsletter is Senator Joe Manchin. In response to all of the discussion around the administration seeking new supply for oil and natural gas (more on that in nonsense) Senator Manchin took the time to promote the abundant resources available domesticallyand especially in West Virginia.

Bottom Line: After banning Russian oil imports, America (and the world) needs more of the black gold. The majority of us with common sense say it should come from right here at home, from Senator Cruz to Elon Musk.

It seems almost too far-fetched to be real. The Biden Administration finally cut off energy imports from Russia but rather than increasing American production to fill the gap in supply, the Administration is exploring ways to increase production or ease export restrictions in Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and Iran. You read that correctly. The President of the United States is courting President Nicolas Maduro, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to serve as a replacement for Vladimir Putin. Can you think of a better example of going from bad to worse? Read more here.

Supporters of this move have said it is because the domestic industry couldn’t ramp up production as fast as those countries could. More nonsense. Venezuela’s production has declined since the ‘00s and has cratered since 2014. Not to mention Venezuela is very close allies with China and Russia. Saudi Arabia may be the best positioned to increase supply but leaders are ducking the President’s calls and the country has already twice declined via OPEC to do so. And Iran’s increase would be tied to a revised nuclear agreement which would bring about a whole different set of issues. Oh, and Russia is a party to those negotiations.

Bottom Line: If the president is so determined not to support the American energy industry, the least he could do is turn to an ally like Canada over murderous regimes that hate America.

Out of Touch Joe & Co. continue to show how disconnected they are from the American people. During remarks this week, Vice President Kamala Harris and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg seem to be saying the answer is to stop being poor. They were promoting that a nationwide electric vehicle charging network would help ease the stress of families concerned with record high gas prices. The key point they seem to be missing is that electric vehicles are expensive. Some families pass vehicles between generations. Others can’t afford the latest trendy model. And at some point routine maintenance turned from something you could save money on by doing it yourself on a weekend to requiring expensive service from a technician with an advanced computer engineering degree.

While high gas prices impact everyone, the people who are least able to absorb the financial hit are also the least likely to be able to afford a new electric vehicle.

Parting shot: Even though it seems like winter is nearly over, Axios recently reported that most EVs significantly underperform against their projected range in cold weather.

Bottom Line: When Americans are struggling to afford food, utility bills, and gasoline, they definitely don’t have room in their budget for a new EV.