Sen. Hatch: Obama must have ‘dumbbells’ advising him on energy

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) on Tuesday said he is so baffled by President Obama’s energy policies that he is convinced Obama must have “dumbbells” advising him.

“He has got to have these dumbbells down at the White House feeding him this stuff,” Hatch said from the Senate floor. 

Hatch was referring to Obama’s announced policy of supporting Brazil in developing its oil reserves. Hatch contrasted that policy to restrictions the administration has placed on some domestic drilling and oil exploration.

“The president says ‘no’ to American energy companies wanting to use their own profits to create more jobs and more American oil, but then he gives away taxpayer money to subsidize foreign jobs and create more dependence on foreign oil,” Hatch said.

“[Obama] is bright enough to look through it and see that policy doesn’t work,” Hatch said. “Is it just their supporters that demand it? The Democratic supporters are just demanding this type of harm to our country and our people?” 

Hatch said he likes the president personally, but could not support policies that harm the economy.

“The whole farce would be comical if it weren’t so incredibly harmful to our nation,” Hatch said.