Inside the Beltway: America’s growing fatigue with Democratic outrage

NEWS AND OPINION:

Yes, it is very understandable that Democrats would be sad, mad and uneasy following the defeat of Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election. That defeat was almost two years ago. But the decibel level of Democratic dismay only seems to have grown louder in 20 months. Party officials, lawmakers, Hillary fans, activists, operatives, strategists and potential candidates have joined the fray.

Dismay has turned to outrage, some of which translates into harassment of Trump administration officials in public places, or boisterous street demonstrations, like the one that erupted on the Supreme Court steps Monday evening. The nation, however, could be getting tired of it — and that fatigue does not bode well during important election years.

Consider that almost half of Americans — 47 percent — now say Democrats “need to be more civil” when opposing President Trump’s policies. That includes 88 percent of Republicans, 42 percent of independents and even 24 percent of Democrats. Also, 41 percent of Americans overall say Democrats “are going too far” opposing these policies; 87 percent of Republicans, 38 percent of independents and 11 percent of Democrats agree.

So says an Economist/YouGov poll of 1,500 U.S. adults conducted July 1-3. It also found that only 30 percent of the respondents say Democrats “need to be more confrontational,” while 37 percent said Democrats “are not doing enough” to oppose the president. It’s complicated — even as rumors surface that Mrs. Clinton is mulling another run for the White House.

“I think more and more Americans, when they see people harassed in restaurants and then thrown out or have to leave, when they see this debacle that happened on the steps of the Supreme Court, that’s not mainstream stuff,” Rush Limbaugh told his 14 million listeners Tuesday.

“This is not stuff that is attracting support. It’s being applauded by the really small base of radical leftist Democrats, but it’s not persuading. They’re not creating a movement here. I think they’re causing a backlash, but that will never be reported. The media is always going to invest in the idea that these radical protests are representative of mainstream America. That’s part of the game,” Mr. Limbaugh observed.

MEANWHILE, THE DEMOCRATS HAVE PLANS

With all the discussion about Democratic identity, there’s something percolating within the party. The Democratic National Committee’s Rules and Bylaws Committee meets for two days in the nation’s capital beginning Wednesday with a plan to take “final action” regarding the 2020 Convention.

The committee is in favor of eliminating the role that unpledged delegates — “superdelegates,” mostly party officials and office-holders — have traditionally played in the presidential nominating process by preventing them from voting on the first presidential nominating ballot.

In addition, the committee also says it has worked to implement the “most significant reforms to the party’s presidential nominating process in decades” by taking steps to protect the right to vote, making caucuses more accessible, increasing transparency in our party and increasing grass-roots outreach.

“These reforms will continue to make our party more competitive in every ZIP code in 2018 and beyond,” the committee advises.

MEANWHILE IN FRANCE

Things are a little jittery in the gorgeous City of Lights at the moment. An additional 5,000 French police have been patrolling the streets of Paris this summer in an attempt to safeguard tourists from scam artists and pickpockets, reports Travel and Tour World, a New York City-based industry publication — which also notes that Paris is expecting a record-breaking number of visitors in the next few weeks.

Extra officers have been deployed at seven famed locations, including the Champs d’Elysee, the Eiffel Tower and the Latin Quarter.

The publication said that Paris police chief Michel Delpuech had visited police on duty and reports they are doing everything within their power “to make sure that the city is perfectly safe without transforming it into a bunker.”

It’s a popular destination. France attracted 89 million visitors in 2017, with Paris alone drawing 30 million — more than the 21 million who showed up in Washington, D.C. during that year. And again, things are jittery.

“Earlier this month, French prosecutors revealed a Bosnian gang including an embassy official made almost $5.8 million sending migrant children on to the streets of major French cities including Paris to steal,” the travel publication said.

FOXIFIED

It is not too common for a cable network to beat the competition across the greater broadcast market. Fox News Channel, however, did just that Monday night, during its coverage of President Trump’s nomination of Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.

Fox News was the most-watched network of all with 6.6 million viewers according to Nielsen Media Research — compared to ABC, which garnered 5 million, NBC with 4.8 million and CBS with 3.4 million. On the cable side, MSNBC’s coverage attracted 2 million, CNN 1.5 million.

Nielsen also reveals that Fox News continues to rule the entire cable realm as the most watched network, marking 26 consecutive weeks at No. 1. Fox continues to quash CNN and MSNBC in the ratings, as it has done for more than 16 years.

On social media, Fox News also rules. According to Socialbakers, a social media marketing platform, Fox News generated more Facebook interactions on Supreme Court-related posts Monday than their rival news competition combined. Breaking news of Mr. Trump’s nomination prompted seven times more interactions than CNN, the closest news competitor. Fox News was also the most engaged news brand on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, the analysis said.

Meanwhile, Fox Business Network has maintained its long-running winning streak over CNBC according to Nielsen numbers, with a 16 percent overall ratings advantage over its closest rival.

POLL DU JOUR

• 64 percent of Americans drive every day; 69 percent of men and 59 percent of women do so.

• 19 percent overall drive “most days of the week”; 17 percent of men and 22 percent of women do.

• 16 percent rarely or never drive; 14 percent of men and 18 percent of women.

• 34 percent overall enjoy driving “a great deal”; 41 percent of men and 27 percent of women agree.

• 44 percent overall enjoy driving “a moderate amount”; 40 percent of men and 48 percent of women agree.

• 22 percent overall do not enjoy driving; 18 percent of men and 24 percent of women agree.

Source: A Gallup poll of 1,503 U.S. adults conducted April 23-29 and released Monday

• Kindly follow Jennifer Harper on Twitter @HarperBulletin