NEWS AND OPINION:
Democrats have issued glamorous calls for “resistance” ever since President Trump took office. But wait. That resistance has now surfaced within the party itself and the unthinkable has happened: a charismatic array of new faces on Capitol Hill appear to be pushing back against the establishment, particularly House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi. It is an unforeseen by-product. Things change.
“With at least 20 current and incoming House Democrats promising to oppose her — and at least 19 more still avoiding the question — Nancy Pelosi does not have the votes to become speaker. Pelosi’s panicked response? Play the gender card. Pelosi and her leadership team, which has been in place for a dozen years, are facing a growing chorus of Democrats who are upset that the party of ’hope and change’ is acting more like a party of ’nope and no change,’” writes Michael Ahrens, the rapid response director for the Republican National Committee writes in a blog post.
“It’s only day one of freshman orientation, but Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has already joined protesters in occupying Pelosi’s office — hardly a gesture of unity from the socialist superstar,” he says.
Indeed, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, 29, joined a climate change sit-in right there in the leader’s office.
“I just want to let you all know how proud I am of each and every single one of you for putting yourselves and your bodies and everything on the line to make sure that we save our planet, our generation, and our future,” the incoming congresswoman told the group, who were sitting on the floor but eager to high-five the lawmaker-to-be.
In the aftermath, the ever-canny Mrs. Pelosi later tweeted that she had been “deeply inspired by the young activists.”
Yes, well. Word travels fast, in the meantime. Activists from another realm are also aware of Ms. Ocasio-Cortez. People from the Ethical Treatment of Animals already have sent her a vegan welcome basket, complete with soy chorizo, Tofurky, beans, vegan cookies and soy cheese.
MURKY MEDIA
CNN has sued the White House, claiming that reporter Jim Acosta’s First Amendment rights were violated after he lost his press credentials following an indecorous exchange with President Trump and others acting in an official capacity.
“The bottom line is this. Jim Acosta has no constitutional right to be admitted to the White House, period. Jim Acosta has no constitutional right to a White House press pass, period. Jim Acosta has no constitutional right to a White House-issued microphone. And Jim Acosta has no constitutional right to ask the president of the United States questions,” talk radio host Rush Limbaugh explained to his 14 million listeners Tuesday.
“The White House is not prohibiting CNN from being in there. CNN is not being denied access. CNN is not being denied the opportunity to ask questions or harass the president. CNN’s got a reporter in there replacing Acosta. There literally are no grounds. There’s no basis for this. Freedom of the press does not extend to individual — the White House is not required to let anybody who wants in there — in there,” Mr. Limbaugh continued, also noting that Mr. Acosta does not need to be physically in the White House to report on it.
“He could watch the press briefing on TV and report every bit as much as if he were in the room. Jim Acosta is not being denied access to the president making news in the White House pressroom even if he’s not allowed in there,” Mr. Limbaugh said. “This is simply a way to harass Trump and to keep Acosta and CNN front and center.”
13 CARAVANS
The media covers the approaching Honduran immigrant “caravan” if it presents an opportunity to vilify President Trump. But forget the telling numbers.
“The caravan is just a small part of a bigger wave of ongoing illegal immigration from Central America that crashes against the southwest border every day. Every week, the number of people arrested crossing the southwest border illegally dwarfs the roughly 4,000 migrants traveling in the caravan,” writes Will Racke, immigration and foreign policy reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation.
“The caravan is only a small — if highly publicized — part of a much larger phenomenon that has completely swamped the U.S. asylum system. After falling to historic lows in the early months of the Trump administration, illegal immigration across the southwest border has risen in nearly every single month since, driven largely by a wave of people traveling together as families. Arrests of so-called ’family units’ — the vast majority of them from Central America — have now reached unprecedented levels, according to Customs and Border Protection figures,” Mr. Racke says.
In October, the Border Patrol arrested 23,121 migrant family members, the highest one-month total on record. Add the “family” total to the number of single adults and unaccompanied minors on the move, and the number reaches 51,000 — about 1,700 per day.
“That means the number of migrants arrested along the southwest border in an average week — 11,900 — is about three times as many people traveling in the highly publicized caravan. Put differently, the equivalent of about 13 caravans is caught after crossing the border illegally every month,” Mr. Racke says.
FOXIFIED
Fox News Channel is now marking the 44th consecutive week as the most watched network of all on cable TV with 3.3 million prime time viewers last week according to Nielsen Media Research — ahead of such competition as ESPN and the Hallmark Channel. Fox News, in fact, aired 16 of the top 30 cable telecasts, and also enjoyed a record-breaking election night audience of 7.8 million viewers. As it has for almost 17 years, Fox News dominates cable news competition; MSNBC had 2.3 million viewers, CNN 1.7 million.
Fox Business Network, meanwhile, marks 39 consecutive weeks as top dog on business TV with a ratings advantage of 39 percent over closest rival CNBC, according to Nielsen.
POLL DU JOUR
• 67 percent of Americans overall are concerned about the accuracy of news broadcast by ABC, NBC and CBS; 70 percent of Republicans, 67 percent of independents and 63 percent of Democrats agree.
• 51 percent overall have stopped watching a news program because it included incorrect information; 56 percent of Republicans, 53 percent of independents and 44 percent of Democrats agree.
• 47 percent overall have stopped watching a program because of “an anchor or host’s action”; 53 percent of Republicans, 48 percent of independents and 41 percent of Democrats agree.
• 45 percent of overall have stopped watching a news program because of its political content; 51 percent of Republicans, 41 percent of independents and 40 percent of Democrats agree.
Source: A Politico/Morning Consult poll of 2,202 U.S. adults conducted Nov. 6-7.
• Kindly follow Jennifer Harper on Twitter @HarperBulletin
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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