Young Republicans have reason to celebrate

NEWS AND OPINION:

There is some joy percolating within the Republican Party. No, really. Consider the 900-member New York Young Republican Club, which was incorporated in 1911 with predecessor organizations dating back to 1856. It has endeavored to offer practical, vigorous help to the Grand Old Party itself since then, and maintains a formidable set of principles.

During the nationwide elections in November, the organization worked with over 20 candidates and campaign teams, and organized six rallies and three strategy sessions in New York City and on Long Island, among many things. But now it is time for the group to party at its 109th annual gala in Manhattan, staged this weekend at an undisclosed location.

“We are excited to welcome back both members and guests for a black-tie evening featuring an open bar, passed hors d’oeuvres, and a seated meal as we hear from high-profile national speakers, mingle with special guests, and discuss opportunities for the advancement of our mission. Our keynote speakers this year are former senior legal advisor and counsel to President Donald J. Trump Jenna Ellis, former Mayor of New York City Rudy Giuliani, Texas gubernatorial candidate Allen West, and Newsmax host Steve Cortes,” the organization said in a message shared with Inside the Beltway.

There are also 30 other special guests of note.

They include Republican Reps. Claudia Tenney of New York and Paul Gosar of Arizona; eight GOP congressional candidates from New York and nearby New Jersey; hosts and contributors to Fox News, One America News and Right Side Broadcasting Network; Charles Moran, president of Log Cabin Republicans; James O’Keefe, founder of Project Veritas; Ryan Fournier, founder of Students for Trump and a host of social media mavens, scholars, commentators and journalists, including Josh Hammer, Newsweek opinion editor, and Miranda Divine, New York Post columnist.

The event is sold out, needless to say, and has a hefty waitlist. Find them at NYYRC.com

WHAT’S AT STAKE FOR CONSERVATIVES

Kevin Roberts, who is marking his first week as Heritage Foundation’s new president, journeyed to Capitol Hill this week to touch base with the 100-member Republican Study Committee, which has served as the conservative policy caucus for House Republicans since 1973.

“We’re a bunch of conservatives, so there are going to be differences of opinion. The world isn’t going to end if we can’t agree 100% of the time. But let’s go fight like heck and charge those hills — the top of which are issues that we do agree on,” Mr. Roberts told the lawmakers.

He then cited a quartet of Democratic presidents.

“We are fighting, I think, one of the most aggressive, radical leftist agendas in American history, and unfortunately, that’s saying something, going back to the days of Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama,” Mr. Roberts advised.

“I want you to know that when you’re looking for the intellectual ammunition to fight inflation, to fight our open borders, to fight everything that they’re trying to do and the ridiculous legislation they come up with — like the Green New Deal — you can count on The Heritage Foundation,” he said.

Mr. Roberts previously served as president of the Texas Public Policy Foundation in Austin, Texas, for five years. The Heritage board announced his hiring in October; he replaced Kay C. James, who became president in 2017 and who is retiring.

RUBIO’S SPACE

A Florida Republican is minding the nation’s interests in space. Sen. Marco Rubio has introduced the “Space Protection of American Command and Enterprise Act”. He says the legislation addresses the Chinese Communist Party’s effort “to replace the United States as the global leader of space industry under its Made in China 2025 industrial plan.”

In a statement, Mr. Rubio urged the Biden administration to take this challenge seriously, and “not sit idly while the CCP infiltrates American companies, steals our intellectual property, and exploits our domestically produced technology.”

Tim Chrisman, executive director of the Foundation for the Future — the trade group representing the interests of the space finance sector — agrees.

“China’s space program is advancing rapidly, enabled in part by leveraging the theft of intellectual property from U.S. companies. The SPACE Act is an important tool in stemming the tide of that theft,” he said in a statement.

FOXIFIED

Fox News continues to dominate its rivals in the entire cable realm, airing 71 of the top 100 cable telecasts in the month of November, according to Nielsen Media Research. CNN and MSNBC did not land a single program on that list. Fox News averaged 2.6 million primetime viewers throughout the month; MSNBC drew 1 million viewers, CNN garnered 654,000.

And finally, here are the network’s ratings kingpins, which comprised the top five cable news programs in November: Tucker Carlson Tonight (3.7 million), The Five (3.5 million Hannity (3.2 million, Special Report with Bret Baier (2.8 million) and The Ingraham Angle (2.6 million).

WEEKEND REAL ESTATE

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POLL DU JOUR

40% of U.S. adults say there is the “right amount” of public concern for the omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus; 30% of Republicans, 37% of independents, 49% of Democrats, 45% of vaccinated U.S. adults and 27% of unvaccinated adults agree.

24% overall say there is “not enough” public concern; 16% of Republicans, 21% of independents,31% of Democrats, 27% of vaccinated U.S. adults and 15% of unvaccinated adults agree.

23% overall say there is “too much” public concern; 40% of Republicans, 23% of independents, 11% of Democrats, 17% of vaccinated U.S. adults and 36% of unvaccinated adults agree.

13% overall don’t know or have no opinion; 14% of Republicans, 19% of independents, 9% of Democrats, 10% of vaccinated U.S. adults and 21% of unvaccinated adults agree.

Source: A Morning Consult poll of 2,200 U.S. adults conducted Nov. 29-30.

• Helpful information to jharper@washingtontimes.com.