NEWS AND OPINION:
Politics still makes popular reading. Very popular reading, in fact. Books published by commercial trade publishers featuring the text of the Select January 6th Committee Final Report have arrived, according to Jim Milliot, editorial director of Publishers Weekly.
“The first of what will be a number of print books from commercial trade publishers featuring the text of the Select January 6th Committee Final Report have hit the market, selling more than 46,000 copies combined at outlets that report to NPD BookScan,” Mr. Milliot wrote in a report released Thursday.
“The text of the report was made available on December 22, and Hachette Book Group’s Twelve imprint had its book ready for sale on December 24. The book featured analysis by reporters from the New York Times. The Macmillan imprint, Celadon, published its print edition on December 27 in collaboration with the New Yorker, while Harper Paperbacks’ edition was released on December 29,” Mr. Milliot said.
The titles are priced between $18 and $20, his report noted.
Is there a favorite?
At the moment, “The January 6th Report” — with a foreword by MSNBC anchor Ari Melber — appears to lead the way in popularity. The hefty 752-page volume was published by the aforementioned Harper Paperbacks and is now ranked No. 6 on the Amazon list of “Hot New Releases.”
OTHER BIG BRAWLS
When it comes to electing a House speaker, other notable brawls have knotted up Congress for an assortment of reasons.
“It’s perhaps not unusual that the most contentious House speaker’s race in history happened just five years before the nation was ripped apart by a bloody Civil War,” writes Fred Lucas, chief news correspondent for the Daily Signal, a publication of The Heritage Foundation.
In December 1855, 21 members of the House of Representatives ran for speaker; the process to determine a winner took a while.
“The House continued voting for about two months and cast 133 ballots before settling on Rep. Nathaniel Banks of Massachusetts, a member of both the American Party and the Free Soil Party. Banks won 103 votes and Rep. William Aiken, a South Carolina Democrat, won 100,” Mr. Lucas wrote.
He has also included six other “big fights for Speaker of the House” which took place in previous years — including efforts to win or retain the role by Rep. Howell Cobb, Georgia Democrat, plus former House Speakers Nancy Pelosi and Newt Gingrich. Investigate Mr. Lucas’ findings at DailySignal.com.
THE POWER OF INCUMBENCY
Political candidates with staying power have an edge.
“In the 2022 general elections, 94% of incumbents were re-elected,” advises an in-depth analysis of this trend by Ballotpedia.com, a nonprofit news and research group which examined the outcome of all congressional and state races, along with local elections in America’s 100 most populous cities.
“Here are the highlights from our analysis: The incumbent win rate was at or above 90% in all but nine states: Alaska, California, Louisiana, Nevada, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia,” the organization said in its report.
“The lowest overall incumbent win rate was in Virginia with 77%. Delaware, Massachusetts, and Mississippi were the only states with a 100% incumbent win rate,” the report stated.
Congressional incumbents who ran had a 98% win rate, while 41 states had a 100% win rate in congressional races, according to the report, which also noted that state-level incumbents won at a 96% rate, with every last incumbent winning in six states.
“State legislative incumbents had a 96% average win rate. Local-level incumbents had a 90% average win rate. Thirteen states had a 100% win rate in local-level races,” the report noted in summation.
Find Ballotpedia — described as an unbiased “digital encyclopedia” focused on elections, politics and policy — at Ballotpedia.org.
NOT IMPRESSED
The New York Times has already deemed President Biden’s newly revealed policies to manage illegal immigration a “sweeping crackdown.”
Others are not so impressed.
The policies include “minor changes to tactics, but no change to long-term strategy,” according to Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies.
“This is merely political damage control. The Biden administration continues to push ‘safe, orderly, and humane processing’ of migrants with no right to enter the U.S., instead of deterring them from trying to come in the first place,” Mr. Krikorian said in a written statement to Inside the Beltway.
WEEKEND REAL ESTATE
For sale: The Nabisco Mansion, a Beaux Arts-style, brick and stone mansion built in 1896 in St. Louis. Eight bedrooms, nine baths, grand foyer, “ladies parlor,” “gentleman’s library,” 12-foot ceilings, hand-carved staircase and custom, exotic woodworking throughout; 12,847 square feet. “Medieval-style” ballroom, artist’s studio, elevator, wall murals, new custom kitchen, exterior porte cochere, four-car garage, in-ground pool plus deck with pergola. Priced at $2.1 million through Sothebysrealty.com; enter 22059099 in the search function.
POLL DU JOUR
• 54% of U.S. adults believe that the U.S. is in an economic recession; 78% of Republicans, 50% of independents and 39% of Democrats agree.
• 55% of women and 54% of men also agree.
• 23% overall believe the U.S. is not in an economic recession; 9% of Republicans, 25% of independents and 34% of Democrats agree.
• 21% of women and 25% of men also agree.
• 23% overall are “not sure’ about the issue; 14% of Republicans, 25% of independents and 28% of Democrats agree.
• 24% of women and 21% of men also agree.
SOURCE: An Economist/YouGov poll of 1,500 U.S. adults conducted from Dec. 31 to Jan. 3.
• Contact Jennifer Harper at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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