NEWS AND OPINION:
A new report by the Heartland Institute, a free-market think tank, reveals that nearly every candidate endorsed by prominent socialist organizations in the U.S. emerged victorious in the 2024 election.
No, really.
“This Heartland Policy Brief – Socialist Watch 2024: An Analysis of Socialist Candidates in the 2024 General Election – analyzes the 2024 election results for candidates who were formally endorsed at the national level by at least one of the three most prominent socialist organizations in the United States: Our Revolution, the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), and the Progressive Democrats of America (PDA). These organizations explicitly support socialist ideology and inherently socialist policies such as the Green New Deal, Medicare for All, free college tuition, and wealth taxes, as well as the general expansion of the welfare state, total governmental control over the economy, and the eradication of free-market capitalism,” said the report, which was released Monday.
“Overall, these organizations endorsed a total of 51 socialist candidates, of which 48 (94%) won their races for federal, statewide, or local office with an average margin of victory of approximately 49%. Nine of these candidates ran in uncontested races. Taking out those nine candidates, the 39 remaining socialist candidates won their races by an average margin of approximately 37 percent. Only three socialist candidates lost their races, with a 13 % average margin of defeat,” the report said.
And in what races were they competing?
“Among the candidates endorsed by these three socialist groups, 27 ran for the U.S. House of Representatives, two ran for U.S. Senate, 12 ran for statewide offices, and 10 ran for local offices. These races occurred in 22 states and the District of Columbia. California was the leading state for socialist candidates in the 2024 election, with 10 in total,” the report said.
THE ’PARDON’ PRESS
President Biden’s decision to pardon his son Hunter Biden on Sunday evening gave the press plenty to do in the immediate aftermath. Here’s a sample of the headlines that quickly emerged, and the news organizations behind those headlines:
“President Biden pardons his son Hunter despite previous pledges not to” (The Associated Press); “Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter rattles the political world” (The Hill); “Trump previously predicted Biden would pardon son Hunter” (Fox News); “We haven’t seen a pardon as sweeping as Hunter Biden’s in generations” (Politico); “Hunter Biden faces potential 5th Amendment headache after pardon” (Newsweek); “The problem with Trump’s reaction to the Hunter Biden pardon” (MSNBC); “Dem lawmaker slams critics of Hunter’s pardon: ‘Take a Look in the Mirror’” (The Daily Beast); “Joe Biden pardons son Hunter: What it means and why it matters” (Al Jazeera); and “Biden’s pardon of his son pours fuel on Trump’s claims of politicized justice” (CNN).
GUARDING SMALL BUSINESS
New legislation will protect small businesses from the “administrative state” according to the “Leader’s Floor Lookout” — a weekly report from House Majority Leader Steve Scalise citing current noteworthy activity on the House floor.
“The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) requires agencies creating a new rule or regulation to determine if that regulation will have an economic impact on small businesses, and if so, what that impact will be, what the alternatives are, and why it is justified. Additionally, the RFA allows small businesses a say in agency rulemaking by requiring agencies to notify the Small Business Administration’s Chief Counsel for Advocacy when the process begins, allowing them to comment on the rule,” Mr. Scalise said in his weekly “Leaders Floor Lookout” report, which was released Monday.
“Despite the good intentions of the RFA — which was last amended in 2010 — to protect small businesses from burdensome and unnecessary regulations, small businesses continue to pay higher and higher costs due to rules coming from the administrative state: in 2014, small businesses spent about five times as much per employee as medium-sized businesses to comply with federal regulation, while today, small businesses pay seven times as much per employee as medium-sized businesses to comply,” the lawmaker stated.
“Burdensome regulations and red-tape make it harder and more costly to start a business and achieve the American dream, and the harder it is to comply with federal regulations to start a new business, the fewer people will take on the task to see their ideas through. We must make sure the administrative state doesn’t harm American innovation, entrepreneurship, and competition,” Mr. Scalise said.
WASHINGTON THE ’FUN CITY’
The nation’s capital just got an unexpected designation. Washington is on the list of the “Top 20 Most Fun Cities in America,” according to WalletHub, a consumer site focused on personal finances. The list was released Monday.
“To identify the most enjoyable and cost-effective places to live. WalletHub compared more than 180 U.S. cities across 65 key metrics, ranging from fitness clubs per capita to movie costs to the average business hours of breweries,” WalletHub said.
Here are the fun cities, according to the site:
Las Vegas is No. 1, followed in order by Orlando, Florida; Miami; Atlanta; New Orleans; Austin, Texas; San Francisco; Chicago; Houston and New York.
The second 10 are led by Fort Lauderdale, Florida, followed by St. Louis; Denver; Portland, Oregon; Cincinnati; Honolulu; Tampa, Florida; Los Angeles; Seattle and yes, Washington.
“These cities are far more than tourist traps. They provide a wide range of indoor and outdoor activities for all types of interests, from sports to theaters to arcades, and they have plenty of diverse restaurants to try. The top cities offer affordable options for year-round fun for their residents, which is good for residents’ wallets and their mental health,” said Chip Lupo, a WalletHub analyst, in a written statement.
POLL DU JOUR
• 21% of U.S. adults think of themselves as a “strong Republican.”
• 12% think of themselves as a “not very strong Republican.”
• 7% say they “lean Republican.”
• 8% say they “lean Democrat.”
• 12% think of themselves as a “not very strong Democrat.”
• 20% think of themselves as a “strong Democrat.”
• 16% think of themselves as an “independent.”
• 3% are not sure which political party they favor.
SOURCE: An Economist/YouGov poll of 1,590 U.S. adults conducted online Nov. 23-26.
• Contact Jennifer Harper at [email protected].
This post was originally published on here
