NEWS AND OPINION:
The legal eagles have landed. A bodacious group of conservatives will assemble with much on their minds in the nation’s capital in the next 72 hours. We’re talking Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, Sens. Ted Cruz and Ben Sasse, Rep. Rob DeSantis, and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley here. They will be in attendance at the Federalist Society’s 2016 National Lawyers Convention which begins Thursday at a historic hotel a few blocks from the White House. The event could not be more timely.
“Of the 21 people on President-Elect Donald Trump’s list for possible Supreme Court nominees, nine of them will speak as part of discussion panels,” a source notes. The theme of the gathering is also timely: “The Jurisprudence and Legacy of Justice Antonin Scalia.”
The three-day event itself is a convivial one — though legal, policy and political discussions could be fierce. And interesting. Some sessions are moderated by federal judges, in fact. Among the many scheduled topics: “The Second Amendment: Enforcing the Heller decision.” “The Battle for the Gig Economy,” and “Using Judicial Processes for Political Purposes.”
They will party a little too. There are five receptions, three fancy luncheons and one very fancy, sold-out dinner, black tie suggested. And what will this august group dine upon? Our kindly source reveals the formal dinner menu: Goat cheese and fig tart with frisee lettuce, oven-roasted tomato and balsamic reduction; grilled filet of beef and pan-seared sea bass; farro risotto, roasted tomato, haricot verts with aged sherry reduction and tarragon sauce. And for dessert, a pecan caramel tart with dark chocolate ganache plus butterscotch and caramel sauces.
And of course, the indefatigable C-SPAN will be there beginning at 9 a.m. EST.
IT’S JOLLY ON WALL STREET
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“Dow Jones notches the third largest post-presidential election gains in over 100 years. Donald Trump’s victory has seen the Dow rise at a rate eclipsed just twice over the last 27 presidential election cycles,” reports Eric Ostermeier, a meticulous University of Minnesota politics professor who consulted some heavyweight historical records.
“While the Dow is of course only one variable in assessing the economic and financial health of the nation, there is a wealth of information to at least compare the market’s short-term reaction to the election of Trump to past presidential election victors,” says Mr. Ostermeier.
The study examines the change in the Dow Jones industrial average at the close of Election Day through the following Friday in presidential election cycles over all those years. Mr. Ostermeier found that the market’s percentage gain after the election of Mr. Trump is the third largest in over 100 years — with 2016 becoming one of just six cycles to see gains every day during that span.
WHAT THE EXIT POLLS SHOWED
The news media and Democratic operatives continue to wring their hands and flail over President-elect Donald Trump’s victory. And while they are wringing and flailing, some numbers to consider. State and national exit polls reveal much, according to a new American Enterprise Institute review of the numbers.
“There was talk that conservative and Republican voters would defect from Donald Trump. It didn’t appear to happen. 81 percent of conservatives voted for him, a response in line with past conservative support for recent GOP nominees,” the analysis said. “Republican and Democratic voters were loyal to their parties. 90 percent of Republican voters supported Trump; 89 percent of Democratic voters supported Hillary Clinton. Independents broke for Trump. Democrats were a larger share of voters than Republicans this year, 37 to 33 percent,” the analysis said.
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“Protestants voted for Donald Trump as did Catholics, although Catholics did so by a smaller margin. Jews voted by a large margin, 71 to 24 percent, for Hillary Clinton, continuing a pattern from the past. Eight-in-10 white born-again or evangelical voters cast their ballots for Trump; 16 percent did so for Clinton. Voters who checked the box ’no religion’ on this question were 15 percent of voters; they supported Clinton by 68 to 26 percent.”
KEEPING COUNT
It’s always helpful to put one’s best foot forward and be polite. Yes, indeed. President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team reports that 29 world leaders have called to offer their congratulations to Mr. Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence.
They include Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Chinese President Xi Jinping, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, British Prime Minister Theresa May, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
JAMES WEBB SUMMARIZES 2016
“The base of the Democratic Party used to be working class people. Over time, particularly the last eight years, the Democratic Party moved into interest group politics — and in many cases, white working people have become the whipping post. What we saw in this election were white working people in rural areas seeing that someone was actually articulating the fact that they had become disenfranchised. And so they gravitate towards Donald Trump.”
— former Democratic presidential hopeful James Webb, to Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
POLL DU JOUR
• 74 percent of Americans say retail experiences “outside the norm” is what would inspire them to shop in a store rather than shop online.
• 57 percent say free samples are important; 24 percent cite product demonstrations.
• 19 percent say holiday-themed events will bring them to a store.
• 16 percent cite in-store creative or fitness classes, 15 percent cite artistic window or floor displays.
• 12 percent say celebrity appearances would influence them, 9 percent cite book signings.
Source: A Coldwell Banker Commercial Affiliates survey of 2,069 U.S. adults conducted Sept. 14-16 and released Wednesday.
• Ballyhoo and whoop-dee-doo to jharper@washingtontimes.com.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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