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15
Number of Russian individuals and companies President Obama has blacklisted “for their dealings in Crimea and Ukraine, creating an early test for the new administration of President-elect Donald J. Trump, who is widely expected to roll back the pressure campaign against Russia,” the New York Times reports. “The Treasury Department designated seven individuals and eight corporate entities involved in a range of projects, including the construction of a bridge connecting Russia to the Crimean peninsula. It also targeted businesspeople who are associates of President Vladimir V. Putin or are involved in activities that aid in Russia’s destabilization of Ukraine.”
79%
Of Republicans say they are very or somewhat optimistic about the future of the Republican Party, according to Pew Research. “In early November, on the eve of the election, 61% of Republicans expressed optimism about their party’s future. … Democrats’ optimism about their party’s future has declined by a comparable margin over the same period – though a majority (61%) continues to be optimistic. Before the election, 77% of Democrats were optimistic about the party’s future, which is almost identical to the share of Republicans who are upbeat about their party’s now.”
2,864,974
Margin that Hillary Clinton had over Donald Trump in the popular vote in the 2016 presidential election, with voting results now certified in all 50 states, according to the Cook Political Report.
Perhaps the most important lesson is that any major party nominee, no matter how seemingly awful or unpopular, has a shot at winning. This is a lesson not so much for the general election campaigns, but for the parties: Be careful whom you nominate. Pick someone you’d be comfortable seeing in office. You’d be surprised who can lose. And who can win.
54%
A new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll finds 54% of adults saying that they are either uncertain (25%) or pessimistic and worried (29%) about how Trump will perform during his presidency, compared with 45% with either an optimistic and confident view (22%) or a satisfied and hopeful view (23%).
I regularly speak to groups across the political spectrum because my constituents deserve access to their congressman. I can’t remember ever turning down an opportunity to speak to a group based on the group’s political ideology.
— Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.), the ultra-conservative congressman tapped by Donald Trump to run the Office of Management and Budget, in response to South Carolina Democrats who criticized Mulvaney for appearing before the John Birch Society, reports Mother Jones.
22nd
The U.S. Congress’ ranking out of a broad range of 22 professions, when it comes to bedrock values of honesty and ethics, says a Gallup poll released Monday. Only 8 percent of the respondents gave members of Congress a positive rating for honesty and ethical standards. Senators did a little better, managing to garner 12 percent, while state governors reached 18 percent. Amazingly, oft-vilified journalists got 23 percent — still earning the approval of less than a quarter of the respondents. Nurses topped the list with 84 percent, with pharmacists in a somewhat distant second place with 67 percent and doctors at 65 percent.
Republicans did not assent in 2009 after Obama won 365 electoral votes, 52.9 percent of the popular vote, and nearly 10 million more votes than his Republican opponent. If Democrats, and even a few Republicans, don’t buy this 46 percenter’s claim to a mandate, that seems more like common sense than fighting dirty.
200
Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) “was so eager to celebrate Hillary Clinton’s presidential inauguration, he booked 200 hotel rooms in DC for family, friends and supporters of his possible future bid for the presidency,” the New York Post reports.
52%
Of Republicans said Trump won the popular vote, compared with only 7% of Democrats and 24% of independents, according to a new Qualtrics survey. Among Republicans without any college education, the share was even larger: 60%, compared with 37% of Republicans with a college degree. In reality, Hillary Clinton won 2.8 million more votes than Trump.
