NEWS AND OPINION:

Sean Hannity is a veteran prime-time host on Fox News who has earned some very respectable ratings. He has also hit a record-breaking milestone in his daily talk radio show — which has been syndicated by Premiere Networks for the last 20 years. Mr. Hannity’s program is now heard on 700 affiliate stations in the U.S., according to Talkers.com, an industry source that meticulously tracks national radio trends.

“Sean is one of the best in the business and this achievement is a credit to his passion and commitment to talk radio,” said Michael Harrison — founder of Talkers — in a statement shared with Inside the Beltway.

 “What’s so special about Sean Hannity is that he is not only the modern-day news/talk radio champion year after year, but he also holds that same distinction in the realm of cable news television as one of the pioneers and pillars of Fox News Channel. On top of that, he is a prolific best-selling author,” Mr. Harrison said.

“Whether or not people in the talk media industries agree with his controversial political positions, we all owe Sean a debt of gratitude for raising the impact, prestige and influence of the American talk show business,” he said.

“We couldn’t be happier to celebrate another impressive milestone with Sean. There are very few people who have the talent to command an audience of this size for over two decades, while continuing to grow and set new benchmarks,” said Julie Talbott, president of Premiere Networks, also in a statement.

Find Mr. Hannity’s dynamic personal website, meanwhile, at Hannity.com.

The lawmaker guide

Do you like to follow Congress? Do you wonder when they are actually in the Capitol taking care of business?

House Republican Whip Steve Scalise, Louisiana Republican, has announced that the 2023 legislative calendar for the first year of the 118th Congress is now available.

Download it here: Republicanwhip.gov/2023-house-calendar/.

The diesel factor

It is fuel for thought, so to speak.

“Retail diesel prices per gallon have soared 94% since President Biden took office, rising from $2.696 a gallon just before the 2021 inauguration to $5.233 a gallon as of Nov. 21, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The number of days’ supply of diesel on hand recently dropped to an all-time low of 25 days,” reports Terry Jones, former economics editor and editorial page editor for Investor’s Business Daily — now an editor for Issues & Insights.

Inflation, frigid winter weather and a potential rail strike could only add to a potentially dire situation.

Politicians beware.

“Whoever wants to win the next election in 2024 should take heed. Soaring energy prices have been a common trigger for recession since 1973,” Mr. Jones wrote.

What response will reassure the American public? The most popular recommendation would please Sarah Palin, famed for her advice to “drill, baby, drill” when it comes to fuel supplies.

The survey found that 39% of the respondents favored ‘more drilling and refining of oil.” Another 36% said the nation should “return to the rules and standards for energy production that prevailed in 2020.”

A quarter sided with the idea of taxing oil companies “if they don’t produce more oil,” followed by 22% who favored “imposing strict limits on carbon-based fuels to reduce climate change.” Another 22% were “not sure,” while 3% said to simply “do nothing” about the situation.

The Tipp Insights poll of 1,359 U.S. adults was conducted Nov. 2-4 and released Wednesday.

Foxified

Fox News finished up the month of November drawing 2.4 million prime-time viewers on average throughout the month, compared with 1.2 million who went with MSNBC and 749,000 who chose CNN, according to Nielsen Media Research. Fox News also aired 93 of the top 100 cable news telecasts for the month, and enjoyed a hefty audience on election night, with a prime-time audience of 7.4 million viewers. That number bested election night viewing of not only CNN and MSNBC, but also ABC, NBC and CBS.

“The Five” continued as the top-rated show for the eighth consecutive month with 3.7 million viewers, followed by “Tucker Carlson Tonight” (3.5 million), “Jesse Watters Primetime” (3.2 million), “Hannity” (3.1 million) and “Special Report With Bret Baier” (2.8 million).

The ‘Great Reset’

Does America need what has come to be called the “Great Reset”? What are we talking about here?

“In 2020, members of the world’s elite met at the World Economic Forum and launched the Great Reset initiative to transform the world economy. As Klaus Schwab — the founder and executive director of the Forum — wrote, ‘We need a ‘Great Reset’ of capitalism.’”

That “Great Reset,” by the way, would “have the effect of canceling our American way of life,” points out Hillsdale College, which ought to know about such things.

The school recently conducted a seminar on the matter, covering its ramifications for America, and the pro-freedom alternatives. Filmed on the Hillsdale campus, the presentation covers the origins of this idea and the “old and dangerous ideologies” behind it. This seminar — titled “The Great Reset” — is now available as a free online video series.

Consult lp.hillsdale.edu/the-great-reset-cca for instant access.

Poll du jour

• 89% of likely general election voters say they have no current plans to move to a region of the U.S. that “aligns more closely” with their political or personal beliefs; 85% of Republicans, 86% of independents and 96% of Democrats agree.

• 88% of men and 90% of women also agree.

• 7% overall say they are planning to move in the next year to a region that does align more closely with those beliefs; 10% of Republicans, 10% of independents and 2% of Democrats agree.

• 9% of men and 6% of women also agree.

• 3% overall say they already have moved to a region that aligns with their beliefs; 4% of Republicans, 4% of independents and 1% of Democrats agree.

• 3% of men and 4% of women also agree.

Source: A Trafalgar Group/Convention of States Action poll of 1,084 likely general election voters conducted Nov. 16-20.