Erick Erickson penned an article for the website he founded, The Resurgent, titled “2016 Can Kiss My Ass,” with this statement:
From near death experiences to cancer to death of family members and friends to death of the celebrities of my youth to the infernal election between Mephistopheles and Beelzebub for President, 2016 can kiss my ass. I’m ready for it to be over.
As someone who follows radio host and the founder of The Resurgent and the RedState websites, Erick Erickson, I have seen the abuse he has taken as being one of the founding members of the #NeverTrump movement as well as the serious health issues experiences that he and his wife have gone through in the last year.
I’m in the camp that 2016 was largely a suckie year, most of which involved the seemingly endless primary season, that is until it ended in my home state of Indiana in May with the nomination of Donald Trump.
From Nancy Reagan to Fidel Castro, from Justice Antonin Scalia to Janet Reno and from Merle Haggard to Prince, the list of notables that passed away in 2016 has been especially notable.
Now that 2016 is coming to an end I want to look forward to what awaits in 2017. I once heard a former government worker say that the number one obligation of the government bureaucrats is to the bureaucracy so I know some of these won’t be easy so this list also includes items that I am hopefully optimistic about.
What I’m looking forward to:
The obvious 1st item on this list is that at 12 noon on January 20th Barack Obama will no longer be President.
Hillary Clinton will not be President. Along that line and at least for the foreseeable future the Clinton and Bush dynasties are no more.
- For the first time since Harry Reid became a member of the House of Representative in 1983 and the Senate in 1987 he is no longer part of the government
- For the first time since Joe Biden became a Senator in 1973 and the Vice President in 2009 he is no longer part of the government
- For the first time since John Kerry became a Senator in 1985 and the Secretary of State in 2013 he is no longer part of the government
Following the 8 years of the Barack Obama presidency the Republicans hold an unprecedented number of elected offices at both the federal and state level, lets hope they understand how they got in that position.
The Democrats have learned nothing from their defeats as witnessed by the fact that Nancy Pelosi is still the minority leader of the House of Representatives, Chuck Schumer is slated to be the replacement for Harry Reid as the minority leader of the Senate and that the anti-Semitic, pro Muslim Brotherhood, Keith Ellison is considered the leading candidate to become the head of the Democratic National Committee.
With Jeff Sessions tapped as the Attorney General he can end the Justice Department’s activist role and return it to an impartial body that is dedicated to law enforcement.
With Rick Perry tapped as the head of the Department of Energy, a department that he once said should be abolished, that he will act in that capacity.
With Scott Pruitt tapped as the head of the EPA they will begin to roll back the business crushing regulations of the recent years.
The nomination of a Supreme Court Justice who will promise to to honor and preserve the United States Constitution.
The possibility of true reform within the Veterans Administration with Donald Trump’s transition team are looking into options for making the treatment of veterans in the VA system into a “public-private option.”
The re-establishment of our good relationship with Israel, our only truly dependable friend in the Middle-East.
And finally on my list of optimism for 2017 is restoration of the First Amendment specifically the freedoms of speech and religion, as well as the end of the federal government’s attacks on the Second Amendment.
That’s my list, what are you optimistic about for 2017?
markE watkins 