Ah, well, I let 2010 expire without commenting these past few days. Every time I thought back over the year, it just seemed too complex to sum up; there were too many highs, too many lows, too much ambiguity about what it all meant. There was just no way to capture it in a few words. So, unable to say it all, I opted for nothing.
Here are a few things I'm hoping we'll see in 2011:
1. Boehner and McConnell will be so busy trying to keep the Tea Party freshmen within the GOP agenda, that they won't have much time for Obama bashing. Meanwhile, the newly emboldened moderate Republicans will form a coalition and cooperate with the Democrats to get some meaningful legislation done, preferring to break with the party on some issues rather than be lumped with the radical fringe . Yes, I'm a dreamer, optimistic to a fault. But I did say this is what I'm hoping for, not what I expect to happen.
2. The Federal Court that heard the Prop8 case will decide that the defendents had no standing to appeal and let the lower court decision stand; it will also uphold the plaintiff's arguments, in effect saying they would have upheld the lower court decision on merits. This will lift the stay and allow same-sex marriages in California, even if it is appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Assuming the National Organization for Marriage will appeal (and they will), then the U. S. Supreme Court will decline to hear the case. And that will be that.
3. Some way will be found to end the war in Afghanistan, so that by the end of 2011 we will be out of there as well as Iraq. I don't know how it will happen -- can we risk losing Pakistan as well, with their nuclear bombs?
4. As people begin to benefit from the health care reform, public opinion will shift, they will realize that the Republicans sold them a bunch of lies -- and the tinkering they will be bound to attempt might actually make some improvements.
5. The economy will swing upward, and it won't just be Wall Street but millions of jobs as well. Obama will choose a replacement for Larry Summers who will convince him to listen to more progressive economists like Joseph Stiglitz and Paul Krugman, both Nobel Prize winning economists. Elizabeth Warren's stature within the administration will grow, and she will get full support for her efforts in consumer protection regulations.
6. Somehow, without a major natural disaster to convince them, conservatives will quit being so pigheadedly dumb on global warming -- and cooperate to start making a difference.
7. Somewhere out there in progressive-land, some charismatic television commentator will emerge as the counterpart to Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh. Rachel Maddow is the best we have now; she's terrific, but she may just be a bit too brainy for Joe Six-pack. Same for Jon Stewart. It may have to be someone that we liberal, educated people will cringe over from time to time, because s/he will have to have enough mass appeal to get a mass following.
But it will have to be someone who thinks clearly, challenges the lies without alienating the masses, and who has a way of debunking the debunkers so that people will listen.
OK. Now I guess I've gone round the bend in Ga-Ga Land. But it's my dream, isn't it?
Ralph
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Already the Tea Party leaders are grumbling about the lame duck bills that were passed -- outraged that the Democrats didn't seem to get the message that they were repudiated at the polls.
ReplyDeleteAs one of the T-Party founders said: “For them to legislate when they’ve collectively lost their mandate just shows the arrogance of the ruling elite. I can’t imagine being repudiated in the way they were and then coming back and saying ‘Now that we’ve been repudiated, let’s go pass some legislation.’ I’m surprised by how blatant it was.”
I think they may be overestimating their "mandate," as though it was universal. Someone should remind them that the Democrats still control the Senate and the White House.
But they are also frustrated with the Republican leaders for allowing it to happen. One said that "they have been a disaster."
So, yes, Boehner will have his hands full, because the first two big hurdles will be passing a spending bill, which they will want to cut even more drastically than most Republicans.
The other will be a bill to raise the national debt level, which they will vehemently oppose. They weren't even happy about the tax cut extension, because the estate tax wasn't eliminated all together.
Should be interesting to watch over the next year.