2016 was a year jam-packed with political intrigue. There was no shortage of scandal, double-dealing, and betrayal…and that was just the Democrats! (OK it was the Republicans too!) 2016 Saw the rise of the populist in politics, both on the right and the left. On the left, you had an aging senator from Vermont attracting a young and enthusiastic crowd of budding socialists. We witnessed the rise and fall of Ted Cruz, who took Tea Party populism to a new level and became its standard-bearer. Conservative populism clashed with and eventually gave way to well… populist populism. Donald Trump, (now add President-elect to his name) saw a huge chunk of America that had been overlooked by conservatives and taken for granted by liberals, the disaffected white, working class voter. On the other side of the aisle, the Democrats just could not seem to get out of their own way. Day after day, scandal after scandal piled up eventually, at precisely the wrong time, the whole thing collapsed. The liberal world was turned upside down when Trump won the presidency by a convincing margin in the much-maligned Electoral College.
Liberty Relearned 
Good review. You forgot to include that Russia interfered with the free election of the United States of America. This would explain ~ ” Day after day, scandal after scandal piled up eventually, at precisely the wrong time, the whole thing collapsed.”.. … This should concern all of us. I didn’t vote for either one and consider the results of this election a lose/lose for everyone. It’s now up to DJT to reveal to the American people if he really cares about America or if he’s the con-artist that so many believe he truly is.
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You’re not alone in the skepticism about DJT. I think he will learn, as all new presidents do, that campaigning and governing are not the same thing. The left is having these wild fantasies about him ruling as a fascist despot. If the Constitution is followed and the other two branches do their jobs (better than they did with Obama), this can’t happen, not that it would anyhow. I am optimistic. My chief concern, as you can guess from following my blog, is that the Justices and judges he appoints will uphold the Constitution. I’d also like to see him drastically reduce the size and scope of the regulatory state. If he can do just those two things while at the same time just not sinking the ship economically or leading us into unnecessary war, I can deal with just about anything else he might do.
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I always like reading your civil and thoughtful responses, JP. I’m with you on ‘not sinking the ship economically or leading us into unnecessary war’. I don’t follow celebrity and still respect Meryl Streep’s acting career. I feel movies have always been a voice to make us think and be aware whether we agree or not with the message. What she said last night is what concerns me also. The political is the personal.
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