I hope you enjoyed the Christmas season, but let’s face it—2009 has been a tough year. The economy is in the tank, unemployment hovers around 10%, the national debt has spiraled out of control, and we are one big step closer to socialized medicine. What will 2010 bring? Here are a few things I anticipate:
1. IMMIGRATION REFORM (aka, amnesty) is a key objective of the Obama administration and the Democrats. Converting illegals into citizens is a voting boon for those on the left. We didn’t hear much about immigration in 2009 because the Democrats did not want the public to realize that the healthcare “reform” package would apply to tens of millions of NEW CITIZENS if an amnesty bill passes. I wonder if McCain and Graham will see things differently this time around. Democrats want to get immigration done before the 2010 elections. This is a battle we must win.
2. TAXES WILL RISE, as is already apparent in the healthcare legislation. There is talk of a bipartisan deficit-cutting commission. While not a bad idea in theory, such a commission infers that the current debt problem is bipartisan and that some sort of compromise is needed to resolve it. Such a commission would likely recommend tax hikes, a few token spending cuts, and means testing for programs like Social Security. Useful measures such as a rollback of the stimulus program would probably not be part of the deal. A bipartisan commission would allow Democrats to spread the blame associated with the 2009 spending spree and get Republicans to sign on to more wealth redistribution as part of the solution.
3. OBAMA WILL MOVE TO THE CENTER. With the midterm elections little more than 10 months away, we can expect more talk from the Democrats about fiscal responsibility and national security, lest the voters hold them accountable for the current malaise. Don’t be fooled. Obama’s record speaks for itself, and the Democrats in the House and Senate are his enablers.
4. THE DENIGRATION OF CONSERVATIVES IN THE MEDIA WILL INTENSIFY. The Democrats and the mainstream media will paint those who argue for fiscal responsibility, limited government, and border control as right wing extremists, especially as the midterm elections draw near. A few RINOs will become media darlings by calling for less extremism and more compromise with the left. This has been part of the Democrat playbook for years. Get on the offensive early, and don’t be surprised.
There’s a lot of work ahead. Maybe real conservatives will take back the House and 2010 will be a year of real change. Let’s keep fighting the good fight!
yeah, sounds about right…only you forgot to mention that with the “immigration reform”, those newly “legalized” illegal aliens will be able to bring in 10’s of millions of relatives, who will also be legalized and we also get to pay for their healthcare….sounds good, eh???
Immigration analysis is right on. Imagine if they passed a plan to legalize 40 million illegals and then had to factor them into the equation for public healthcare. They already had to redistribute a lot of wealth and delay coverage until 2013 to get the numbers to work.
Dr. Parnell,
Thanks for a great year of thoughtful conservative, political and economic analysis. I enjoy reading your blog and I have learned alot. Looking forward to more. Also, I enjoyed the comments of the other readers too.
We took it on the chin this year, but better days are ahead. We’ve all got to step up and be opinion leaders in our communities, families and workplaces. Most people are not knowledgeable on these issues, but when they hear conservative analysis, it resonates because deep down, it apeals to our human nature on an intuitive common sense level. Know your stuff. Study and read. Communicate on a level and in a manner that people can handle. The battle is for the middle, the independents, the young people. Stand up to the statists with confident, reasoned arguments.
It’s going to be a challenge, but if we all take responsibility to win over hearts and minds, we can do it.