Top 10 Highlights of 2019

With 2020 officially underway, it makes perfect sense to look back on the highs and lows of 2019.  I have already assembled a list of the Top 10 Lowlights of 2019.  I thought it made sense to begin the new year on a high note with a list of the Top 10 Highlights of 2019.

1. The impeachment fallout: Not only did Democrats fail to convince a single Republican to support the articles of impeachment against President Trump, they managed to lose one of their own members as a result of their obsession with removing the President from office by any means necessary.  Congressman Jeff Van Drew, a “blue dog” Democrat from New Jersey’s 2^nd Congressional District, voted against proceeding with the impeachment inquiry that amounted to nothing more than a taxpayer-funded therapy session for disaffected bureaucrats; making him one of only two Democrats in the House to do so.  When it came time to vote on actual articles of impeachment, not only did Van Drew vote no on both articles, he actually switched parties.  Van Drew’s decision to leave the Democrats and join the Republicans effectively cancels out Never-Trumper Justin Amash’s switch from Republican to independent that cost the GOP a seat in the House earlier this year.  Assuming Republicans hold two Republican-held seats that became vacant and will require special elections, Van Drew’s party switch will give Republicans 200 seats heading into the 2020 election.  Van Drew’s decision to join the GOP came across as more of a slap in the face to the Democrats than a huge victory for Republicans. As a member of the New Jersey State Senate, Van Drew voted against gun control bills in addition to voting against the holy grail of the modern progressive movement: the legalization of same-sex marriage. However, prior to his decision to become a Republican, Van Drew had endorsed Cory Booker for President and described himself as “strongly and unequivocally pro-choice” and pledged allegiance to “Roe v. Wade and a woman’s right to choose.” Now that Van Drew has given the President his “undying support,” he might want to rethink that position. Van Drew already has primary challengers who decided to run for his seat back when he still caucused with the Democrats. With Van Drew out of the way, far-left Democrats who would have a harder time winning in a district that President Trump carried with a narrow majority of the vote in 2016 have decided to throw their hats into the ring. In addition to Van Drew’s party switch, Democrats will have to deal with another negative externality of impeachment: the declining public support for it.  In spite of the falling public support for impeachment, the roll call vote on the articles of impeachment almost matched the roll call vote for the impeachment inquiry a month and a half earlier; with just two Democrats voting against both articles of impeachment. Congressman Jared Golden, who represents a district in Maine that President Trump carried by double digits, only voted in favor of one of the articles. The remainder of the 31 (now 30) Democrats who represent districts carried by President Trump in 2016 have a lot of explaining to do.  Polling has shown little support for impeachment in the aforementioned swing districts. The impeachment fallout could continue well into 2020 if/when a Senate trial takes place. A Senate trial would keep some of the Democratic presidential candidates stuck in Washington rather than on the trail campaigning for every vote in the Democratic primary.
2. The United Kingdom general election: Three years ago, British voters in the United Kingdom gave the cosmopolitan elites in their home country and around the globe the middle finger by voting to leave the beloved supranational organization known as the European Union.  The establishment has spent the past three years trying to subvert the will of the people.  When given the opportunity to vote for “Brexit 2.0” by giving conservatives a stronger majority in Parliament, the people struck back and did just that.  Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party enjoyed a net gain of 47 seats in Parliament while the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats suffered major electoral setbacks. 
3. The transformation of the 9^th Circuit: Because of its location in ultra-liberal California, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has emerged as conservatives’ mots pronounced foe in the judicial branch.  Just last year, the 30-seat appellate court had just six judges appointed by Republican presidents; with 16 appointed by Democratic presidents and eight vacancies.  Now that President Trump has filled those vacancies, the 9^th Circuit liberal monopoly has disappeared.  Democrats still have 16 seats but Republicans now have 14.  In the past, liberals could always count on judges based in the Ninth Circuit to strike down aspects of President Trump’s agenda as “unconstitutional.” It looks like their luck may have finally run out.
4. The 2019 special elections: While the regularly scheduled 2019 elections yielded mixed results for conservatives, Republicans performed spectacularly in the three special congressional elections that took place this year.  Republicans easily held onto a seat in Pennsylvania’s 12^th Congressional District when its incumbent, former Congressman Tom Marino, resigned to take a job in the private sector; triggering a special election that took place on May 21.  While the Pennsylvania race gave Republicans little heartburn, they had plenty of causes for concern in the two other special elections that took place later in the year; both of which took place in North Carolina. Republicans had to defend an open seat as well as a seat that he won by a smaller margin.  The circumstances that led to the special election in North Carolina’s 9^th Congressional District arguably put Republicans at a disadvantage.  Allegations of voter fraud led to the North Carolina Board of Elections refusing to certify the results of the regularly scheduled election that took place there last year; where the Republican appeared to win narrowly.  President Trump traveled to the 9^th District on Election Day eve and his visit appeared to pay off.  The Republican candidate in North Carolina’s 3^rd Congressional District matched President Trump’s margin of victory there.  As for Dan Bishop, the Republican nominee in the 9^th District, he managed to win with a narrow majority; slightly underperforming President Trump’s margin there in 2016 but overperforming Republican candidate Mark Harris’s performance in the 2018 election that the North Carolina Board of Elections refused to certify. Unlike special elections in both the House and the Senate that took place in 2017 and 2018, where Republicans lost seats, Republicans managed to successfully defend all of their seats that became vacant unexpectedly this year. Considering the media and Hollywood’s constant war on the Republican Party, this feat deserves a round of applause.
5. The implementation of the “Remain in Mexico” policy: Anyone who saw President Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on Mexico as a stupid decision needs to rethink that position. The President’s threat led Mexico to work with the United States to prevent the flow of “asylum seekers” into the United States by fortifying its southern border with Central America and allowing “asylum seekers” to remain in Mexico while they wait for an asylum hearing in the United States; effectively enabling the United States to end the suicidal practice of “catch and release.” Since the implementation of the “Remain in Mexico” policy, apprehensions at the US-Mexico border have plummeted.
6. The death of Al-Baghdadi: Eight years ago, the mainstream media cheered when the man responsible for the 9/11 terror attacks, Osama Bin Laden, met his demise under President Obama’s watch.  The media surely had a similar reaction when President Trump announced the death of the leader of the barbaric group of radical Islamic terrorists known as ISIS. Think again. The Trump-hating press nitpicked every word of his speech announcing the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and compared him to a dictator. Every American, regardless of political affiliation, should celebrate al-Baghdadi’s death; even if it means giving a little bit of credit to the man they so vehemently despise.
7. Lara Logan’s appearance on the “Mike Drop” podcast: Back in February, former CBS reporter Lara Logan appeared on a podcast hosted by former Navy SEAL Mike Ritland; where she performed an autopsy on the mainstream media that she once worked for.  Referring to the people who populate the newsrooms at the “alphabet soup” networks and the left-wing cable channels, Logan acknowledged “we’ve become political activists in a sense. And some could argue propagandists, right?” After pointing out the statistics showing that an overwhelming majority of mainstream journalists identify with the left, Logan went on a tirade against the new norm in American journalism; where “you read one story or another and hear it and it’s all based on one anonymous administration official, former administration official. That’s not journalism. That’s horsesh**. Sorry.” Burn! Since departing from CBS, Logan has embarked on a new journey as the host of Sinclair Broadcast Group’s “Lara Logan Investigates” and will begin hosting a new show on Fox Nation in the very near future.
8. Florida’s passage of “America First” legislation: As I explained earlier this year, the state of Florida has accomplished many of the goals lawmakers in both parties have failed to achieve at the national level; specifically when it comes to immigration. The GOP trifecta in the Sunshine State, with 2024 presidential contender Ron DeSantis at the helm, has already signed into law a measure defunding sanctuary cities and the state looks likely to pass legislation mandating E-Verify. Republicans in Washington, please take note and follow Florida’s lead immediately upon retaking the majority in the House.
9. The Supreme Court’s ruling in The American Legion v. American Humanist Association: The left has declared war on religion and all too often, the judicial branch has helped them achieve their goal of abolishing all expression of religion from the public square. The lawsuit that led to the Supreme Court ruling in The American Legion v. American Humanist Association originated from a group of liberals known who went nuclear about a “peace cross” in Bladensburg, Maryland designed to commemorate World War I veterans. SCOTUS’s ruling effectively told the folks at the American Humanist Association to get a grip; reversing a decision from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals declaring the cross unconstitutional. While conservatives definitely have a right to flinch about the Supreme Court ruling regarding the citizenship question, they should embrace the Court’s decision to uphold religion in the public square…for now.
10. The passage of heartbeat bills at the state level: While New York State passed the abominable Reproductive Health Act, Republican-controlled states took steps to defend the sanctity of life by passing “heartbeat bills,” which would criminalize abortion at the time when a fetal heartbeat can first be detected.  While these laws have run into obstacles in the form of the status quo-affirming judicial branch, the passage of legislation to protect the truly most vulnerable among us definitely indicates wind in the sails for the pro-life movement.

Well, there you have it.  2019 has come and gone and 2020 has arrived. For more on what 2020 means at a personal level as well as a national level, check back later this week.