A tumultuous year ending on a high note

Whatever other descriptions there are to characterize 2017 as it comes to a close, I suspect that most would agree that it was tumultuous.

It began with the inauguration of the most unconventional man to win the presidency in our lifetime.

To say it was an unexpected outcome of a raucous campaign season would also rank as one of the understatements in recent memory.

As a nation we have seemingly been unable to get beyond the reality of it all. And, if you doubt that statement, just look around at the intense, multi-faceted initiatives desperately trying to undo the decision of voters that put Donald Trump in the White House.

No, he didn’t win a majority of the popular vote which marks the nineteenth time in our history that a president was chosen with less than 50 percent of all ballots cast.

Names like Lincoln, Truman, Kennedy, Clinton and Bush are on that list.

What seems to be the difference in Trump’s case is he’s the first of them to face the remarkable combination of the opposing party, much of the national media, and the full assault of federal investigators working for a special prosecutor apparently bent on removing him from office.

It doesn’t seem to matter that many of Robert Mueller’s team have established records of giving their money and their support to Trump’s unsuccessful opponent.

Or, that a leading member of that team, Peter Strzok, had to be removed because of his expressed intention, as he put it, to protect us all from the menace of a Trump presidency.

We are told that none of the appearance of a partisan condition of the investigative team will matter in how they proceed with their work.

The problem with that assertion is that most Americans aren’t buying it.

Perhaps the biggest reason for that is the refusal of Mueller’s operation to provide information to Congress and others that would let us all know just how deep the conflicts of interest are among his team.

Judicial Watch has filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit seeking records on the removal of Strzok. The organization’s president Tim Fitton speculates that investigators want to hide the truth of political biases and misconduct that have “compromised both the Clinton email and Russia collusion investigations.”

All of this is leading to the almost certain outcome of this cloak-and-dagger drama and intrigue that whatever happens it will be so fully impaired as to render it a monumental waste of time, money and emotion.

What I would like to see as we turn the calendar in the New Year is to simply follow the route to the best solution to all this political theater.

I’ve shared my opinion before and continue to believe the Constitutional method to resolution is superior to what is going on now. Yes, cease the investigations altogether and let the people decide.

Democrats and their national media friends ought to embrace that solution. Most of the polling, to say nothing of the mantra from the party on the left, portends a sweeping victory in November that will turn both houses of Congress over to democrat control.

Such an outcome would significantly stifle Trump’s agenda and result in virtual gridlock until the next president is elected and no need to continue the witch hunt to drive him from the Oval Office.

That will leave all of us free to enjoy lower taxes, job opportunities occasioned by corporate growth in an accelerating economy, freedom from the yoke of some oppressive federal regulations, increased security from illegal immigrants that would threaten our safety, and continued growth in optimism about the future.

That’s my vision of a Happy New Year. May God continue to bless us all.

This story was originally published December 29, 2017 at 3:08 PM with the headline "A tumultuous year ending on a high note."