In 2010, a number of important things happened, here's the good, the bad and the ugly.
The Good:
1. Healthcare reform was passed ensuring that most Americans will be able to afford healthcare while simultaneously saving the federal government nearly 100 billion dollars over the next decade. A proud moment for our great nation.
2. Despite Republican attempts to handicap the president's ability to improve America and the tea party's attempts to chain us to the glory days of Jefferson's yeoman farmer, Democrats were still able to take significant steps to strengthen the economy. Bipartisan tax cuts included a second, significant stimulus that should boost the economy and a financial regulatory bill was passed that theoretically puts in place the oversight necessary to make sure that runaway banking doesn't bring the world's economy to its knees.
3. Congress is able to achieve a few key agenda items during its "lame duck" session, notably repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," verifying the New START treaty and providing healthcare for 9/11 first responders.
The Bad:
1. Republicans gained control of the House of Representatives. While this doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing, as Republicans do have some good ideas, the way the party has conducted itself during the last two years has been nothing short of disgraceful. Republican obstructionism and pandering delayed economic recovery and turned conversations about important issues like healthcare into spectacles of lies and fear mongering.
2. This really deserves its own category, the very bad, but America's failure to act in the field of green and alternative energy is going to haunt our country years from now. I've said it a million times before, but global warming is going to force our hand sooner rather than later. The unsustainable way we treat our planet is killing it, and this will become only more obvious. America should have done more to encourage development and innovation in the realm of alternative energy sources, and should also do more to help us end our addiction to fossil fuels. This must become a priority in 2011.
The Ugly:
1. This was rectified, but the Republican refusal to extend healthcare to 9/11 first responders using the deficit as an excuse after they had just forced through tax cuts that would cost the country 700 billion dollars was despicable. Even Faux News and Rudy Giuliani hammered the party for this appalling and contemptible display of disregard for Americans.
2. The "debate" over the not-at-Ground-Zero Community Center or perhaps the mosque of terror. The fact that this is an issue is also disgraceful. "We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal," except maybe the Muslims who want to build a community center in Manhattan. While this fear of the other is just another hiccup along the American march towards true equality it's ugly nonetheless. To those who think this is going to be some kind of monument to Islam's triumph over America, I have two things to say: 1) turn off Faux News and get out of your bubble, not all Muslims are out to get you, no matter what Glenn Beck says. 2) If you ever make it to New York, visit the "mosque" and go to the 9/11 memorial located there. Arizona's law - while much of it has been ruled unconstitutional - still deserves a special shout out. Kudos to Jan Brewer for being willing to do the wrong thing even when when everyone knows it's wrong. It takes real fortitude to be that ignorant and bigoted.
3. The debut of the Tea Party. I can't find anything good to say about these people. They're naive, they're stupid, they're misguided (I mean really, Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin? These are your heros? Really?). The Tea Party vision of America is a peaceful and idyllic one, but living in the past doesn't solve the problems of the present, and if the Tea Party really wants to live in that world then I suggest they stop paying taxes (they'll probably be fine with that), use the extra cash to buy a huge plot of land in Mongolia or some other far away place, and build a commune for idiots in which they can happily practice their 1790s ideas without harming the greater society.
Despite the bad and the ugly, I still look at 2010 as a great year, and I expect even better in 2011. This is America and not even the Tea Party can hold us back. Happy New Year.
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