2015 Predictions
AJ Robinson

As this is the final day of 2014, I thought I might make some predictions for the coming year, as I have done in the past. My prediction record isn’t too bad, but I am definitely no psychic. So, let’s get started, shall we?

Now that the GOP controls Congress, I hope they will do something, in 2015, but I am not optimistic. The GOP leadership understands the need to do much or at least something, now that it’s in command. Unfortunately, the Tea Baggers don’t necessarily agree.

The Tea Bagger attitude is that government is bad; thus, they must crush it. As they hate Obama, any action they take, which might help him, is treasonous, according to their base.

It doesn’t matter if the action would actually help the nation; that is irrelevant. Something as simple as universal background checks for gun purchases, something over ninety percent of Americans want, will not happen. What will happen are more votes on repealing the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The Baggers will feel that now that they hold the Senate, they can push it through. It won’t matter that Obama can just veto any such bill. They believe that they have the votes to override any veto.

That's not going to happen.

Anything that helps the rich and corporations will be vital and necessary. Anything that helps the poor and Middle Class will either be socialism or too costly. It’s interesting how they never say that about the former, only the latter.

Nothing will happen on immigration, raising the minimum wage, protecting Social Security, protecting the rights of women, civil rights, education, the infrastructure or the environment. On the latter, they will ignore Climate Change, but actively work against anything that might help to alleviate it. When it comes to the weather, winter will be brief and incredibly intense; every severe storm will further confirmation of Climate Change being a hoax. Spring will come early, be short and the summer will be the hottest on record. There will be massive droughts in the Mid-West and West. The seas will continue to warm and rise, the polar and Antarctic ice will melt and still more people will suffer from the changes.

Lower fuel costs will help the economy grow, slowly.

The economy will continue to grow modestly; the lower gas prices will help to give it a needed boost. The GOP, of course, will try to take credit for this, while time blaming Obama for the drop in gas prices. This is a tad ironic, as they also blamed him when it went up.

As a side note, I have to wonder why is it no one ever points out massive contradictions, such as the one above, when the GOP and conservative pundits spew them? I know their followers are a few cards shy of a full deck, but even they aren’t completely brain dead. Do they ever notice these things?

I’m just curious. When the price goes back up, which it will, they’ll blame him for that too.

Mass shootings will continue.

There will be more mass shootings, but only in America, as most other nations in the world have reasonable gun control. Shootings will come at the rate of about one a month, but the media won’t report any, if the death count is below half a dozen. Those types of shootings have become so commonplace and don’t rate a large-scale report on the national news.

Politicians and pundits will wring their hands and make speeches, but the only changes to take place will be a loosening of gun laws, as the NRA will argue that we need still more guns to be safe. As the National Rifle Association (NRA) owns the GOP, they’ll do as told and pass the bills. Whether Obama signs them is another matter.

This brings us to the final prediction: Obama will veto more bills in his last two years in office than in his first six, as the GOP will pass some of the dumbest bills in history. Oh, and this will be the least productive Congress in our nation’s history.

Let’s see how many I get right. Tune in again in twelve months to find out. Happy New Year!