I Have Great Political Hopes for 2022!

[MineralMan]

That might sound crazy to some, but it's true. They're MY hopes, of course, and they are aspirational, not certain. Here are some of them, in no particular order:

1. I hope, and believe, that we begin seeing, in January, the work that has been going on quietly at the DOJ comes to fruition, with grand juries, indictments, arrests, and prosecutions scheduled for many of those involved in planning and executing the January 1, 2021 insurrection.

2. I hope that, as the mid-term primaries and general elections get closer that everyone gets active in supporting Democratic candidates for every office, from local ones to the House and Senate. In the primaries, anything goes, really, but once the primary elections are over, I hope, and believe, that everyone will provide enthusiastic support for every Democrat running for office, starting in each person's own jurisdiction.

3. I hope, and believe, that Joe Biden's BBB, in one form or another, makes its way through Congress and onto his desk for a signature.

4. I hope the bill protecting everyone's right to vote does the same and is signed into law months before the first primary election in any state.

5. I hope that Democrats from every sector of our very diverse party join together to accomplish the goals above. I believe that, if their constituents demand that, those elected officials will respond positively to that pressure. It's up to us to let our own Democratic legislators and office holders know what we want, and in no uncertain terms.

6. I hope that every last person who believes him or herself to be active in politics puts every possible effort into getting out the vote, making sure that every voter can vote, and works to make sure every vote is counted. Volunteer, please, in some way. That will be essential to our victory.

That's it for now. I hope that everything I hope for comes true in 2022. That will make this old man's heart warm.

That said, my 2022 did not start with a positive event. My wife and I had to take our 15-year-old kitty to the emergency vet clinic this morning to be euthanized. We have been nursing her along, hoping that she still had a couple of her nine lives left. That was not to be, so she is now beyond any suffering she was having. Sometimes, doing the right thing hurts.

[FalloutShelter]

1. So sorry about your kitty MM.

I am bullish on Dems too. I am not down with defeatism. Here’s hoping.

[MineralMan]

2. She had a good innings.

We'll miss her, though.

She was an "illegal" cat. The HOA rules in our new townhome allows only two pets. We also have two dogs. She made three pets, but was never seen by anyone, so we sneaked her in when we moved in. Any time someone was coming in, she boogied to her hidey hole.

[Ocelot II]

3. Fingers crossed; hope gets things done.

So sorry about your kitty. I lost two old boys within a month in 2020, and indeed, doing the right thing does hurt.

[MineralMan]

5. I tried to count all of the cats that have lived with me.

Too many to remember all in one pass. A house without a cat is empty. We'll have another one in time. Often, one appears when we need one, somehow. We'll wait a bit and see what shows up.

My very first cat showed up at my barracks in Turkey while I was in the USAF. The window was open one night, and she came through it and stayed. She was a little wild thing, but soon figured out that eating people food and sleeping on a warm bed warranted some deference to the human in the room. When my tour there was over, my roommate, who was a recent arrival, took over. I doubt the cat knew the difference, really. But she was my first.

[lees1975]

4. It doesn't sound crazy at all.

It's very doable and I'm encouraged by what I'm seeing from the DNC and the activity they are promoting, which is focused on registering new voters and getting the ones already registered to go and vote for Democrats.

I'd add that I would like to see Congress revise the Judiciary Act and permit the President to add four more justices to the Supreme Court.

[malaise]

6. How sad

January is not your month.
I too have high hopes for this year.

[MineralMan]

12. Kitties we have with us for too short a time.

Dogs, too. We have to give them the best lives we can, but we will outlive them. Sad, but while they are with us they add to our happiness and we to theirs.

[Takket]

7. so sorry about your kitty.......

i HOPE you are correct.

All I ask for in 2022 is that we can somehow convince manchin and sinema to let us pass the voting rights bills. That bill is pretty much the bottleneck that everything else can eventually flow from.

if i had to pick one thing i want out of this year, it is that, even more than prosecuting drumpf.

[Polybius]

8. Any hopes for retaining or picking up seats in the House or Senate?

So sorry about your cat.

[MineralMan]

13. Yes, I think so. That's where the GOTV efforts

come in. There are going to be some Trump picks that will be vulnerable, I'm sure. They're just too far off the beam to win, if we work to get votes for their Democratic opponents.

It will, however, require all of our cooperation.

[Polybius]

15. I hear ya

While I don't think that we will pick up seats, I'd me more than happy to keep what we have. 50 Senate seats sucks, but it's 100 times better than 49.

[LoisB]

9. I hope the same and I am very sorry about your kitty.

[DFW]

10. One more thing that I hope for

That ALL Democrats take the primaries seriously, and not take for granted that their incumbent Congressperson, especially if it is someone they are happy with, will return as the Democratic nominee. This is how competent, experienced and effective members of the House get knocked out of their positions as nominees, and thus shut out of the general election, unless they want to run as write-ins or independents. Now that the Republicans have seen it happen, they certainly have the dark money to insert loud and prominent plants as "Democratic" candidates who can score "surprise upsets" in the primaries, and thus have a can't-lose general election. Imagine ten or fifteen of our best members of the House, who think that, after five or more terms, their nomination is a mere formality, being replaced with new, little-known nominees, who turn out to worse-than-Manchin clones. If it can happen with nominees from the left, it can just as easily happen with nominees from the right. The Republicans have the money to research and mount this. Take the primaries as seriously as the general election, please!

[phylny]

11. I'm sorry about the loss of your beloved kitty.

[MineralMan]

14. Sadness always comes from having pet animals eventually.

We have to remember the shared joy they bring to us and us to them.