Wednesday, December 26, 2012
The Year of Romney in review
Posted by Steve Hammer on Wed, Dec 26, 2012 at 4:00 AM
You've got to give 2012 its due. Other years have big buildups and don't deliver. (I'm looking at you, 1997, 2004 and 2010.) This year was one that lived up to all of its advance buildup and then some.
2012 is a year shit happened. Mostly bad things, actually.The mass murder epidemics in the U.S. New, bloody wars in the Middle East. Trouble with dissidents in Russia. Hundreds of millions of people on earth still live in dire poverty. There are suffering people everywhere on earth still.
But 2012 was also a year of historic triumph for the people of the United States of America. Its people chose to take a hard turn toward a left-wing for the first time since the liberal victories of the Great Society coalition.
If the movement that created the age of Obama stays together in future elections, America will continue in a path toward a social democracy, not quite socialist, but almost.
If true, then 2012 was one of the greatest years of my life, perhaps all of our lives.
And this great year had no greater hero than Willard Mitt Romney.
I already miss him greatly and am forever grateful to him for being the most awesome caricature ever of a powerful, white, completely clueless, rich businessman except for Montgomery Burns.
Romney saved 2012 by completely sabotaging any chance he had at winning the presidential race, proving his management theories were completely ineffective as people suspected all along.
But he's not an evil man, by any standard. He's a deeply religious man, in fact, and his success in business is impressive.
And his most famous quote, the one thing he will always be associated with, turned out to be exactly wrong. It's not the welfare-hungry Obama supporters who make up 47 percent of the population, it's the people who think like Mitt Romney who comprise 47 percent of voters.
We will always love him for that and why I proclaim 2012 to be the Year of Romney, the year when good triumphed and Obama was re-elected.
I will always remember Romney as a man bold enough to believe his own bluffs, who insisted to the end that the polls showing him winning were accurate even after the votes came in proving otherwise.
Here in Indianapolis, our city also triumphed in 2012 as a world-class provider of hospitality and event planning during the Super Bowl week. There were some crowd-control issues but law enforcement, the NFL, the news media and our city's event workers all did an excellent job.
I also think of 2012 as a year when the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department greatly increased its respect and support among its protectees, the general public. IMPD has earned the trust of the people by being excellent responders during emergencies like the Southside house explosion and the State Fair concert tragedy of 2011.
I've seen IMPD at work downtown all year, especially in the few blocks around the IndyGo hub at Meridian and Ohio streets. I work near Monument Circle, so I get to see a lot of folks get arrested, probably 20 or 30 every year for the last five years.
The folks who I saw arrested looked like they deserved to be arrested except for a few who I couldn't tell why they were hauled away.
A policeman has never acted in an abusive or inappropriately forceful manner in my presence. They deserve credit for their good work.
There were other great things about 2012. The Bob Dylan concert this summer was great. I had an incredible time watching the Indiana Fever win their first WNBA championship. I'm looking forward to seeing what the Pacers will do this season and for years to come.
Now that we've lived through 2012, I sense a general feeling around me that things are going to get better very soon.
Things seem to be picking up. I know a lot of people who found jobs after a long time without one and I know some people who are trying to get promoted and move to other states for better money than they get now.
For all its struggles, the year ends on an optimistic note. The sun is peeking out from behind bare branches.
The worst of the problems of the 2010s are hopefully over. We have a good president with smart policies. The next four years are going to be better than the last four for myself and my family. I'm hoping they are better for everyone who sees these words, as well.
Happy New Year! Here's to a wonderful 2013.
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