Every year since college, my best friend Dan and I have compiled our best observations on a wide range of topics that reflect on the year that has just expired. We follow the well-established template of The McLaughlin Group program. We lost the venerable John McLaughlin in 2016 after decades of shaping how political analysis and debate programs should be done.
2022 saw our continued societal slide into insanity, so those who might wish for some return to pre-COVID normal will continue to wallow in disappointment. Here now, my submission for a nutty year that was.
Biggest Winner of the Year
The Free State of Florida. No other state came close to Florida’s record of fighting back against the incalculable overreach of the federal government and woke culture wars. The voters rewarded the proactive, always-on-offense actions of the governor with record-shattering electoral results, including supermajorities of Republicans in both houses of the legislature and 20-point reelection wins for Sen. Marco Rubio, Attorney General Ashley Moody, and virtually every other statewide Republican on the ballot. Florida is no longer a swing state, thanks to the strong leadership of Governor Ron DeSantis.
Biggest Loser of the Year
The Republican National Committee (RNC). In a year defined by some of the worst executive leadership ever seen in the United States and the foreign policy and economic woes to match, anything less than gaining control of the House and the Senate in the midterm elections qualifies as an unmitigated disaster.
Best Politician of the Year
Kyrsten Sinema and Tulsi Gabbard (tie). Both left the Democratic Party, switching to non-affiliated. Both remain stalwart liberals, but both left the party in order to punish those who wailed and screeched as they failed to toe the radical line. While there’s enough room to doubt their true intentions, they both nonetheless called much-needed attention to a party that has gone completely out of control. Sinema’s defection particularly hurts as she will serve as a roadblock in the Senate unless she gets her way — which is, of course, why she did what she did.
Worst Politician of the Year
Karin Jean-Pierre. She’s earned the well-deserved nickname “Cringe Jean-Pierre” over her complete unwillingness to prepare properly to do her job. Before 2022, nobody could have imagined someone performing worse as press secretary. She gives diversity hires a bad name every time she steps to the podium. It takes real talent to steal this award from her boss, but man, she’s really, really, really bad at her job.
Most Defining Moment of the Year
The Twitter Files. We knew they were doing it. They knew we knew they were doing it. They did it anyway, with a middle finger in our faces for our troubles. Now we know the extent to which the federal law enforcement apparatus stuck its nose in, violating several constitutional rights for American citizens in the process. The Twitter Files demonstrate how out of control the federal bureaucracies are and that dismantling them may be the only solution.
Best Spin of the Year
“Recently I tested positive for COVID-19. Thankfully, my symptoms are mild, and I am working remotely. I am grateful that I received the vaccine and booster to avoid serious illness. I will return to work when it is safe to do so. I urge every American to get their COVID-19 vaccines and boosters.” —Every. Single. Bought-and-paid-for. Politician.
Nobody ever thought to ask why they got sick even though they were quadruple-boosted?
Most Boring Politician of the Year
California Governor Gavin Newsom, who hilariously ran ads in Florida trying to convince people his state did better in personal liberty. Really. Meanwhile, I think his state is still counting votes from November…
Most Charismatic Politician of the Year
Ron DeSantis. This guy has mastered the art of getting out in front of the press narrative and driving it in the direction he dictates instead of letting the gatekeepers filter him.
Bummest Rap of the Year
Ordinary Americans, who have had their government weaponized against them for the crime of living their lives and expressing their opinions.
Fairest Rap of the Year
Americans will continue to lose faith in elections until certain states can learn to count their votes on Election Day. Florida, with around 18 million registered voters, finished counting all the votes five hours after the polls closed. Arizona, with around 4 million registered voters, took over a month and has been subject to a litany of lawsuits.
Best Comeback
Parents. They weren’t going to let the radical wokesters indoctrinate and sexualize their children without fighting back. In the process, they drove the main narrative of the year and showed activists for normalcy the way to have an impact by getting involved in their local school boards, city council meetings, and state legislatures. After all, that’s their right and responsibility as American citizens. If we’d had more involvement in the process by normal citizens, we wouldn’t be in the mess we’re in right now.
Most Original Thinker
The originalist justices on the Supreme Court. A banner year for overturning badly decided cases. A day conservatives may never have thought possible came when the Dobbs case overturned Roe v. Wade, once again leaving the legality of abortion to the states to decide.
On top of that, SCOTUS struck down the right of states to limit individual gun rights in the Bruen case and dealt the regulatory bureaucracy state a huge blow in West Virginia v. EPA, which drastically limited its authority to regulate carbon emissions from power plants. On top of that, the originalists delivered another victory for school choice advocates and religious freedom in Carson v. Makin, ruling that Maine’s tuition assistance program — vouchers — could not discriminate against religious schools.
More, please.
Most Stagnant Thinker
Liz Cheney. Her obsession with prosecuting Donald Trump over the January 6 riots saw her rewarded in her reelection bid with a record-shattering defeat — no incumbent has ever lost in the primary by the margin Wyomingites slapped her with.
Best Photo Op
The funeral for Queen Elizabeth II. Say what you will about America rejecting royalty, but that was an undeniably important retrospective of a long and historic life that spanned some of the most important decades in human history.
Worst Photo Op
The dozens of cops waiting outside the elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, unwilling to take any action to stop the slaughter of children inside by a lone gunman.
Related: I’m Not Desensitized to School Shootings. I’m Desensitized to the Predictable Reactions.
Enough, Already (also known as the “Shut Up and Get Out Award”)
Mitch McConnell. Republicans desperately need new blood in leadership. A more clear argument in favor of term limits doesn’t exist.
Worst Lie of the Year
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ incessant claims that the southern border is secure, oblivious to the exploding humanitarian crisis. We’ve seen a record of more than 2.7 million illegal border crossings in 2022, Chinese-produced fentanyl floods into every American state unabated, and child sex trafficking and human trafficking in general have skyrocketed. Mayorkas and Biden have blood on their hands.
Honorable Mention: radical rainbow jihadists calling Florida anti-grooming legislation for students in kindergarten through third grade the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
Capitalist of the Year
Elon Musk. He spent his own money to buy a corrupt social media platform, take it private, and dig into its deep collusion with federal law enforcement. He has decided to use his vast fortune to expose deep corruption in Big Tech and cooperation with federal spy agencies.
Person(s) of the Year
Dutch Farmers and the Canadian freedom convoy. The Netherlands, a tiny country in Northern Europe, is the second-largest agricultural exporter in the entire world. Their government has decided that it must adhere to EU dictates regarding nitrogen effluent, which they’ve labeled a pollutant. The solution? Shut down 30% of the nation’s farms, destroying the livelihoods of thousands of families and putting further stresses on the already fragile global supply chains.
Canadian Truckers stood up for the medical freedom of millions by starting a miles-long convoy and protesting in Ottawa, earning the ire and vengeance of PM Justin Trudeau.
Each group represents millions who fear the ever-encroaching oppression of centralized governments and gave hope that fighting back could work. These were just two of the dozens of huge protest groups that sprouted up all across the globe to fight back against tyranny.
Related: Global Implications as Dutch Farmers Protest Potentially Catastrophic Policy
Honorable Mention: Peter Doocy. The only White House pool reporter asking standard questions of the administration, which naturally gives KJP the vapors.
Destined for Political Stardom
Chip Roy. That guy doesn’t give two you-know-whats whose toes he steps on. A much-needed breath of fresh air in Congress. For instance:
Destined for Political Oblivion
Kamala Harris. The ultimate manifestation of the Peter Principle.
Destined for the Other Kind of Oblivion
This is a repeat from last year: I’m still surprised Joe Biden has made it this far. Maybe he’ll defy expectations and finish out his term, but that seems less likely all the time.
Best Political Theater
Rand Paul’s annual Airing of the Festivus Grievances was a doozy this year. He topped it off with a hilarious take on “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas”:
Worst Political Theater
The obvious answer is the comical J6 committee, but since we already covered Liz Cheney, I’ll nominate the leak of the Supreme Court draft decision on the Dobbs case that overturned Roe v. Wade. This event presented nothing short of a constitutional crisis, and Chief Justice John Roberts’ investigation appears to have fizzled out after about 96 hours. Inexcusable.
Most Underreported Story
Who blew up Nordstream 1 and Nordstream 2? This has caused an energy crisis during a very cold winter in Germany, and nobody in the media has bothered to ask who did it. The frenzy to invoke poorly thought-out sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine has only enriched Putin and caused all sorts of unintended consequences. If, as is widely rumored, a NATO country were responsible, that doesn’t exactly inspire confidence in our goals regarding Russia.
Honorable Mention: The corporate media water carriers couldn’t be bothered to inquire as to the health and capability of Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman, who had a stroke three weeks before the primary that left him unable to understand the spoken word or speak in full sentences. He went on to win the general election. Can he properly discharge the duties of a United States Senator? We don’t know, solely thanks to media collusion with the Democratic Party.
Most Overreported Story
The Johnny Depp-Amber Heard trial. American voyeurs will watch any train wreck involving famous people. See also: Smith, Will, and cuckoldry.
Biggest Government Waste
Everything, but in particular the Omnibus Bill. $1.7 trillion spent in a lame-duck session of Congress, without the proper budgeting process, in a 4,155-page bill containing payoffs to every grifter imaginable. The Republicans rolled over on passage of the bill, in the process relinquishing any leverage they might have had to halt some truly awful policy advanced by the radical progressives.
Best Dollar Spent
Every PJ Media VIP membership, Townhall VIP, and any other subscription news feed that bypasses the corporate media. For pennies a day, any citizen can get real, factual news that hasn’t been filtered by elitist gatekeepers.
Boldest Political Tactic
Gov. Ron DeSantis taking on woke culture at Florida’s largest employer, which happens to cater to children and families. It took guts to stand up to Disney and draw a firm line that cannot be crossed.
Best Idea of 2022
The launch of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which returned the most spectacular pictures of the cosmos ever seen by humans.
Worst Idea of 2022
Disney producing not one, but two mega-bombs that prioritized wokeness over entertainment, losing hundreds of millions of dollars in the process. The company reportedly spent at least $180 million, and maybe over $200 million, in producing and promoting its movie Strange World. It debuted over Thanksgiving weekend and grossed less than $30 million. This after the bomb earlier in the year of Lightyear. Both movies prominently featured same-sex content, prompting parents to stay away in droves. Disney subsequently switched CEOs. This marked only the second and third time EVER that an animated Disney movie lost money.
Sorry to See You Go
Every otherwise healthy adult who “died suddenly.”
The Kim Jong-il Not Even a Little Bit Sorry to See You Go Award
Sacheen Littlefeather, the Native American activist who accepted the Oscar in 1973 on behalf of Marlon Brando and gave a speech about the incident at Wounded Knee. Turns out she made up her ancestry and held no tribal affiliations.
15 Minutes of Fame
Sam Bankman-Fried, the second-largest donor to Democrats in 2022 and cryptocurrency fraudster who will spend the rest of his life in a hole if there’s any justice left in America.
Honorable Mention: The Liver King, who rose to prominence as a social media influencer and advocated a diet of raw meat that supposedly produced his muscled physique. Turns out he’s a massive roid head.
Turncoat of the Year
The transfer portal in college football. The ability for a player to take his talents wherever he wishes has fundamentally reshaped the game. Big-time programs will succeed in the future in direct proportion to which they embrace the new model of free agency.
Most Honest Person of the Year
Joe Rogan, who will talk to anyone about anything on his massively successful podcast. No subject is off-limits, no matter who calls it misinformation.
Most Overrated Person, Event, or Story of the Year
Alleged star of the WNBA, Brittany Griner, became a cause célèbre for wokesters and athletes after she got arrested in Russia for possession of hashish oil for her vape. She became a martyr for LGBT rights and pot activists after knowingly violating the law of the country in which she was working in the offseason of her main gig. While coverage on CNN and ESPN remained constant, her Welcome Home Party revealed the true interest level in America, as fewer than 20 people showed up. We traded Viktor Bout, the “Merchant of Death,” for Griner, and left U.S. Marine Paul Whelan to rot in a similar Russian jail. Way to negotiate, Joe.
Most Underrated Person, Event, or Story of the Year
Early treatment for COVID-19 and every medical practitioner who advocated that we not wait until someone was almost dead of advanced respiratory symptoms before admitting them to the hospital for almost inevitable decline on a ventilator. The astonishing apparatus of government, social media, corporatocracy, and fear porn made it virtually criminal to discuss and likely led to the unnecessary deaths of thousands of Americans. This was always an imminently treatable disease for the vast majority of those who caught it if treatment started in time.
Grade the Planet (A through F, pluses and minuses accepted)
I mean, what grade do you give to a place hurtling toward global war and economic collapse?
Macroprediction
The GOP won’t win a presidential election without tightening up election security laws in vulnerable swing states like Pennsylvania, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
New Year’s Resolution
Federal elections are a black hole. The way to fight back against federal overreach is not by trusting new federal candidates, it’s in electing deep red state legislatures and governors who will take a real stand. To that end, my advocacy, coverage, and political involvement will focus on the state and local levels.
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