As the new year begins, we, the Washington Examiner commentary desk, have enjoined ourselves to a great and timeless mission: the solemn task of prophesying things not yet come to pass. Heirs to the Oracle of Delphi, Nostradamus, and Mystic Meg, we thus offer our insights below.
Tim Carney
A new front in the "War on Women" silliness will open this year, as the Food and Drug Administration considers approval of an app for birth control. It will split old allies and form strange new alliances, as increased access to "reproductive healthcare" will cut against the political devotion to hormonal contraception.
David Freddoso
Democrats will win a majority in the House of Representatives this November and the Senate will find itself in a 50-50 tie. Someone else will be serving in the seat of Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., by the year's end.
Jason Russell
With the individual mandate gone, the GOP Congress will pass a watered-down version of Obamacare repeal. No Democrats will support the bill, and Vice President Mike Pence will have to break the tie in the Senate. Republicans will go back to their constituents and say they repealed Obamacare, but conservative commentators in the Washington Examiner, Wall Street Journal, and National Review will bemoan the half-fix.
Becket Adams
In terms of slipshod political reporting, 2018 is going to be much, much worse than 2017.
The political press' handling of the Trump administration last year was atrocious. There were many false starts, misleading headlines, and political reporters and commentators who were all too eager to jump on any claim that reflected poorly on the Trump administration.
It's January 2018 now, and Trump is still standing. Though the White House has undergone significant personnel changes, the implementation of the president’s agenda continues apace, despite the dozens of “scoops” and cable news panels promising to deliver on the Russia-collusion story.
Just watch: As 2018 and the Russia investigation drag on, some commentary and coverage will grow even more desperate. There will be little reconsideration for last year's rash of garbage journalism. The worst offenders want to believe. Until one of these “scoops” actually lives up to the hype, you’re going to see some people in the media searching out increasingly ridiculous stories and “proof” of collusion.
Siraj Hashmi
President Trump will ramp up construction of the southern border wall after coming to an agreement with Democratic leadership and conceding to reauthorize Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (or earmark it into a bill that will easily pass). Trump's base will be bittersweet about the deal and Breitbart will call him "Amnesty Don" for a hot minute before they come to grips with the fact that they got their long-promised wall.
Emily Jashinsky
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Wis., will announce his retirement, to apply either before or after the current cycle. It will not have anything to do with fledgling Democratic candidate Randy Bryce, whose friendship with Chelsea Handler appears to be as thick as his mustache.
Phil Wegmann
The much-feared killing machine that has haunted establishment dreams since 2016 will slip a gear, fly off the tracks, and self-combust. More specifically, Steve Bannon and Breitbart will lose influence with each lost Republican primary. Post-Roy Moore, these populist nationalist engineers will soon discover populism a force too strong for any one group to control.
Tom Rogan
For reasons of hatred, strategy, and domestic distraction, Iran will attempt to carry out a terrorist attack against U.S. interests.
Those are our predictions, but what about yours? Think we're right, wrong, or somewhere in between? More importantly, what do you predict for 2018? Leave a comment below.
