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10 Political Flashpoints to Watch for in 2017

Politically, 2016 was quite an interesting year globally, but it was particularly interesting in the United States. 2016 saw the re-ignition of the cultural clashes that define our politics and divide us; old vs. young, minorities vs. caucasians, educated vs. uneducated, rural vs. urban, etc. These forces will certainly continue to drive our politics in 2017, with a new president taking office in 20 days. Here are some of the clashes you can expect to see take place in the New Year.

    1. Obamacare                                                                                            The Affordable Care Act may be the single most controversial act of Barack Obama’s presidency due to the extreme partisanship surrounding it. Roughly 20 million Americans have gained health insurance due to its passage. However, Congressional Republicans have vowed to repeal the law, and with control over the Senate, House, and Presidency, it seems that repeal is within reach. However, even on the Republican side, some politicians say that repealing the law would be a disaster for their states, and Democrats have vowed to fight hard to protect President Obama’s legacy.
    2. Russia                                                                                                     It is now a known fact that Russia hacked into the servers of the DNC in an attempt to sway the election to Donald Trump. More recently, Russia was caught hacking into a Burlington, Vermont electrical utility. Many in Congress, especially Republicans such as Lindsey Graham and John McCain are calling for tougher action against Russia-not just against their hacking activities, but also against their illegal invasion of Ukraine. However, President-Elect Trump has been said to have a sort of “bromance” with Vladimir Putin, and there are allegations that many of his cabinet members are close with the Russian regime. This is the perfect setup for a confrontation between the Trump administration, and the Democrats and Republicans who feel a stronger line should be taken against Russia.
    3. China/Taiwan                                                                                     President-elect Trump made nervous waves on the internet a few weeks ago when he began questioning the necessity of the One-China Policy. This angered the Chinese government, who expressed their displeasure through state-run media and by flying a nuclear-capable bomber along their “nine-dash line” to send a message. Many American politicians and experts were also left in shock due to their expectation that Trump would continue the tradition that our nation has of respecting the One-China Policy. The biggest fear is that Trump’s braggadocio would lead Taiwan to declare independence, and spark a war with China. This is a great setup for a battle between the anti-China hawks and Pro-Status Quo members of the U.S. Government.
    4. LGBTQ+ Rights                                                                                  After eight years of progress for the LGBTQ+ Community under President Obama, things may begin to change. The Republican Party Platform (agreed to at the Party convention in July) is one of the most repressive of the last five decades with respect to LGBTQ rights. States with Republican control of their Senates and Houses have passed repressive “Bathroom Laws” such as HB2 in North Carolina. Vice President Mike Pence had made it his mission as Governor of Indiana to repress the rights of the LGBTQ community with his “Religious Freedom Restoration Act“. A similar law, the ”First Amendment Defense Act” currently has 172 co-sponsors in the House and 34 in the Senate. It is expected that it will face heavy resistance from Democrats and Civil Liberties groups when it almost inevitably comes to a vote.
    5. Reproductive Rights                                                                               Republicans for years have attacked Roe V Wade ruling that gave women the right to have abortions. They have done this covertly within states, by creating laws that over-regulate abortion clinics to the point where they are forced to shut down. With Republican control over the federal government, Planned Parenthood could be defunded, and laws could be passed that make it tougher to have an abortion nationally. What’s likely is that Republicans will try to replicate their state strategies on the national level, and the Democrats and Women’s Rights Activists will fight back as hard as they possibly can to keep abortions legal and possible.
    6. Trump Cabinet Pick Confirmations                                                   Donald Trump’s cabinet picks are an interesting cast of characters that are surely going to be heavily scrutinized-not only by Democrats, but by Republicans too. One of the toughest confirmation fights will undoubtedly be that of Rex Tillerson, the CEO of ExxonMobile, who is criticized as being extremely close to Vladimir Putin. Picks the Democrats seem unlikely to confirm are Charter School advocate Betsy DeVos, and the anti-civil rights former Attorney General of Alabama Jeff Sessions.
    7. Israel                                                                                                Israel is surely going to be a fascinating geopolitical topic in the coming year. After allowing Israel to be condemned by the United Nations, President Obama took flak from both Republicans and Democrats. However, his move was appreciated by a small-but-growing number of people who see Israel as being an aggressor in the Palestinian territories that is actively working to make a two-state solution unobtainable-especially through settlements. There are calls by some for the U.S. stance on Israel to change unless they change their attitudes toward the Palestinians. This viewpoint clashes with the view of Trump that Israel should not be condemned as they are not doing anything wrong, and will certainly flare up in 2017.
    8. Voting Rights                                                                                  Similarly to the way they have acted with reproductive and LGBTQ rights, the GOP has adopted a strategy in states that they have majority rule of strategic disenfranchisement. This means passing laws that require you to take a Voter ID to the polls, stopping people who have criminal records from voting, limiting the number of polling places and reducing early voting. These measures have been proven to target minorities, and they go after a core constituency for the Democrats, which makes this a battle that the Democrats must fight. Another party in this battle is the American court system, which has struck down dozens of these laws as illegal.
    9. Climate Change                                                                                  Climate change has been a part of the political dialogue of the US for decades now, but we are no closer to political consensus on the topic. The President-Elect has described Climate change as a “hoax created by the Chinese to make American manufacturing less competitive“, while the rest of the Republican Party is at best inactive on climate change and at worst denies its existence. The Democratic Party officially recognizes climate change, and has taken actions to mitigate it, such as the move by President Obama to sign onto the Paris Climate Agreement. Moves by President Trump to leave this agreement would be tantamount to a declaration of war on the Democrats, and if history is any indicator, it’ll be a long, drawn-out fight.
    10. Muslim Rights                                                                                   The rights of Muslim-American citizens have been under verbal attack by various congressional Republicans and Republican Presidential Nominee hopefuls. None have been more unabashed in their attacks than President Elect Donald Trump himself. Trump has called for the execution of the families of terrorists, the creation of a national database of Muslims, tracking Muslims NYPD-style, and instituting religious checks to stop them from entering the United States. Democrats and Civil Rights groups both stand firmly against all of these ideas, meaning that when the Trump Administration inevitably attempts to take one of them from words to reality, we’re going to have a fight on our hands.

                                                     

Bonus: The Fight to be Head of the DNC

After a crushing and heartbreaking loss in the general election, the Democratic Party is looking for ways to reinvigorate itself. Chief among these ways is finding a new, charismatic leader to create a new path to victory in an increasingly challenging electoral map. Several interesting new players have emerged onto the scene, and will be running on their visions of a new Democratic Party that can compete and that has a comprehensive strategy to combat the Trump Machine. Hopefuls include Keith Ellison (Current U.S. Representative from Minnesota), Raymond Buckley (Current Chairman of the New Hampshire Democratic Party), Thomas Perez (Current U.S. Secretary of Labor), Sally Boynton Brown (Current Executive Director of the Idaho Democratic Party) and Jaime Harrison (Current Chairman of the South Carolina Democratic Party).

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