Harry's Gang: Taking a look back at the year that was

I love reminiscing. A good story, well-aged, being told and re-told, brings out the nuances that develop like fine wine and cheese. Details emerge that didn’t exist in the original story. But no amount of reminiscing can turn past predictions into correct predictions. If the prediction was wrong, only history will matter. Here’s what I mean:

Nationally, I predicted last year that President Trump would not likely be impeached. That’s because I thought such a move would be very bad for the country. I still do. I also thought if it was revealed that Trump had, indeed, committed high crimes and misdemeanors, he would have resigned and spun it as if it were his idea. He’s obviously annoyed, but he’s still our President. It doesn’t look like he’s resigning any time soon.

I pointed out last year that Congress always gets a lot of work done. Most people don’t realize how much influence Congress has over our everyday lives. Senators and Representatives have large staffs that work hard all year round, and — despite what you hear on talk radio and on gossip media — they really do accomplish a lot. Of course, the hot-button issues get all the press. No one, not Democrats or Republicans, wants “open borders” and both parties support the military and homeland security. But this year Congress didn’t get much done at all. Much of the ordinary work got done, but quite a lot didn’t. No, Trump did not build his Wall in 2019, even though Congress allocated funds for border security. But the wall issue is far from over.

The Mueller investigation showed disturbing evidence of election meddling but no one seemed to care enough to do anything about it. I thought our president would lose the support of his Republican base, but in fact, he is supported even more than last year. My prediction that longtime Harry’s Gang panelist and Cloquet civic leader Barry Bergquist would admit we need some changes just never happened.

The economy didn’t crash, or even “correct.” I still fear the massive national debt from the Paul Ryan tax cuts for the wealthy and runaway stock markets will still eventually lead to a recessed economy, but so far the economy is strong and consumer confidence is high. There are a lot of reasons for this, of course, but it’s undeniable: the economy is doing well.

Minnesota was the only state in the Union that had a “divided legislature.” This means that, of all the states that have two legislative bodies, their legislatures are controlled by either Republicans or Democrats. Only Minnesota has a House controlled by the DFL and a Senate controlled by the Republicans. But the legislature did its work. I thought an increase in the gas tax was inevitable and that it was just a matter of how much. But despite Governor Walz’s pledge during his campaign, the gas tax was not increased. No one was completely happy after the legislative session; but that’s how it is supposed to work. Tony Lourey didn’t last long as head of the Department of Human Services, but I never even predicted he would take that job. So, technically, I wasn’t mistaken.

I wasn’t too far off locally. Here in Carlton County, we all continued to get along reasonably well. We gathered for community events; celebrated victories and accomplishments; tried to raise our families in harmony with our neighbors, and smiled at each other in the grocery stores. I didn’t predict the bump-outs in downtown Cloquet, though. I wish I had. A snow-covered bump-out tore the underlining off my car, although my poor driving abilities may have played a part. Oh, and Wrenshall still hasn’t settled its consolidation issues with Carlton. Otherwise, I was pretty close on my local predictions.

And some of us still argued politics and current events, with glee, although the Harry’s Gang TV program has been on hiatus since May. We’ll be back on CAT-7 regularly starting in the new year.

Maybe if I wait another year, some of my predictions will come true. As they say, time heals all errors ... or something like that. I hope you, dear readers and viewers, stick around and watch the fun.

Pete Radosevich is the publisher of the Pine Knot News community newspaper and an attorney in Esko who hosts the cable access talk show Harry’s Gang on CAT-7. His opinions are his own. Contact him at Pete.Radosevich@Pine KnotNews.com.