Mark Caserta: Free State Patriot editor
January 5, 2018
The election of Donald Trump to president of the United States has been a gift that kept on giving to the American people throughout 2017.
Recently, the Washington Examiner ran a column by Paul Bedard titled, “Year One List: 81 major Trump achievements, 11 Obama legacy items repealed.” I’d like to share a few from the impressive list.
As a top priority, Donald Trump has worked toward protecting the U.S. homeland. Illegal immigration on the U.S.-Mexico border is “the lowest in 17 years,” per border authorities. The progress he’s making toward building the border wall with Mexico and cracking down on sanctuary cities will spur even greater impact.
President Trump successfully has prosecuted the war against ISIS, empowering commanders with the weaponry and authority needed to defeat the enemy. The coalition against ISIS has recaptured over 95 percent of its previously held territory and the Islamic caliphate has been seriously crippled.
The president has pursued a “peace through strength” strategy by rebuilding our military and revitalizing partnerships with our allies. President Trump recently acquired an additional $21 billion in Department of Defense funding to address “urgent readiness shortfalls.”
Fulfilling his campaign pledge to American families, President Trump’s policies have greatly impacted jobs and the economy. For the first time in over 10 years, our nation’s GDP is growing above 3 percent, unemployment has been cut to 4.1 percent and 1.7 million new jobs have been created.
The recent passage of tax reform provided $5.5 billion in tax cuts for Americans and repealed the Obamacare individual mandate, which effectually will defund Obamacare and eventually eliminate the healthcare debacle. Consumer confidence is at a 17-year high while the Dow Jones continues to set records.
President Trump has eliminated job-killing regulations, demanding two regulations be killed for every new one created. He far exceeded that expectation in 2017, with 16 regulations being cut for each new one, saving $8.1 billion. He withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement, ending the threat of overreaching, fruitless environmental regulations.
The president’s gift to our area was ending Obama’s war on coal and returning jobs to coal-producing states. In pursuit of U.S. energy independence, President Trump expanded energy infrastructure projects like the Keystone XL and the Dakota Access pipelines, which were snubbed by Obama.
In his fight to preserve life, President Trump reinstated and expanded the Mexico City Policy which requires foreign non-governmental organizations to certify they won’t “perform or actively promote abortion as a method of family planning” as a condition for receiving U.S. global family assistance funding.
And not only did Trump deliver a conservative Supreme Court justice, Neil Gorsuch, to our highest court, he nominated 73 federal judges cut from the same “conservative cloth”!
The list goes on, my friends.
But the “list” doesn’t matter to liberals. They’ll never applaud these accomplishments for America. Does their hatred of Trump eclipse their love of country?
Regardless, President Trump keeps winning for Americans and restoring respect for our nation across the globe.
Stay focused on the mission, Mr. President. America loves a winner!
Mark Caserta is a conservative blogger, a Cabell County resident and a regular contributor to The Herald-Dispatch editorial page.
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