Former Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz recently withdrew his name from consideration to be President-elect Donald Trump’s attorney general, noting that his “confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition.” And so it begins. In essence, The Swamp already took Round 1, without firing a proverbial shot. Sometimes it appears that you can’t drain The Swamp, The Swamp drains you. In large part because so many RINOs dwell there…and like the swamp level just as it is. “Hell no, we won’t go… we’ll all protect the status quo.” Conservatives can only hope Gaetz isn’t just the first of many dominos to fall. (Yes, I am aware that many believe Gaetz was simply being used as a sacrificial cow to attract attention—and derision—away from Trump and his other nominees.)

A few of Trump’s cabinet appointees may seem unqualified and unorthodox to many, even unnerving to some. But outsiders are exactly what we need to reboot the country and drain the festering Swamp. It is time for a change, a fresh start. We need to let the sun in, to illuminate the dark and dingy recesses of the Capital City. It is time for merit to supersede skin color and sexual orientation again. Or do we secretly want to keep the status quo, believing it has served us so well in recent years? If the results of the recent election are indicative, the answer is a resounding “no!” Indeed, we are sick and tired of the insulation, the isolation, the closed-mindedness and closed-society mindset of, as P.J. O’Rourke called it/them, our “Parliament of Whores.” We are sick and tired of the intellectual incest and the outright disdain the elites have for those outside of the Washington, D.C.-New York City beltway. It is (past) time for fresh air to be ushered in—and a new vision, based on timeless principles, to take hold. It is time to dispense with the stifling wokeness that demeans us all and enervates our military.

No longer should our intelligence agencies be able to target American citizens, patriots, Republicans, and Christians with impunity. Rather, they should once again be tasked with protecting all of us, liberals and progressives included, from real threats, internal or external.

Those who allegedly “serve” us, must stop the millions of unvetted illegals from pouring across our borders. Our borders, like those of any self-respecting nation, must be secured. Legal, merit-based immigration, of the type that helped make us the most successful nation in history, must once again be the standard. The coming days and weeks will reveal whether we will continue with a sequestered ruling elite that no longer believes we deserve the freedoms the founders bequeathed us, or if the incoming administration will prevail over The Deep State and fully recognize our God-given rights and liberties.

No doubt, it will be a rocky road ahead for Trump’s prospective cabinet and other appointees/nominees. It may appear to be a figurative bloodbath at times. The far left of the Democrat party is unreachable. This leaves any remaining sane Democrats, Independents, and RINOs to decide if they will help the country truly move forward by acknowledging the will of the majority and joining with Trump supporters to approve his nominees. As someone once said, this is not a time for summer soldiers and sunshine patriots. It is time for bold action. It is time to rescue our republic. Soon we will know who is truly with us, and who is not, who truly desires to make America great again, and who is only concerned with their own power.

We threw some of the bums out, but others are still there, hoping to control us in perpetuity. Many—if not most—of us want a rebirth, a return to the values and courage of 1776. Sadly, too many are still fighting to keep us trapped in Orwell’s 1984.

At this critical moment, with confirmation battles ahead—and the Trump administration about to take the nation’s helm, a little Longfellow seems appropriate:

Thou, too, sail on, O Ship of State!

Sail on, O UNION, strong and great!

Humanity with all its fears,

With all the hopes of future years,

Is hanging breathless on thy fate!

Godspeed.

Image generated by AI.