I had wanted to post this before 2017 wrapped up but just couldn't find the time to type it up, so I did want to make sure I posted it while 2018 was still brand new.

As most everyone here knows, I was not the biggest fan of Trump to put it mildly.

There was just too much in his past between being a registered Democrat, ample donations to Democrat candidates, many associations with hard core leftists (including the Clintons), published anti-gun positions, and a seeming poor grasp of the Constitution for me to have any faith in him for things to be, at best, on par with the existing status quo and the danger of, at worst, being a NYC Dem in sheep's clothing that would turn lib at the first chance. Plus his being a 70 year old man, an age not known for being one in which one typically changes their beliefs and aside from words on the campaign trail, no real evidence he even had changed. And for most of 2017, aside from the nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the SCOTUS which I'd expect from any Republican nominated, it was looking like that was going to be the case.

However, about 4 months ago, it seems like Trump has changed gears for the better. He's done things from rolling back a number of Obama's imperial regulations to things like the Keystone Pipeline, things that are actually Conservative in nature. Rich Lowry actually wrote a piece for National Review I'm going to post that summed up my thoughts decently.

Giving a letter grade to Trump's first year, I'd have to give him a C+. He's far exceeded the admittedly low bar I had set for him but still has many areas that could use improvement.

In the areas lacking, I'm most disappointed we've seen zero advancement of the Second Amendment. Thankfully after some serious mass casualty incidents, there hasn't been any further infringements but, we're still basically playing defense on gun rights and things are status quo right now. National reciprocity and suppressors off the NFA were/are low hanging fruit but we've seen nothing.

The previously mentioned tax plan, while a good start, is only a bandaid. We still need our tax system overhauled with either a flat tax or NRST to have any hope of getting ourselves out of the debt hole our nation is in.

I'd also like to see him drop the soft stance he's had on DACA which, from what I've seen is still that while he's undone the Obama decree, he'd like to see children of illegals being allowed to stay and it codified in law. There should be not a single inch given to any illegal aliens, regardless of age or how they were brought here, especially since tough talk on immigration is one of the cornerstones of what got him the Presidency.

Social Security is still on the road to insolvency. We need the ability for younger folks to opt out so that the whole system can eventually die off.

Get off the whole healthcare "Repeal and replace" thing, make it just "Repeal". The last thing we need is more regulation, regardless of if it is "our side's" and the healthcare system worked just fine before any of this came along.

Something else I'd like to see him improve is his use of Twitter. A lot of people say, "He needs to shut up on Twitter," while others say, "His using Twitter allows him to take his message right to the people." Both are right. He needs to use Twitter but use it responsibly. Don't get into stupid fights with people who don't matter. Use it to push a Conservative agenda and shine the spotlight on Republicans that obstruct.

That last part of the above goes hand in hand with my next issue - show more leadership. Be willing to strong arm obstructionist Republicans, threaten to help primary them out. Use the bully pulpit to call them out by name but then go a step further to follow through. Don't back losers like Luther Strange or Roy Moore, back actual solid Conservatives like Mo Brooks. This plays a big part in getting that promised wall built.

I'm seeing a lot of people crowing, "Most Conservative president since Reagan!" While that could be true and still remains to be seen, that's not really saying a whole lot given who has been in office since. It's a good start but, it's got to go further. I still don't regret my primary support of Ted Cruz and I still don't think we're going to pull out of the nosedive we're in as a country but, it does seem we're back to a slower rate of descent.