2017 Losers of the year

Honorable mention:

Roy Moore and Steve Bannon - Democrat Doug Jones winning a special election in Alabama, was probably the most unlikely and embarrassing Senate loss in our lifetime. This can be attributed directly to the horrifying candidacy of Roy Moore, and the influence of Steve Bannon. Roy Moore is politically done, and Bannon's influence in the GOP is next to nothing.

Never Trumpers - Sorry gang, but it looks like the President is here to stay, and is starting to find his groove. Might want to take up a more meaningful cause.

Barrack Obama - What a helpless feeling it must be. To sit back and watch eight years of your "legacy" being erased over the course of a few months. The Paris accord is history. The Iran deal is on shaky legs. Trade agreements are being undone. Environmental policies are being overturned. One of the key parts of the signature Obamacare law has been repealed. Eventually, there may be nothing left of the Obama legacy... other than the distinction that he was the first Black President.

The media - Another troubling year for the media, who collectively seems to spend about half their time fighting back against the charges of "fake news". CNN has had the most embarrassing of years, but still seem incapable of any self reflection. The CNN ad campaign about the Apple, was mocked mercilessly, and with good reason. The term "Is it real, or did you hear it on CNN" went viral. In one week alone, the main stream media had to issue corrections on three major anti-Trump stories. In one case, the correction led to the suspension of and ultimate recusal from any Trump coverage by Brian Ross. Oh, and let's not forget the entire Matt Lauer and Charlie Rose situations. Just in case, the media thought they were above the whole sexual harassment deal!

Second runner up:

Al Franken - I put this under the category of "it could not have happened to a nicer guy".  Al Franken holds the distinction of probably the highest profile politician who was forced to step down amidst allegations of improper sexual behavior. While many times, the accused can deny and deflect such allegations, funny guy Al actually thought it was a good idea to take a thousand word picture of his harassment. When multiple women came forward with similar stories of but grabbing, and forced kissing, it became too much to bear, and members of his own Party started to call for his resignation. What makes Franken a bigger loser, was the classless way in which he handled his resignation. Not offering much in terms of apology, and hedging his bets by not making his resignation immediate. There is still speculation (and it's my belief) that had things gone a little differently, that Franken would have attempted to hand on to his seat.

First runner up:

Hollywood - Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, Richard Dreyfus,  Dustin Hoffman, Ben Affleck, Andy Dick (go figure), and Louis C.K.  Just a few examples of the Hollywood elites who were accused of sexual harassment in 2017. Couple that with a continued drop in domestic box office revenue, and 2017 was not a good year for Hollywood.

2017 Losers of the year:

The FBI and Robert Mueller - One might argue that 2017 started with a unified American public holding the FBI and former director Robert Mueller in high regards. It's relatively hard to argue the same holds true at the end of 2017.  Unfortunately, the public is mixed (in a largely partisan manner) about the Russian collusion investigation, which in many ways "is" the problem. The reality is that the FBI still refuses to explain to Congress what prompted the investigation, and the special counsel appears to have been hatched as part of a personal vendetta by former director James Comey. Neither reality allows for much public trust in the process. Moreover, evidence mounts that the Mueller team is dominated by pro-Hillary, anti-Trump players, some of whom had an active role in allowing Clinton off the hook. There is no question that objectivity has become a question.