Johnny Louis via Getty Images

Sometimes, figuratively speaking, all the money in the world can't change a political outcome. This very idea runs counter to all the dire warnings about money's corruptive influence on American politics, of course, but it makes it no less true -- at least in certain situations.

Bloomberg via Getty Images

To quell any fears and to put a great deal of misinformation to rest, here are five things that democratic socialism is not.

A news binge, not a booze binge, is why you'll be starting the New Year with a civic hangover. You've been watching too much TV, and TV has been watching too much Donald Trump.

Democracy has been seriously weakened by the role of big money on one flank, and by massive voter cynicism about politics and government on the other. In a national security crisis with no easy solutions, it is a sitting duck for a demagogue like Trump. Working and middle class voters have been taking an economic pummeling for decades. The Democrats have tried harder than the Republicans to remedy that, but they haven't tried hard enough. The voters are right when they see both parties in bed with Wall Street. The fact that the populist candidate is a billionaire is an emblem of just how messed up is the misalignment of self-interest, general disaffection, and voting preferences. What the hell, at least the man can't be bought.

ADEM ALTAN via Getty Images

The Syrian Civil War, which began as an uprising to overthrow the Assad regime, has devolved into a proxy war, with Turkish-backed jihadist forces serving as the main anti-Syrian opposition. Could the Islamic State have become this powerful without Turkey's assistance?

Everytown for Gun Safety

These ads represent a level of interest and concern that could be (pardon my pun) a real game-changer when it comes to the national discussion about guns.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

On December 22, 2015, Hillary Clinton spoke at a high school in Iowa, and she made a comment that speedily boomeranged on her: "I wouldn't keep any school open that wasn't doing a better-than-average job."

Howard was the most selfless person in politics I've known. He dedicated his life to public service. Howard never forgot where he came from. Howard was proud of his accomplishments in politics but he never flaunted his influence.

Scott Olson via Getty Images

If our country is truly going to be a leader when it comes to advancing solutions, we will need to build on prior executive actions and have the courage to take them a step further. To do this, we will need a powerful voice in the White House with the experience and leadership to keep moving us in this direction. That is one reason why I am supporting Hillary Clinton for the presidency.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Criminal justice reform continued to build momentum this year within the inner sanctum of the Beltway and across the nation in a handful of states. It emerged as a significant issue in the presidential campaign, and looks likely to stay front and center into 2016.

Bloomberg via Getty Images

2016 will likely comprise a cornucopia of cannabis policy advances, which I'll enumerate in the form of predictions.

Tehran would rather see a Democrat than a Republican as the next U.S. president. At one time there were minimal differences between the parties' views on Iran, but in the last few years the gap has widened.

NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA via Getty Images

Putin and Trump, with their strong political base among less educated and smaller town people, loathe progressives and sophisticated leftists. As national chauvinists, they are flaming Russian and American patriots.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

On December 15, U.S. Federal Judge Dean Pregerson ruled that the line between gender and sexual orientation discrimination "does not exist." The ruling, addressing discrimination against a pair of lesbian basketball players at Pepperdine University, has the potential to put sexual orientation under the umbrella of established civil rights laws.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

It is now strikingly obvious that bodily fluids, especially women's bodily fluids, drive Donald Trump up the wall. This might look like behavior in the script for a fictional film called, "Frat Guys Talk Women," but it's not. It is a profound theological problem.

Scott Olson via Getty Images

Trump has eschewed the long political tradition in Republican campaigns of speaking in code, of using dog whistle politics in order to speak to the racial animosities and xenophobic dispositions of elements of the Republican base, while not embarrassing the GOP establishment in polite company.

JIM COLE/AP

People may think that women no longer face sexism in media or politics when they speak, but that ignores the very obvious fact that even before women say anything they have already, in split seconds, jumped through hundreds of "what if I said something about sexism" hoops.