U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D–Mich.) released her annual “Dingell Jingle” earlier this month, culminating political events from 2016 into a song. Dingell has been releasing these songs for many years, often raising awareness and poking fun at popular political and social issues from the entire calendar year.
This year’s “Dingell Jingle” included references ranging from the Flint water crisis and the Olympics to the presidential election.
Dingell discusses Congress’ legislative success of providing federal funding for Flint in one section of the song.
“We fought tooth and nail and reason finally prevailed / We passed funding for Flint families, the waiting curtailed,” the lyrics read.
The Olympics, in which the U.S. medal count ranked first in the world, showed some of our best- and worst-behaved athletes — all of which were included.
“We were all celebrating, but then turned to despair / When Lochte showed up with bad behavior, and worse hair,” the song states about the Olympics.
Of course, the song wouldn’t be complete without a mention of the University of Michigan football team and the disputed first down call against Ohio State this year.
“We know that first down in Columbus was truly a mess,” the song reads.
The year 2016, for many Americans, was defined by the presidential election, which brought unexpected results for some. Dingell poked fun at the significant use of Twitter in the presidential election, specifically by President-elect Donald Trump, who has spurred some controversies from his use of the platform. She also mentioned her husband retired Congressman John Dingell who still remains active on his twitter account and has sparred with Trump through it, linking to this tweet of his.
“But good news for Trump and his Twitter vice / Even at 90, the Dean’s still tweeting advice,” the song says.
The “Dingell Jingle” ended with a farewell from Dingell to President Barack Obama, along with her hope for the future.
“So we say goodbye to a President who lifted us up / To be sure in these eight years, he’s earned his new look / No one will be sadder to see him go / Than his friend and our favorite Vice President Joe,” the song ends.