The malevolent seven

The first name on my list of worst people of 2017 should be obvious. He has a skillfully arranged pile of unnaturally blonde hair sitting atop his orange face, accenting the untanned white skin around his eyes, making him look like a raccoon in an alternate universe. Still need a hint? His initials are D.J. and he is, surrealistically, the current president of the United States, if God or justice hasn’t intervened between the time I write these words and whenever they appear in print.

Here are the others (the list was depressingly easy to compile, and the space for it inadequate):

2. VP Mike Pence. I knew more than a few self-righteous religious hypocrites when I was growing up, but I never met a slimier one than this smiling and shameless creep, nor did I ever see anyone suck up to the boss in such repellent ways.

3. Republican Speaker of the House Paul Ryan. When it comes to unprincipled hypocrisy, a smug sense of entitlement and the ability to dissemble without blushing, they just don’t make ’em any worse.

4. Sen. Mitch McConnell. He wears his corruption on his face. Look up the word and chances are it will be accompanied by his mug shot.

5. Doug LaMalfa. Speaking of corruption, our own sleazy congressional representative, along with 11 other California Republicans, voted to take away the income tax deduction for union dues, and to eliminate the federal tax deduction for home mortgage interest that hits those of us in California, New York and other blue states especially hard. LaMalfa’s fine, though; he’ll still get his rice subsidies and big bucks from big campaign donors.

6. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary. Has anyone ever done haughty snottiness and an undeserved sense of personal superiority better? Anthony Scaramucci and Sean Spicer would have also made this list had there been space for them.

7. Donna Brazile, former chair of the Democratic National Committee. Self-promoter and book-promoter extraordinaire, she’s the embodiment of why so many people are so unhappy with the DNC.