Let's look ahead to summer

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We New Yorkers are enduring one of the bitterest winters in the last 25 years. Gasoline prices may be low, but the cost of heating your home or business is now sky-high. On weekends, many of us spend time just looking out the window, hoping the spring thaw will come soon and life will be livable once again.

So rather than just get caught up in the winter malaise, I decided to turn the clock forward and forecast what life will be like in mid-July. No doubt with all the ups and downs in the weather patterns, many of you will be complaining about a recent seven-day heat wave that has made our air quality dangerous and packed our local beaches to capacity. And a few of you will be hoping for that refreshing cold weather to come back.

Congress will probably be going through its eighth legislative crisis of the year. The series of short-term laws that keep the government alive will again be expiring, and there’s a good chance that all of the federal parks will be closing down by Aug. 1 and 500,000 federal employees will face payless paydays. Republican leaders in both houses will be pleading with their ultra-conservative members to pass a bill to keep the government running for another 60 days.

Many of the current front-running Republican candidates for president will drop to the second tier. Say goodbye to Chris Christie, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz. Keep an eye on U.S. Rep. Peter King as a dark horse for vice president. Republican women will be planning a revolt at the party’s convention a year from now, insisting that there be a woman on the ticket to counteract Hillary. In the meantime, Mrs. Clinton will still be debating her possible candidacy, even though she has more than 100 campaign offices open throughout the country. Vice President Joe Biden will make it clear that he is still available.

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