Given the historical inevitability of losing a majority in the House, Democrats have something to be grateful for today. They've kept the Senate and something else more important to voters on the left: they've increased party integrity. The blurred distinctions between the Dems and the Republicans have been sharpened up. It seems that the Blue Dogs are gone and Democrats are more progressive even as the Republicans are tied to a radical and largely short-sighted tea party movement.
This leaves John Boehner in a small space about the size of a tanning booth to use as political planning center for the next two years. He can stand up and lie down but not walk in any direction. And no matter what he does from now on he shares equal blame with the president for anything the murrican people and Roger Ailes don't like.
You'd have to love Harry Reid a lot to say it was nice to wake up and find he's still in charge of the Senate. Still, better Harry than Mitch.
The California sweep was gratifying, though pot will have to wait for another election.
The Hispanic/Latino vote is now an official indication that American is no longer the America of Grant Wood and Norman Rockwell. America isn't changing; America has changed. For many of us, it's a very gratifying change. For those who have feared it, they'll just have to get over their fears.
Sestak was ahead early on and then lost. That loss is significant for 2012 as were the losses in Ohio. They're not likely to make Obama's reelection any easier. Colorado and Washington are still hanging out there, though Nate Silver writes that "County-by-county extrapolations suggest that Democrats are more likely than not to win the Senate races in both Colorado and Washington once all the votes are counted; Colorado might actually be the safer bet of the two, even though Michael Bennet trails slightly there based on the votes counted so far."
One big loser, as Nate Silver points out, was Gallup. Their polls were way off the map. Remember to remember that in 2012 when they'll expect us to believe them once again.
The Republicans can celebrate a "wave" but -- perhaps because it was considerably less than the "tsunami" they hoped for -- last night's results seems like less of a loss for Democrats. For Obama, it must feel like a knife in the gut. He lost Ted Strickland (Ohio), a very important ally for 2012; his old seat in Illinois went Republican.
NB: All of the above was written even as discrepancies are appearing between the reports of MSNBC, the New York Times, and Public Radio.
