It means that Alan Grayson's strong, strident voice will no longer be heard. Worse, it means that Russ Feingold is gone, which is a tragedy beyond reckoning, almost beyond comprehension. His final words to his constituents - "Thank you. Thank you for your support over the years. Representing Wisconsin in the Senate has been the greatest honor of my life and together we accomplished many great things. No one has ever had such a strong foundation of support as I have. You gave me my backbone. In the words of Bob Dylan: 'But my heart is not weary. It's light and free. I've got nothing but affection for those who have sailed with me. "Forward!" - fail to convey the pathos left in the wake of his sudden, terrible absence.
It means the "mainstream" news media had a chance to explain what happened on Tuesday with honesty and accuracy, and once again blew it, as expected. This was not an election proving America is a "center-right nation," whatever the hell that means. In 2006 and 2008, the Democrats won a slew of House seats in districts that had historically rejected them out of hand. This happened because the Bush administration and the GOP were so God-awful that even their own people rejected them. In 2008, for example, several dozen districts elected a Democrat to the House while simultaneously going for McCain. What happened on Tuesday had some to do with the economy, very little to do with the so-called "Tea Party," and almost everything to do with those several dozen House seats snapping back to their normal states of being.
It means that Tuesday was bad, but could have been worse. It means the GOP better put up or shut up, unless they want the insane yahoos that just got elected to run wild and hurl the party into a highly destructive civil war. It means the Obama administration is going to have to play small-ball for a while, and rely quite a bit more on Executive Orders than on legislation. It means the economy is going to get worse before it gets better. It means we will have more opportunities to watch these "small government" GOP hypocrites grow the government exponentially, as they did during the Bush years, while lying about it with their bare faces hanging out. It means that if Mr. Obama doesn't get it into his head that the GOP cannot be compromised with, then he will be a one-termer as sure as water is wet.
It also means that I'm going to give the newly-empowered GOP a week - maybe two - before I start caterwauling about why they haven't fixed the economy, joblessness, the wars, terrorism and the fact that my pants don't fit right. According to the GOP, Obama and the Democrats were expected to cure all that ails us the very bleeding minute they walked in the door two years ago, and last I heard, turnabout is fair play.
So, yeah, the clock is ticking. And yeah, things are about to get very weird around here.
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