Everyone needs to calm down

[lupojohn]

I too, am upset at what happened tonight. It's gonna be a long 2 years and the President's legacy will be hurt even more, but there are bright spots heading towards 2016:

The Republicans face a brutal Senate map. Their reign of power in the Senate will last all of 2 years. The key is to limit the damage.

We got rid of Eric Cantor, Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann and Tom Corbett. Thankfully, we never have to see them in elected office ever again.

Some swing states are fully controlled by Democrats through the 2016 presidential election. Mark Warner winning in Virginia, Tim Kaine getting elected last year and Terry McAuliffe assuming the governorship, Hillary(who I think will run) should enjoy a victory there. Ditto Minnesota, although not technically a swing state, it was important Al Franken was re-elected to once again join Amy Klobuchar in the Senate and Mark Dayton in the governor's mansion. Also, in Pennsylvania, Pat Toomey is vulnerable and could be unseated just in time to lock up another important Hillary victory. With Bob Casey and governor-elect Tom Wolf now in office or still in office, Pennsylvania won't be going red anytime soon.

This always happens. It sucks, but even the GOP's beloved Ronald Reagan went through this in 1986. The party in power in the White House very rarely enjoys successful midterm elections.

With all of the complaining about Harry Reid I see here, perhaps Chuck Schumer can take over as minority leader come January.

So you see, it's not all bad. There were some major missteps, bad breaks and difficult laws to overcome, but this only is for 2 years. The Senate will be ours in 2016 once again.

[merrily]

1. Shaheen likely put the last nail in the coffin of President Scott Brown Koch's political career.

[merrily]

2. Amazing amount of analysis in such a short time after polls closed. You should post more often.

Last edited Wed Nov 5, 2014, 08:30 AM - Edit history (1)

Reagan was beloved by more than the GOP. Sadly, he had quite an impact on the DNC, DLC, individual Democratic politicians and the entire Democratic Party as well. At least, he was used as an excuse to change so much of what I liked most about the Democratic Party.

[6000eliot]

3. I agree. The president still wields the veto pen,

so they can't do too much damage. Worse for them, now they can't just go on TV and blame everything on Obama. They actually have to do something or offer reasons why they aren't. Buyer's remorse will set in very quickly, once the stupid and the crazy inevitably comes roaring back.

[lovemydog]

7. Yup. I agree. They will certainly try to mess things up even more

for working people. When they put their feet in their mouths, many won't want to re-elect them.

So true, the President will veto most of their crazier bs. Thank goodness.

[Art_from_Ark]

38. Considering that he has vetoed only 2 bills in 6 years,

I am not optimistic that his veto pen's going to get much of a workout in the coming 2 years.

[6000eliot]

43. I don't think Congress is going to do much of anything either.

[lovemydog]

4. Very well stated lupojohn.

Welcome to DU by the way. Have fun here!

In addition to what you said (very well), there have always been and always will be reactionary forces at work in the USA. And there have always been and always will be progressive forces at work in the USA too. I know where I stand. I stand with all my progressive brothers and sisters here at Democratic Underground and throughout our country and the world.

We will never have total victory. And we will never suffer total defeat. But I'll tell you what. I enjoy the progressive people a whole lot more than the reactionary ones. They tend to have diverse interests, a much better sense of humor, and a willingness to lend a helping hand to anyone who is down. This is true here on this board and in my personal life it's especially true!

[mdbl]

5. Don't see Chuck Schumer as a positive

And the dumbass repugs will just start making crap up to investigate Obama. They don't even know the reasons, they just do it to waste time and money.

[merrily]

20. Oddly, Joe Scarborough is lobbying for Schumer to replace Reid as I type.

The fix must be in?

[mdbl]

33. Well if Joe Scarborough is lobbying for Schumer,you definitely don't want him

[merrily]

34. I knew that. I was remarking on the coincidence--and suggesting it may not be a

coincidence at all.

[hobbit709]

6. Gregg Abbott is Rick Perry without the intelligence and charm.

[merrily]

21. Apparently, that can be fixed by a pair of specs with heavy frames.

[clayton72]

8. The next two years will be excrutiating... Suppeona power and impeachment coming

Daryl Issa has been able to have a dog and pony show, but it's nothing compared to the power of the Senate to torture a president. They will be fanning the flames of impeachment. Now is this a bad thing? Well some folks are likely to get hurt, that's my biggest concern. The GOP has shown itself to be ruthless and no drama Obama is quick to ask for resignations instead of defending his people. Perhaps he's learned better? We'll see. Impeaching Clinton wound up costing the GOP big, probably will here too.

I hope women and immigrants wake up and mobilize between now and 2016. It's going to be obvious who is to blame and hard to say both parties are bad.

Fortunately they can only authorize war, they can't wage it. The power to send the military still resides in the Whitehouse.

Fighting within the different factions of the GOP will be the most entertaining things to watch. Will the biz people allow personhood to come to a vote or will they finally tell the religious right to go suck an egg? Tea party vs Neo-con. Rand Paul vs... uhh.. everyone. Ted Cruz will probably be shived in the showers quickly.

[Art_from_Ark]

39. Impeachment of Clinton cost the GOP almost nothing

Sure, they lost a few seats in 1998, but they still kept the House and Senate. And two years later, they were occupying the White House.

[butterfly77]

9. You really believe that..

We are getting ready to watch the great pretenders and a lot of people will fall for the Bullshit,watch Rand Paul.

[newfie11]

11. Agreed nt

[stillwaiting]

28. I find it impossible to deny that as a potential reality.

The Republicans' historical levels of obstructionism seems to have paid off in a big way.

What's to stop them from continuing to let things get worse for most of us, but to continue to SUCCESSFULLY blame President Obama? Then when '16 rolls around they potentially keep Congress and get the WH. After what just happened I have no idea why we should not see that as a potential outcome that we need to fight against starting now. We need great candidates, a great platform that our candidates can run on (not against Republicans), and we need to start community organizing and voting registration drives now.

Obama and elected Democrats do little to nothing to fight back or correctly put the blame on the HISTORICAL LEVELS OF OBSTRUCTIONISM, and the media will not help Democrats that's for sure.

We should definitely be very upset at what just happened, and it would be foolish to immediately try and console ourselves by saying we'll get things back in 2016. We have a lot of work to do to make sure that happens (especially since elected Democrats and the media are probably not going to help us very much AKA their actions and inactions will hurt the Dems and help the Repubs).

I think we need to be at least a little scared at this point if it motivates us to action. '16 could be a nightmare.

[butterfly77]

30. At this point...

Frankly I don't give a damn. Let them have at it because the more misery they think they will put on us the more it will backfire. If they really think that putting more people into and poverty will benefit them they have another thing coming. Have you heard the statement "If momma isn't happy no one in the house isn't happy" they think all of that money they have been hoarding will protect them. NOT.

As we all watch the news daily we see crime is out of control,homelessness and joblessness abounds and they want to give us more police are being attacked.

People are committing unspeakable crimes because they have nothing to lose so keep it up republiCONS you will get more than you bargained for and you won't be able to blame the black man in the whitehouse. KISS MY NATURAL BLACK ASS REPUBLICONS!!!!!

Its not about skin color you STUPID MOTHERFUCKERS!!!

[angrychair]

10. I've had this sad duty several times tonight

Its great that we can manage to stay positive in these loses but the numbers don't lie. Tough loves requires looking at the facts as they are, not as we would like them to be.

250 house seats. This is a super majority. Historic in scope. Dems cannot overcome it in a single election cycle. Even two. Unlikely in even three. Not unless we have the best three election cycles in a row. We are talking a decade or more of being in the minority there.

54 Senate seats. Huge majority. of the 22 rethug seats coming up in 2016, most are in red states. Unless we can counter Dem voter apathy between now and then, best case may be to hold or gain a seat or two.

I vote to concede the federal government and focus almost all of our efforts in state government. The only way out of the cold is to promote, vote and hold state legislatures. We must revoke voter suppression laws. We must be in power through 2020 so we can influence in a positive way the redrawing of Congressional lines by 2022.
that is the only way forward.

[merrily]

22. Redistricting helped--and they got that right by winning so big in 2010.

[pstokely]

26. 6 of the Repuke senators up in 2016 are in blue/purple states

We will take those if its a good Dem year, in a year with higher turnout, many senate seats in red states may also be in play

[Agony]

12. Whoa! Republicans didn't get to 60 in the Senate, they will be paralyzed,nothing to worry about.

You are right tho, Chuck Schumer could fix things by using his sway over Wall Street.

[MrMickeysMom]

17. But, then… you'll have Democrats that cave there...

We know this to be true…

[davidpdx]

13. We were not directly responsible for Cantor, Perry, or Bachmann being out of office

Cantor was primaried and Perry and Bachmann both decided to call it quits. Corbett is the only one that was defeated.

As I have said before this does one thing, sets the stage for the meme that Hillary Clinton is the only one that can save the party. You just watch. It's coming.

[merrily]

25. Coming? It's been trumpeted since 2012 publicly and probably well before that privately.

My own view/suspicion: certain promises were made when Obama and Hillary had that secret meeting in 2008, during the height of PUMA power, you know, before she and Bubba went all out in their support of Obama.






vignette from the 2008 Democratic National Convention: Carville smirking as he goes out of his way to show off his PUMA footgear.

[davidpdx]

35. I wouldn't doubt it

But I think the election results will make it easier to push the meme.

[merrily]

37. Maybe Jeb will run to her left.

Kidding

[davidpdx]

41. Maybe she and Jeb could go do something else and let the country fix the mess they already have

(I have a few key suggestions, but I won't say them out loud). I doubt we'll get that lucky.

[merrily]

42. Sadly, Congress is going to fix squat, maybe for the next two or three decades.

I think it was Chris Hayes who speculated that, because of November 4, Republican control of the House is very likely to last for another ten years, minimum. That puts us past the next census (2020) and therefore the next re-districting by a Republican house. If that does not energize Democratic voters, nothing will. But, first, someone has to get low info voters educated about how much is at stake.

Another unfortunate thing: Obama did not apply his executive power to naturalization long before this--also not as returns came in, as he apparently promised (Why would anyone wait for returns, anyway? No internal polling?).

Now, any attempt is a much bigger problem, both politically and practically--and any relief at all that is given immigrants is likely to come from a Republican Congress, after Obama broke two promises. If there is any demographic in the US politicians should not alienate, it's Hispanics.

I am not a conspiracy theorist, even though I know groups like Bilderburg have enormous clout. Sometimes, though, it's just hard to believe everything is an accident. I am not one who believes all the brain power and courage in the Democratic Party is concentrated in DU posters, while Democratic politicians just keeping making stupid, cowardly moves whose blatantly apparent folly only Democratic DUers can grok.

[4dsc]

14. We need to be looking toward 2016

because the republican party needs to rule as though they actually care about the citizens of the US. They have to defend 23 seats come 2016 and if they rule like they have for the past 6 years then not only will the Presidency be ours but the Senate and House will be also.

[pstokely]

27. House is gone until at least the next census

but 2020 is a Presidential year

[stillwaiting]

29. Their historical levels of obstructionism didn't hurt them a single bit yesterday.

Why would it in '16?

Republicans made major gains in states where they shouldn't have (including my state of Virginia).

I don't think the media is going to start pointing out what's been happening, and elected Dems don't even do it very often or in a way that truly puts the blame on Repubs in a manner that resonates with people.

I'm disgusted that the Repubs strategy of obstructionism paid off as well as it did yesterday. There are a few reasons why it was successful, and I don't see those reasons changing over the next two years (I'd love to be wrong here). I'm not saying we are going to lose in '16. I'm saying that it is a distinct possibility, and we need to start grassroots movements that successfully build support for great Dem candidates in '16 (b/c I have very little faith that the Dem Party leadership knows how to run good candidates or good campaigns at this point). We also need to take back our party from Wall Street eventually. That's going to take just a little bit of work...

[a kennedy]

15. Wow, thank you for this, I'm starting to feel a teeny tiny bit better......

for all you said except the part of Chuck Schumer taking over as minority leader.....ugh....please not him. And even I hate the sound of minority leader. Guess I'm still feeling pretty sick about yesterday.

[Android3.14]

16. Why don't you take your false sense of panic and troll it somewhere else, Baby

[kwolf68]

18. Federal Govt is fucked.

250 House seats, 54 Senate seats...Republicans dominate there.

The only way is to go local....fight back, for Dem states, claim states rights and move the agenda forward on a state and local level.

Obama has the veto pen so for now the chances of a true theocratic oligarchy is still slightly on hold.

[rpannier]

19. Schumer???

God, the hedge fund managers would love that

No Schumer either


The real telling point will be if Manchin and King jump ship[, which they've both alluded to doing
King is 70 and likely isn't interested in running again
and Manchin is going to make one last gasping save at his political career

[Vinca]

23. We might as well sit back and enjoy the show for 2 years.

Nothing is going to change. Gridlock remains. The GOP is bound to be real entertainment, though. There's nothing unified about them and the Cruz/Ernst wing will be tormenting the McConnell wing each and every day. By the next election, they'll have bloodied themselves so much the Dems will sweep everything.

[pstokely]

24. If a Dem wins the WH in 2016, they will also win the senate

A Repuke takes the WH retaking the senate probably falls below 50%

[derby378]

31. Schumer as Minority Leader? Fuck THAT noise...

We need a fire-breather, and we need one fast.

[B Calm]

32. One thing I do know, republicans can not govern. They have 2 years to prove they can.

If democrats learned anything, they'll obstruct just like the republicans making it even harder for them.

[Rex]

40. We won't have to obstruct, this will be an epic show. Just sit back and pass the popcorn.

The Clown Car Congress of 2014 will make the past 6 years look like nothing. This is like giving a child a flamethrower and sending them outside. Sadly, WE all will be hurt in some way by their shutdown of the govt - it's coming. The GOP can't wait to waste billions of dollars - that is all they know how to do.

[NM_Birder]

36. The voters played right into the plan,

Super XD-HI DEF Liquid Cooled chess.
game. set. match.