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Well holy shit.
I had completely given up on politics until tonight. I’ve been out of the loop (minus the big news) but I still have the insatiable urge to follow elections and see the results.
Let’s be real. I did have the Taking Back The House series, but over the past few months it was glaringly obvious that it wasn’t going to be a matter of winning the House; rather stopping the bleeding.
Also, it was hard to imagine a scenario where the Democrats held the Senate. But there was some wiggle room especially if a few breaks went the right way. We kinda figured Arkansas, Montana, South Dakota and West Virginia were as good as gone. We just hoped we could eke out North Carolina, Iowa and hope for the best in either Louisiana or Georgia.
But boy was I off. Let’s talk about the good, shall we?
We are alive. People love us (as individuals) and Scott Brown proved how he wasn’t “talented up and coming politician” but literally just a guy who was at the right moment at the right time.
The bad? Everything. Well, Tom Corbett is gone but Tom Wolf is facing a highly Republican House and Senate. The same one that proudly went hand-in-hand with Corbett, even when he was stammering (aka his term).
Let’s face it. This might be worse than 2010. Our work was cut out for us but did we expect to get blown apart worse than the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl?
But we do have some takeaways. Really we do.
In the two bloodbaths (sandwiched between a nice little 2012 campaign), we realized that Democrats can not run away from their party leader (the President). For some reason, Democrats in red/purple states feel that the best way to run for office is to leave the President behind.
Now don’t get me wrong. These states do not like President Obama or Democrats. But the minute you disavow your party leadership, you don’t look like a maverick. You look like a flake. Better yet, you look indecisive.
Alison Lundergan Grimes was considered a blue-chip prospect and was facing an uphill battle, but also one of the more hated politicians in the nation. Beating McConnell is one thing but we wanted a close race. Grimes looked like she was running for student council. She couldn’t admit if she voted for Obama or not.
Who had the idea to not have an answer? You admit you didn’t or you admit you did. People won’t believe that “I’m about you more than any party” when you are gaining support from the party elite anyway. You want to be a renegade? Go third party.
Again, I’m not saying you need to be Bernie Sanders in Louisiana but you have to be accountable. People rather have a crook that brings home the bacon than someone without a compass.
Grimes was not going to win. It was clear, but we might have lost one of our better prospects in Kentucky over ineffective campaign management.
Remember. Personhood failed. Marijuana legalization passed. The minimum wage was raised in a few states.
But Democrats lost. Kay Hagan ran a great campaign but lost to a pretty below-average candidate. That’s a wave.
Michael Grimm, in a potential swing-y district, crushed a Democrat candidate in New York. By the way, he’s about to go on trial.
What else did we learn? Midterms are fifty shades of not great for the party in power of the White House. That’s not a surprise. But the Democrats have been trounced in two of the last three federal elections. That’s a messaging problem.
This wasn’t a BIG TEA PARTY WAVE filled with misspellings and knuckle dragging. This was just a shellacking. Pure and simple.
There is a way out though. We will have the majority again one day. That’s politics. But the Democrats, as of this writing, are just hoping Hllary Clinton can win this thing.
The problem is….her sky high approval ratings are bound to drop. How is she going to answer to being with President Obama? If the current Democratic messaging groups are in charge of her (aka the party establishment that Clinton is entrenched in) then we are in a world of hurt.
Let’s face it. The Republicans are tied to a clown car of candidates. We are solely relying on Hillary Clinton to make this right.
That is not a good position to be in. Hillary is a great candidate and is a trailblazer. But right now; how can we beat the Republicans on the state and Congressional level.
That remains to be seen.
