Looking over the reactions of the more principal names of the blogosphere, it seems that Tuesday's results were both unexpected and terrifying.
It's not like there weren't warnings: Nate Silver, for instance, has called nearly all 50 states (waitin' on ya, Florida!) almost precisely, and certainly precisely enough for the Electoral College. Public Policy Polling, a polling firm that was hammered right and right -- we on the left marveled at its integrity -- turned in the best performance, so anyone with half a brain would have had cause to consider the very strong likelihood that Obama was winning and that this election was more of an exercise in backburning in order to stop a wildfire from spreading.
The superPACs and other dark money operatives out there seemed to get it, as they expended massive amounts of money to shore up weak Congressional races, successfully. But the GOP to its base?
Not so much. There are hurt feelings all across the nation and correctly, the anger is not focused on Obama.
For once. They acknowledge that he ran a fair race and fought hard, even if they believe he was ultimately beatable by an acharismatic elitist with tired ideas.
The anger is focused at the Republicans and fellow conservatives.
It seems the wheel is still turning, but the hamster is dead.
Some folks seem to. Some are actually stepping up and rather than blame them, taking a measure of responsibility for what they achieved. This is a healthy thing, to be sure.
A re-election campaign always, ALWAYS, favors the incumbent, and that's a fact that conservatives ignored at their peril (in fairness, progressives ignored it in 2004, as well, and didn't fight hard enough to get Kerry elected.) It really doesn't matter how weak he is, if his challenger refuses or cannot define himself, then the tendency is to go with who you know, particularly in difficult times.
Again, see 2004.
At least one person seem to get some of this, but Hindraker immediately falls into the "blame them" game again. I give him this much credit, however: he sees that the nation is not the utopic conservative garden he and his fellow fifth columnists believe it is. It's possible he might start to moderate his positions over the coming years and perhaps -- perhaps -- the nation might be able to start to work again.
Here's the lessons of November 6, if anyone wants to listen:
1) You ran the weakest field of candidates since the Democrats in 1988. Period. End of discussion.
OK, no, it's not. Lemme sum it up for you, quickly: WHEN BACHMANN CAN AT ANY POINT BE TAKEN AS A SERIOUS, VIABLE CANDIDATE, YOU'RE FUCKED!
2) The dominance of dark money and superPACs points out the distinct lack of ideas from the right. It's one thing to have principles, if you can call handing even more money to people who are about ready to push away from the dinner table "principles", it's another thing to claim that one solution will fix everything.
Bad infrastructure? Tax cuts. More jobs? Tax cuts. Illegal immigration? Tax cuts.
The facts -- those things Reagan called "stupid" -- suggest that tax cuts only exacerbate problems. FACT: over the past 60 years, the economy under Democratic Presidents has outperformed the economy under Republican Presidents. FACT: job growth under Democratic Presidents is far higher than under Republicans, so much so that Bill Clinton oversaw the creation of 23 million jobs, ten times as many in eight years as Bush II did. FACT: the government creates jobs, else how do you explain the massive expansion of government that occurs under Republican Presidents, but not Democratic? Included in those job creations is a little thing called the Internet, without which you'd just be a cranky lawyer sitting on a barstool in Minneapolis, yelling at the barkeep instead of some "respected pundit."
Personally, I wouldn't respect you if you washed my balls, but that's a different post. I think you're a fucking loser asshole, and I'm glad you're sucking tears back.
3) The last lesson of November 6 is, if you want to be taken seriously as a party by the nation, you have to take the nation seriously. This, I think, is where Hindraker gets close to a revelation (and falls flat on his face getting there.) By being completely obstructionist, by opposing any program, even ones Republicans originally created (like ACA, like Simpson-Bowles), by refusing to put up a jobs bill until a token nonsensical effort this past summer, you show a distinct reprehension for the nation, particularly in a time where people are hurting.
But then compassion never was your strong suit.
Jesus wept.
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