Victory and Defeat

The Senate

It was so good to see the American people give victories to Sen.-elect Elizabeth Warren (MA), Sen. Sherrod Brown (OH), Sen.-elect Joe Donnelly (IN), Sen. Claire McCaskill (MO), Sen.-elect Tammy Baldwin (WI), and Sen.-elect Tim Kaine (VA). The Senate, which six months ago was in danger of switching to the Rethuglicans, remains solidly in Democratic hands (Dems Sen. Jon Tester and Heidi Heitkamp are leading won in Montana and North Dakota, respectively but their races haven't been called yet). Senate Minority Leader and unintentional turtle impersonator Mitch "Missy" McConnell will have to establish a new top priority for his flock in the Senate, other than defeating President Obama, who won't be running again.

Watching Neanderthals like Todd "Legitimate Rape" Akin (MO) and Richard "Rapist's Gift to Women" Mourdock (IN) go down in their respective red states was wonderful, and should send the clearest possible message to tea baggers. Add them to the Senate seats they've thrown away in the last election, with Sharron Angle in Nevada, Christine O'Donnell in Delaware, and Ken Buck in Colorado.

The House

Democratic hopes of regaining the House were always a long shot, but they did chip away at the Rethuglican majority by picking up eight seats. Some of the brightest spots were the defeat of tea bagger favorite and hot head Joe "Deadbeat Dad" Walsh (IL) by Iraq war veteran Tammy Duckworth, and lunatic wing nut Allen "Commies in Congress" West (FL) by Patrick Murphy. Progressive firebrand Alan Grayson returns to Congress after a two-year break. Sadly, uber wingers Michelle "Minnesota Loon" Bachmann and Steve "The Lying" King were reelected, with Bachmann narrowly escaping defeat.

Overall assessments

If you want to read a powerful assessment of where the Rethugs went off track, read Jonathan Chait in New York Magazine. At the outset of Obama's first term, they decided to oppose everything that Obama supported. They wanted to make the economy fail so that Obama and Dems would be blamed. They lost the bet big time.

Similarly, E.J. Dionne weighs in on the failed strategy of Rethuglican obstruction and where Obama was able to better represent the positions of the middle class.