Last night wasn't a great night for the Democratic Party. We got spanked pretty hard, but looking on the bright side, which I am wont to do, it could have been worse.
Most of us are experiencing feelings of loss that two years ago belonged to our opponents, who, let's face it, lost much worse than we did last night.
If we were to go back to the blogs and political websites, etc. of two years ago, I believe we would read much of the same kind of funereal resignation and philosophical shoulder squeezing that we'll be getting into in the next few days.
Two years ago, there was a lot of "Well, Obama and the Dems got what they wanted, let's see 'em have a go at it. Good luck!"
They knew that Obama had an impossible task in front of him, and indeed he did. This administration has not run the best game in the past two years, but they are negotiating a minefield. It's hard to make ideal decisions when you're just hoping your foot doesn't get blown off.
Two years ago, Obama was just a candidate, able to spout off promises and slogans. It was all about the future, and what he could do, and what change he planned to bring. His hair went gray pretty fast once he took office. It's not so easy to close Guantanamo, or bring home the troops, or regulate Wall Street, or reform Healthcare, or end DADT.
All these new House representatives from the "Blood Bath" of last night have the very same lessons ahead of them, folks. Like Obama, they got what they wished for (well, some of them). They won! Their slogans and their hatemongering and their fearmongering and their promises got them into office, but now they have to govern.
They have to govern with the Democrats in control of the Senate. Frankly, if I were Rand Paul this morning I'd be crapping my pants. He is going to be the most unhappy man in Washington for the totality of his term. I would put money on it. He's going to burn out quickly; he's arrogant and stubborn. He won't listen to advice. He's green.
And in the House--all those people who want to "repeal and replace" and "phase out" social programs and who promised their constituents that we could "restore" the Constitution to it's intended position of being a religious document meant for American whites only, they have the most rude awakening in front of them.
I'm not naive. I know they're going to try to shut down the government and try to impeach Obama, and generally wreak havoc with our country.
I can only hope that it won't be quite as easy as they think, and that they are going to be so miserable trying that they'll wish they had never started on this journey.