No Runny Eggs

I wasn’t able to stay up for all of the fun last night. East coast living isn’t very conducive to following west coast politics.

Going into the elections I was touting 60+ House seats and a Senate that would be 51/49 but unsure of which party would have 51. It looks like my House prediction will hold but my Senate prediction will fall 1 or 2 seats short. All in all, not a bad night.

While the euphoria of the night is still hanging on me I think it’s worth jotting down a few thoughts about what we learned last night.

• I don’t have the hard data but it struck me that there were numerous House Democrats turned out last night who voted against health care before they voted for it.  I don’t think there is any doubt that part of the election results was a repudiation of the Obamacare bill and the egotistical hubris that Congress showed in ignoring their constituents and passing it despite overwhelming public opposition
• Good, conservative candidates can win – OK, admittedly Rubio was easy (not that he had it easy) because he was a nearly perfect candidate who ran a nearly perfect campaign.  However, Rand Paul certainly wasn’t that.  Paul had the family name to get beyond and also his own fumbles i.e. saying he would eliminate farm subsidies for large corporations and then naming large, small farmer owned cooperatives as examples.  I don’t think this is a one time event.  I hope the Republican establishment had their eyes opened a bit and cast their net further than the “good ol’ boys club” they fish from for candidates.
• On the flip side, we’ve also learned that flawed candidates are flawed candidates.  If there was ever a Senator more despised by his constituents, I can’t think of it.  Harry Reid was ripe for being picked off.  Harry Reid should have been picked off.  Except for the flawed candidate in Sharron Angle, Harry Reid might have picked off.  Am I arguing that Angle shouldn’t have run?  No, that’s Monday morning quarterbacking and I’ll leave that to you Packers folks who can’t get past the whole Favre thing :).  No, what I’m suggesting is that with the results of this election, the Tea Party has established some legitimate, political credibility.  Like all newbies, the Tea Party needs to learn from their actions and improve.  With their success, they should have a much better time of attracting better, stronger, conservative candidates.  The Tea Party needs to improve on their candidate selection and they will. O’Donnell was also a flawed candidate.
• While there is a growing portion of the nation that is understanding the Country’s economic reality, there is still a large portion that doesn’t.  Long time Dems were turned out in House seat after House seat.  Names like Skelton and Oberstar, fixtures in the House, will not have thier cushy jobs come January.  On the other hand, California, what the hell?  California reelects a failed Governor and a failed leftist Senator. I think it’s time for the big quake that separates California from the rest of us. California and its government unions, will be a drain on the rest of the country for decades to come.
• Incumbency is a powerful force and like gravity, requires an amazing amount of energy to overcome.  We’ve already talked aobut Harry Reid winning so I won’t rehash that one.  However, it looks like Alaska will retain their back stabbing Senator as well.  It’s harder to call what happened in AK.  I suspect that once all is reviewed, there is a combination of some flaws in Miller and some incumbency benefit.  I also think (I can’t prove a bit of this) that the vote had at least a tinge of anti Palin response.  I say this because Palin always was an outsider in the R’s of Alaska and she drove that stake home with her support of Miller.  There is a big rift in the R party in Alaska and I think the establishment won out this time.

Well, it’s the morning after and I’m sure there are Democrats who feel like their world has just been turned upside down.  For those folks and others, I leave you with this: