Cheer up Dems! We're still winning the long game

[old timey villain]

There are several reasons why I'm not too upset about what happened last night

1) Obama is still president- True, he won't be able to get much done, but he will still act as an important firewall to whatever insane bills the new GOP congress pushes through. I actually welcome them to try to craft legislation that reflects the demands of their Fox News watching constituents. Only then will Dems who sat out last night be convinced not to make the same mistake again.

2) The GOP didn't learn anything new- They didn't bother to rebrand their party or change their messaging to attract a broader coalition. All they did was manage to get out more of the same old, white, angry midterm electorate with the same old foaming at the mouth rhetoric. The average American doesn't think any more highly of the Republican party now than they did in 2012, but the GOP will become complacent and convince themselves that they're on the right track, only to be sideswiped in future cycles.

3) The next 2 cycles will be VERY tough for them- 2016 will be a Presidential year, and all of the GOP senators who rode the 2010 midterm wave will suddenly be faced with a nationalized race and a more diverse electorate. That will spell trouble for folks like Mark Kirk, Kelly Ayotte, Pat Toomey, Ron Johnson and many more. And even if our next Prez is a Republican (which history suggests is likely), that will help Dems retain their 2012 prizes in 2018, when we get to be the alternative to the party in power.

4) The southernization of the GOP is complete, and that's a good thing- Ok, so we've lost all our Southern senators. Fine. The Democrats will no longer have to tip toe around the blue dogs and can finally fully champion progressive causes whole heartedly. Meanwhile, the GOP will keep relying more and more on the white southern male- even as their importance in elections continues to wane. They're basically a regional party now, which makes them slaves to whatever Bubba thinks should happen in Washington.

So yeah, things will be fine.

[old timey villain]

4) The southernization of the GOP is complete, and that's a good thing- Ok, so we've lost all our Southern senators. Fine. The Democrats will no longer have to tip toe around the blue dogs and can finally fully champion progressive causes whole heartedly. Meanwhile, the GOP will keep relying more and more on the white southern male- even as their importance in elections continues to wane. They're basically a regional party now, which makes them slaves to whatever Bubba thinks should happen in Washington.

So yeah, things will be fine.

Senators-elect Ernst, Sullivan, Gardner, Daines, and Rounds would like a word with you about this "complete Southernization" of the GOP.

Southernization refers more to a specific culture than a region.