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Despite the media’s embarrassingly fevered coverage of “Beto” O’Rourke, and the character assassination heaped upon Rick Scott, both Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Scott (R-FL) were successful in their campaigns for the Senate. Daniel R. Depetris explains in The American Conservative that while the Democrats had a great night in the House, it was horrific for them in the Senate. He writes (abridged):
If Democrats had a terrific night in the House, the party dug itself into a deeper hole on the other side of the Rotunda. Because the Senate map was so horrific for the Democrats.
Indiana’s Joe Donnelly, North Dakota’s Heidi Heitkamp, Florida’s Bill Nelson, and Missouri’s Claire McCaskill were all defeated by their Republican challengers.
The House will now be at the center of the #Resistance in Washington. Democrats will wield committee chairmanships and subpoena power, and you can bet that several major investigations will be launched against the administration when the next Congress is officially sworn in. The GOP Senate, however, will provide the White House with an ally on Capitol Hill and a formidable check on whatever bills soon-to-be Speaker Pelosi jams through the chamber.
At the risk of sounding melodramatic, the United States has never been as divided politically as it is right now. There are people who worship Donald Trump as if he were the pope, a man who can do no wrong and who deserves to be supported every step of the way. But there are also Americans who are incredibly distressed about the country’s state at this moment. To the progressives who populate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Bronx/Queen district or Nancy Pelosi’s San Fransisco haven, Trump may be the most dangerous president the American republic has ever had in its history.
After tonight’s split decision, the next two years could very well be even more divisive than the last two.
Read more here.
