The Patriot Post® · So Much for the Blue Wave — GOP Expands Senate Majority
More history was made yesterday in the era of Donald Trump. As USA Today reports, this midterm election result “was the first time since the nation started directly electing senators in 1914 that a party has won control of the House without gaining seats in the Senate.” That’s right — not only did Democrats fail to gain in the Senate but they actually lost ground. Republicans picked up at least two seats and likely four or five; we’re still waiting for the final results in Arizona, Montana, and a special election in Mississippi, as well as Bill Nelson’s futile call for a recount in Florida. So what are the takeaways for Trump and Senate Republicans going forward?
First, any Democrat fever dreams of removing Trump from office are gone. He’s here to stay. We’ll see if Nancy Pelosi and the House Dems are foolish enough to follow through on their impeachment threats, as doing so would only prove to be futile.
Second, Democrats’ vile attack on Justice Brett Kavanaugh proved disastrous. If Sen. Jon Tester (D) loses in Montana, then every single red state Democrat who voted against Kavanaugh will have been defeated. That is about as thorough a repudiation as it gets.
Third, with the Senate now more firmly in Republican hands, Trump will have even less trouble getting Cabinet and judicial nominees confirmed. The implications for Trump’s lasting impact on the nation’s judiciary into the future are huge, including the Supreme Court with the possibility of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat coming open before 2020.
Fourth, Trump vs. Obama. Once again Barack Obama proved to be more of a liability than an asset to his party. In three of the most hotly contested races, (the governorships of Florida and Georgia, and Florida’s Senate seat) Trump and Obama essentially went head to head in stumping for their respective candidates — and in all three instances the Republican appears to have won. Tiana Lowe of the Washington Examiner notes, “[Obama] still suffers from fatal hubris. In a campaign speech just two days before the midterm elections, for other candidates, Obama said ‘I’ 73 times, ‘me’ nine times, and ‘my’ seven times.” That sums up his narcissistic personality disorder.
Oh, and recall, in addition to losing 63 House seats in the first midterm after his election, Obama also lost six Senate seats.
Finally, whether they like it or not, Republicans are now the party of Trump. Both he and the Left insisted this election was a referendum about him, and his focus on and victory in the Senate only solidified his leadership.
(Updated.)