The largest defeat in the history of mid-terms

[malaise]

Go fuck yourselves ReTHUGs
Hope all DUers raise a glass for this tomorrow!
That is all.

[SallyHemmings]

1. I think I will raise two!

[GWC58]

42. And "TOKE"

if only I had some. Instead I’ll down a few brews, something I don’t often do. 🤪

[Amsterdammer]

46. Where do you live?

...I'll bring some over!

[GWC58]

74. I live in the merry land of

Maryland. I’ve applied, on-line, for my “permission slip.” Oops, I mean “MMJ Card” or, at least, a number. Having been on, rather, strong pain meds, four neck ops, one of which was a cervical fusion failure & one lower back surgery I’m ready to, at least, ease up on those things. Having been on oxycodone for 20 some years I don’t think I’ll ever completely get off of them. Cutting down would be nice. Oh yeah, thanks for the offer even though you’re in another region. Happy Thanksgiving fellow Democrat. 😃👍🏻 Live long & prosper 🖖🏻!!

[Amsterdammer]

86. The wife & I...

...were up in DC just before the 4th of July and procured...sans MMJ card. We weren't sure if it would be possible or not, so we were ecstatic.

Happy holidays to you & yours, as well!

[padah513]

2. Somebody needs to show this to James Carville!!!

[DownriverDem]

21. A lot

of folks thought like James. Why pick on him?

[OnDoutside]

44. Let youtube be your friend...

[Pepsidog]

52. Yea when I saw that it really got me down. Time for Carville to go away.

[4du]

66. It was nice, but not a wave

We did not pick up a seat in the Senate, in fact, we lost 1 or two. Trump will still get as many new judges as he wants. We can pass nothing. We can investigate, but that is of little practical value unless we can act.

[japple]

67. Please don't rain on our parade. You need to lighten up and appreciate what has happened.

BTW, welcome to DU. I hope you won't always be so negative.

[4du]

69. Thank you. but this is not entertainment or sport

We must be realistic. I know a dozen people who did not vote in 2016 because they had no interest in local races and Clinton was sure to win. Why wait on line if you were going to win anyway. Always hope for the best but plan for the worse.

[lunatica]

82. It most definitely is a wave

If you were a real political wonk you would know that. Politics is a long term game. It’s not checkers for the simple minded or the pessimist. It took the Republicans more than 30 years to get here. Nothing happens overnight, but a grip on power can happen in one election. We have a grip right now. If we play our chess game right things will be very different in 30 years.

And if you think we’ve already lost no matter what then you aren’t paying attention to American politics as it was designed to be by our founding fathers. The game is never over.

[4du]

84. We don't want a wave, we want a tide

A wave comes crashing in, but then quickly recedes. A tide slowly lifts everything up and lasts awhile. We have Don the Con to thank for these results. Every time he held a rally, he might have caused 4 people to come out to vote for him, but he also caused 6 people to come out to vote against him.

[SWBTATTReg]

3. I will, for all of our fellow DUers and other Americans in this country. Have a good and ...

safe holiday all. Thanks malaise!

[Drahthaardogs]

4. Is this true? I thought there were larger swings.

We're those Presidential elections?

[Kaleva]

6. I think his has been the biggest pickup of seats since '72. A Presidential election.

[Drahthaardogs]

7. I think Obama lost 60 in 2010.

Which is why I asked. I was wondering if they ised another metric

[IronLionZion]

11. 63 house, 6 senate, 6 governors, 11 state legislatures

it was brutal.

[Squinch]

18. Was that before or after republicans re-drew the electoral maps?

[Celerity]

36. Before. The 2010 election was also in a decennial census year.

That huge blowout allowed the rethugs to then, afterward, have systemic control to take the census numbers and really take hammers and tongs to gerrymandering districts via statewide control levers.

2020, another decennial census year, is massively important for us at state level, so we can then reverse what the rethugs did post 2010.

[elocs]

43. Here in Wisconsin, the entire state government was controlled by Democrats

in 2010. So there was no excuse of gerrymandering or voter suppression.
Too many on the Left decided to sit out that midterm election because they were pissed at Obama about one thing or another. As a result, the entire state government flipped to Republican control, Walker was first elected governor, and Russ Feingold was defeated. The GOP then proceeded to gerrymander the state in order to hold their power.
Nobody to blame but ourselves for that debacle.

[uponit7771]

39. I think the issue is ... democratic party ... net gains .... not just pick ups as far as trades ...

... cause they can pick up "new" seats and lose another there wont be a net gain.

Also my understanding is this election is the largest participation rate since 1966, that's not a small feat either.

[Drahthaardogs]

64. Okay. That makes more sense to me.

Thanks

[Johnyawl]

53. Yeah, 2010 was the year of the tea party...

...they made a big issue of Obamacare. And of course Obama. We weren't prepared for the onslaught, had no adequate counter messaging.

The country got fucked.

[The Mouth]

75. The Tea Party got it right on getting into power

FIRST, you have to take the state, then you can draw the districts and pick the polling places, and write - and COUNT - the ballots. Without that boring shit, especially walking districts, working phones, making sure people get out to the polls, it matters not how noble your goal.

President Obama was an exception; like Reagan and Bill Clinton, charismatic enough to get people out, but those folks are a few to a generation, and only come in to play on a presidential year, midterms it's 'ground game'.

The Tea Party did exactly that - take the statehouse, draw the districts, make sure you hire who counts the votes and a few years later the supposed 'elites' are going WTF on election night. Also 'ground game' develops your pool of younger folks, crucial; the person running in 2048 might have just gotten involved for the first time in this one.

Fortunately, 2016 seems to have been a wake-up call, if no other consolation. There are more Democrats than Republicans, if we do the basic, mechanical stuff right, we win a lot of the time

[klook]

78. Good post.

The boring shit is what wins elections consistently.

[The Mouth]

85. Thanks

yep.
The phone banking and walking and driving people to the polls count for more than all the facebook posts and tweets when the votes are counted.

I really don't care how pure someone's morals, good their intentions, numerous and clever their posts and bumperstickers- one little old lady doing phone banking, talking to people in their homes, and taking her friends to the polls kicks their ass down the road 1000 miles and an entire election cycle.

[Sparko55]

58. A needless loss in 2010 by Dems and Obama

As Obama said; we got shellacked. Indeed. Tea Party aside much can be laid at Obama's feet. Worst meltdown of the economy in 80 years and crickets from DOJ on Wall Street corruption. The country didn't want Obama's platitudes of "we've got to look ahead ". The country had not only a broken leg and back but soul. And, unfortunately Obama just couldn't bring himself and his Ivy league cabinet to go after Ivy league alumni on Wall St.. the country knew first you have to fix the broken back and legs; then you can move on.

After 2010, in the cold Wisconsin winter that followed with up to 125,000 protestors on the Capitol in Madison, the protestors reminded Obama of his promise to walk the line if union jobs were at stake.. Again, crickets. That was remembered in Wisconsin, I lived there then and was there at the start of the protests against Walker and throughout the weeks and 17 day occupation of the state Capitol. The signs on the square said it all especially "Barry, we've got you a pair of good walking shoes".

That's all past. Let's hope the Dems don't forget those lessons. Sometimes to move ahead, you need a head.

[SCantiGOP]

25. To be accurate:

This was the biggest gain of House seats by the Democrats since the post-Watergate midterm in 1974. GOP had two bigger gains since then.

[malaise]

12. Largest by popular vote

EVER

[H2O Man]

32. As a person who

pays close attention to history, I will add that it is the largest non-presidential (or mid-term) victory, if one includes the national, state, and local elections. And that is actually of huge significance. It has built the foundation we need for further growth in two years.

[malaise]

34. Correct

Happy Turkey to you and yours WaterMan.

[H2O Man]

35. And to you

and yours!

I think today will be an interesting day, too.

[malaise]

37. I am hopeful

As always

[coeur_de_lion]

50. Interesting in what way?

Just curious.

[onenote]

60. You are mistaken

In 1994, the repubs won over 500 state legislative seats along with 10 governorships, 54 US House of Representative seats and 8 Senators.

[H2O Man]

61. Note that you

are not including mayors, city/town councils, county boards, etc. Now compare that to 1994, and tell me if I was wrong.

[onenote]

63. I haven't seen any data on party shifts in municipal level elections in 2018

Please provide a link.

[FBaggins]

57. Also untrue

Tip O'Neil's Democrats used to win by double digits fairly regularly. The '74 House elections had just under a 17% margin.

The, of course, we haven't even tracked the popular vote by House district for most of our history. You look at something like the 1920 election where Republicans increased their majority from 240-192 to 303-131 and it's hard to imagine that the popular vote margin wasn't huge.

[NewJeffCT]

33. in terms of the number of seats won/lost it was NOT the largest defeat

however, in terms of the total percentage difference nationwide, it's definitely the biggest win for Democrats or Republicans in decades.

In terms of seats changing hands, though, 1994 and 2010 were better years for Republicans.

[N_E_1 for Tennis]

5. This may lead to a...

Democratic blowout election in 2020. Let’s keep our eyes on that prize.

[Hortensis]

9. +1000. We'll have the advantage in the senate and

they'll have Trumpism and legislative corruption and betrayal.

[Eyeball_Kid]

28. The ultimate long-term prize: Redrawing Congressional districts

to design a level playing field. Dems MUST take both houses of Congress. Dems do NOT need to tilt the playing field their way. The majority of the voting public already is aligned with the Dems.

[NewJeffCT]

38. Yes

Having districts drawn in a non partisan fashion likely would have meant a 50-60 seat pickup for Democrats, if not more, instead of an already great 38 seats. The same at the state level - 367 seats may have been 100-150 more.

[N_E_1 for Tennis]

41. See reply #40... nt

[malaise]

48. THIS!

[N_E_1 for Tennis]

40. Michigan is starting to change that...

We passed Proposal 2 this midterm. Hard fought battle, here’s hoping it works.

https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/elections/2018/11/07/proposal-2-anti-gerrymandering-michigan/1847402002/

[NewJeffCT]

45. It should definitely help

Michigan went for Trump by a tiny margin in 2016 and Obama only won it by 4-5% in 2012, so it's fairly close to 50-50. However, for the US House, it is 9 Republicans and 4 Democrats. Without gerrymandering, it should be 7-6 or 6-7, so a 2-3 seat difference depending on the elections. It will probably make a big difference for the state legislature as well.

Now, imagine a state like Texas with nearly three times that number of US House seats (36, but probably increasing after the 2020 re-apportionment) that has been trending from Red to Pink? It's currently 25-11 Republican, but based on 2016/2018 voting patterns, it should be closer to 20-16 Republican or even 19-17. So, a 5-6 seat pickup for Democrats.

[bigtree]

8. k&r

[Kingofalldems]

10. But Avenatti is very bad!!

[malaise]

13. ROFL

[Iggo]

14. And so is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

[sharedvalues]

19. She needs to be quiet! Nm

[Iggo]

15. And so is Nancy Pelosi.

[Iggo]

16. Because I read DU.

[llmart]

17. We cannot rest...

until we gain the Senate and the Presidency and then we need to use their playbook and ram through all those things we need to in order to reverse the idiocy of these past few years.

[malaise]

20. I did not say rest

I said raise a glass for a historical victory

[samnsara]

22. i want to know when we dems gets to go out into the streets and collectively shout..

……….'WE TOLD YOU SO!'

[malaise]

23. Nice

[djacq]

24. A Thanksgiving indeed.

[duforsure]

26. They will be facing even greater numbers

Voting against trump , and all republican nazi's next election. They're fate will soon be doomed, and then they'll face justice for what they're all involved in, and sent to prison. It's just a matter of time for these treasonous corrupt criminals. They'll soon turn on him thinking this will save themselves, but it won't. People are running away from trump and all the gop in huge numbers daily , especially when he tweets and speaks making it much worse for them. They think this last election was bad, just wait.

[Iliyah]

27. But it was JUST a tickle . . .

GOPers are psyching themselves . . . or better yet, ignoring the tea leaves.

I remember when Obamacare was poison and the GOPers won the House and Senate before 2016. 2018 it finally dawned on people that Obamacare, healthcare was actually a good thing. The tide turned, the blue wave happened at least in the House. 2020 blue wave here we come!

[malaise]

54. We should thank them for their lies about Pre-conditions

They were torn to shreds.

[wasupaloopa]

29. Repubs did better by taking 54 House and 8 Senate seats in 1994.

The Republican Revolution, Revolution of '94 or Gingrich Revolution refers to the Republican Party (GOP) success in the 1994 U.S. midterm elections,[1] which resulted in a net gain of 54 seats in the House of Representatives, and a pickup of eight seats in the Senate. The day after the election, conservative Democrat Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama changed parties, becoming a Republican.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Revolution

[spanone]

30. K&R...

[beachbum bob]

31. title is in error...just saying over hyping doesn't help

[matelize]

47. Running from Affordable Care Act.

I always blamed the Democrats for that horrific defeat in 2010. Instead of embracing the health care act, they ran from it as well as Obama. What kind of message did that send to the electorate? I think we have come a long way since then as to standing firm in our beliefs, as to what is the right path for our country to follow. Hopefully we no longer take the bait when the Republicans add their negative spin. People respond to representatives who are willing to stand for something, but also to readdress issues when necessary. Hopefully now with the Speaker issue calming down, we can start to put a check on this madman in the White House.

[malaise]

49. Agree 100%

[watoos]

51. Last I heard

7 million more people voted for Dems in the House, and that number was growing. We did a little bit of redistricting in Pa. which helped a little but still more people voted for Dems in Pa. but Repugs still have the majority. I live in Alabama, central Pa. where my district voted 80-20 R. Hey, my vote counts for state wide races.

[Pepsidog]

55. MSNBC last night had Torricelli on and he was clueless. They need to get rid of

of a lot of these commentators. Hugh Hewitt, Peggy Noonan shouldn’t have a voice on MSNBC. Unlike Nicole Wallace who for the most part does a nice job, I’m sick of these republican apologists who try hard as hell to justify the republican lies. As for Torrecelli, he had no idea what was going on calling Trump “ naïve “ regarding Trump’s desire to prosecute Hillary and Comey. It was embarrassing!

[GulfCoast66]

56. It would have been much larger without Gerrymandering

And next election the Senate lines up in our favor.

I think that if our house majority pass one popular bill after another just to allow the American people witness the republicans kill them, we could have an epic win in 2020.

[onenote]

59. Sorry, but it was far from the largest defeat.

It was a great win, no question. But hyperbolic claims about the repubs suffering the largest defeat in the history of mid-terms don't stand up to scrutiny.

First, as measured by the number of House seats changing parties, 2018 is merely the sixth largest in the last 60 years and the 9th largest in the last 80 years. Moreover, in each of those years, as well as in several others, the party gaining House seats also gained Senate seats, which sadly did not happen here. (For what its worth, the two largest mid-term power shifts occurred in 1874 when 90 seats changed parties and in 1894, when a remarkable 111 seats changed parties; keep in mind that the House was much smaller back then -- the percentage of House seats changing parties was over 30 percent in 1874 and 1894 -- this year it was around 9 percent)

Second, measured by percentage of the popular vote, we garnered 53.1 percent in 2018 -- a very good result, but not close to the best in history. In every mid-term from 1970 through 1986 the prevailing party in terms of number of seats gained was the recipient of more than 53.1 percent of the popular vote, with 1974 coming on top with 57.5% of the vote (compared to only 40.7 for the Republicans -- a much bigger wipeout than this year).

Finally, the only metric where the 2018 results set a new record was in the total number of popular votes -- over 59.2 million for the Democrats. But keep in mind that the Republicans picked up over 50.3 million votes -- nearly six million more than they received when they dominated the 2010 mid-terms. The percentage and margin of victory are far more important than the absolute number of votes.

[malaise]

65. Cool

But I'm toasting to a great victory

[DesertRat]

62. Oh yeah!

[Honeycombe8]

68. Great! But can someone explain to me like I've a 6 yr old, in what way is the largest win/defeat?

We won about 37 seats in the House so far, 7 governorships, a few trifectas, and flipped 2 Senate seats...as well as numerous wins in the states.

But this has been done before, and even more seats were won/lost. So is it the accumulation of all the different kinds of wins?

[obnoxiousdrunk]

77. It is not the

biggest win but feels like one.

[Prof.Higgins]

70. Hyperbole? Regardless, it was an unequivocal rebuke of Trump! I'll celebrate and get working

relentlessly to elect a progressive President and more progressive Congress folks in 2020.

This Senate election’s deck was egregiously stacked against Democratic Party, and the Democratic Senators who lost their seats were often unreliable anyway. The Senate is historically undemocratic where an Alaskan’s vote is worth far, far more than a Californian’s, so the Koch brothers etc. can easily manipulate media markets in numerous states with such small populations. It is projected that in approximately a quarter century 70% of Senators will be representing just 30% of our population.

Even if the Democratic Party had won the Senate, it wouldn’t have been able to overturn a Trump veto or convict him in an impeachment trial. Since the House of Reps majority gives it the power to stop Trump’s legislation in its tracks, all that’s left for Trump now is to persuade another Supreme Court justice to retire. New Chairs of the House Committees will hit the ground running to investigate Trump and his cabinet’s numerous iniquitous activities.

Celebration, ya‼️. 🥳🍾🍿🏆🔔🇺🇸

[malaise]

71. Ditto

Happy Holidays.

[Prof.Higgins]

73. Back at ya, Malaise! Muchas gracias for your enjoyable DU posts. nt

[lunatica]

83. Mana to my ears!

Yes! Politics is a long term game that never ends, as it should be! Right now we have a victory to celebrate and capitalize on. Ler’s not forget we have subsequent victories to win or lose.

The struggle continues.

[workinclasszero]

72. Just wait till 2020 when the American people

dispose of the GOP once and for all!!

[guillaumeb]

76. Trump was correct. So much winning.

Just not for him.

Thanks Malaise.

[yuiyoshida]

79. It was more than just a WAVE

[Eric J in MN]

80. By what metric? NT

NT

[Achilleaze]

81. American democracy deals a blow to KGOP republican-fascism

Hooray America!