The big blue tsunami just keeps cresting higher. As of this writing, there will be at least 54 incoming Democratic senators and at least 253 incoming Democratic House members in the new Congress. The possible ceiling for both of those numbers now appears to be 56 and 260, respectively — both of which are simply stunning in magnitude. This was the worst midterm election wipeout since 1974, which was the first election held after Watergate unseated a president. The voters were beyond fed up, they were angry, and they showed it pretty much everywhere.
Donald Trump spent the last few weeks prior to Election Day focused on how good he thought a Republican senator’s ass looked. So (take your pick), he either “got his ass-loving ass kicked,” or Democrats “opened up a can of whoop-ass” on Election Day (there are others, too… “ass” is a remarkably metaphor-friendly word, it seems). Maybe “Trump got Jon Husted’s ass handed to him” might be appropriate?
OK, we will stop. Sorry, but the ebullient schadenfreude on the Democratic side is infectious (and delicious). Most of us have been waiting over 10 long years for Trump to get his come-uppance, and it wasn’t just slightly satisfying to see it finally happen, it was downright spectacular.
Giddiness aside, what is almost as delightful to witness is the blame game now taking place among Republicans. Donald Trump, of course, is blaming everyone and everything under the sun — except him — for the loss. It’s because his name wasn’t on the ballot, you see — he would have won “in a landslide” if it had been. Or possibly because Fox News wasn’t sufficiently sycophantic. Some Republicans are even bravely hewing to Trump’s delusions and attempting to lay all the blame on (no, really!) Joe Biden.
Then there are the saner Republicans, who know full well that one man’s actions were the cause of the epic and historic electoral beatdown they just suffered. But they can’t seem to agree on precisely which actions were the root cause. As David French wrote in the New York Times today:
And there’s another thing — as a practical matter, every faction of the Republican Party has a reason to blame a different faction for its defeat. The circular firing squad has started, and every part of it has plenty of ammunition.
Free-trade Republicans are blaming the tariffs. America first Republicans are blaming the Iran war. (In an X post on Wednesday morning, [Vice President JD] Vance wrote, “The reason we lost is the war.”) Hispanic Republicans can blame ICE. South Asian Republicans can blame Bo French. Anti-woke Republicans can blame Trump’s crackdown on free speech.
They would all be correct, at least to some degree. They made the conscious decision to follow, defend and pledge allegiance to an unstable, hateful man, and now — at long last — they’re experiencing the inevitable consequences of their inexcusable moral compromises.
To coin a phrase, Republicans are in disarray. Mike Johnson announced he wasn’t even going to bother trying to be the incoming House minority leader. The factions are busily squabbling over who will lead their decimated ranks, while Trump is strangely (and uncharacteristically) quiet. The biggest power struggle is happening over who will be the anointed heir to replace Trump on the 2028 ballot, with JD Vance backpedalling furiously from Trump’s disastrous misadventure in Iran and Marco Rubio reportedly thinking about quitting. Other Republicans are eagerly preparing to toss their own hat in the ring. The most amusing of these is Ted Cruz, since come January he will be the only Republican left in office who has won a statewide election in Texas. Democrats didn’t just win a race or two, they completely swept Texas blue. Every statewide office went Democratic, even on the state supreme court. So Cruz really has nothing to lose for making a bid for higher office.
Of course, Democrats have their own power struggles, but they’re of a much more cheerful type than what Republicans are going through. Will Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer continue to lead Democrats in the House and Senate? Stay tuned. No matter who leads, what should the Democrats do in their first 100 days in power in Congress? These are things that can be discussed and figured out before January, one assumes. But their problems are a lot happier to contemplate than the knife fights about to happen among Republicans, that’s for sure.
Democrats controlling Congress won’t mean they’ll be fully driving the political agenda, since Trump will still be in his gold-plated tacky-as-all-get-out Oval Office for another two years. But now at least there will be two enormous checks and balances working against him. All while the Republicans in Congress cower helplessly in the minority. They’ve got a very big problem right now — do they continue to blindly support the lamest of lame-duck presidents for two more years, or do they wake up and realize that he is dragging their party’s electoral chances down into the swamp he lives in? The fights among these two factions promise to be vicious, which (to Democrats) will be nothing short of delicious to watch.
Republicans are in disarray. Grab some popcorn and settle in — it’s going to be fun to watch.
— Chris Weigant
Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant
Salon. com just shut down.
Yeah, it’s a tragedy.
The Democrats had better be prepared to offer single-issue bills that address Trump’s insane policies that have driven up the cost of living. It can’t be a gigantic bill that nobody understands.
Restore ACA subsidies. We dare you to vote against it.
End the tariff war. We dare you to vote against it.
Defund the war with Iran. We dare you to vote against it.
Stop mass deportation. We dare you to vote against it.
Etc
If Trump vetos, they need to make Republicans vote against an override. They need to pass them over and over if they fail. They can do investigations and impeachment in the background.
I totally agree.
John from C.:
Yes, they need to strike early, fast and often on these issues.
I like the way you think, John! 🙂
100% all of that.
well that’s the stick, but we also need the carrot. for example:
the donald j trump more money in your pocket bill (minimum wage)
the trumpcare is better than obamacare bill (public option)
God how you must have enjoyed bapping out “Republicans in Disarray” to lead this column. It was good for me, too.
🤣😂🤣😂
Just a thought–Trump may well not make it through the next two years. Any pleasure in the thought is wiped out by the thought of a President Vance. Even if he does make if physically, more or less, he may not have much mental capacity left (dementia, stroke, general cognitive decline). The 25th has to be invoked under current law by the president himself or the vice president and a majority of ‘principal’ cabinet members. I can’t see this bozo invoking it even if he were about to undergo major surgery. Vance would no doubt like to invoke it if he thought it would help his ambitions, but given the current state of disarray, even collapse, would any of the people who can vote on this give Vance that apparent leg up for 2028?
One of the many, many jobs for the next Congress is to implement Raskin’s proposal for the ‘alternative body’ to cabinet members, as provided for in the 25th, or something like it. That would still leave the possibility of a Vance veto, but how would Vance weigh being an incumbent or acting president against charges of disloyalty?
The various prospects, should Trump become more severely incompetent, are alarming and give urgency to the calls for impeachments and firings. Even more irrational governance carried out by others, irrationality filtered through people like Vance, Miller and Vought, or a similar group simply running things in Trump’s name.
I hope the next legislative branch will do the jobs, yes jobs, they have been elected to do.
Wait, what!? No way! I will have you know that Donald “Lame Fuck” Duck is 100% mentally in perfect condition, and if you don’t believe me, just ask him. 🙂
Donald Trump spent the last few weeks prior to Election Day focused on how good he thought a Republican senator’s ass looked. So (take your pick), he either “got his ass-loving ass kicked,” or Democrats “opened up a can of whoop-ass” on Election Day…
🤣
We had this running joke about it in Texas too. The first person who made a joke about Trump’s love of Jon Husted’s ass, I told my crew: “Around here, we don’t mention the ass; you are required to say, ‘Jon Husted’s behind’ because we are going to manifest the Senate flipping Blue and need Ohio and Sherrod Brown ahead.” So anytime anyone new would talk about the Trump and the ass, we’d all crack up laughing (lots of spew alerts) and say: “No, no! Jon Husted’s behind!” And in the end, Husted’s behind will not be seated. 🙂
The most amusing of these is Ted Cruz, since come January he will be the only Republican left in office who has won a statewide election in Texas.
Not to be a wiener or anything of the sort, but just so y’all know, we here in Texas do not find Rafael Cruz the least bit “amusing.”
Democrats didn’t just win a race or two, they completely swept Texas blue. Every statewide office went Democratic, even on the state supreme court.
I know, insane, right!? Of course, the Texas Supreme Court elections are staggered so there were three seats up for reelection and one special election to fill an unexpired term through 2030. And last but certainly not least…… drumroll….. Four women Democrats defeated four Republican men, and the new Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court is Maggie Ellis who is not only the first openly LGBTQ+ person elected to a statewide office in Texas but she is also the first woman elected to lead the Texas Supreme Court. And get this: The Texas Supreme Court is now going to be 7 women and 2 men. Insane! It was a once-in-a-lifetime event that was a long time in the making.
So Cruz really has nothing to lose for making a bid for higher office.
Wanna bet!? 🙂