Republicans are gloating today, but then they managed to take an election that favored them and after spending more than $94 million via dark money groups, they managed to win.
It’s a drag that the people are so easily fooled by what money can buy. But as we saw in 2012, dark money can’t buy the White House yet. And the blue wave is coming in 2016, with Republicans facing the exact same map situation as Democrats faced in 2014. And even worse, Hillary Clinton might be at the top of the ticket.
One of the interesting things that came out of last night’s blood bath was that even with Republicans winning, CBS Evening News’ exit poll showed that a by a large margin, the same voters that gave the GOP this win think Clinton will be a good president, whereas they were not so impressed with any of the Republican front runners.
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In our national exit poll, 43% of respondents said Hillary Clinton would make a good president. pic.twitter.com/dEWr2ieNfb
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) November 5, 2014
Speaking of losers, this probably explains Senator Rand Paul’s (only 26% think he would be a good president) ugly tweet:
You didnt think it could get worse than your book tour? It did. Courtesy of the U.S. voters: https://t.co/kGAZVFq7ze pic.twitter.com/zABFStFM67
— Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) November 5, 2014
Republicans are really deluded when they are clinging to a win in Kentucky, a state Obama lost by 23 points and Mitch McConnell had to fight tooth and nail to keep, along with pouring millions of dark money into the state and sending out illegal fliers to intimidate Democrats. Yes, he won, but he is not well liked and the margin was not what it should have been.
So, gloat away, boys, but 2016… She’s a coming. In the middle of all of the chaos on election day, CNN dropped this little Clinton bomb:
But behind the scenes, her campaign machine is quietly whirring to life.
Clinton insiders have begun to approach Washington-based Democratic operatives who may play a role in a potential campaign and are soliciting their recommendations on other possible staffers, according to Democrats familiar with the conversations.
A number Clinton associates are compiling staffing lists, according to multiple Democratic sources. Michael Whouley and Minyon Moore of the Democratic communications and consulting firm Dewey Square Group are one conduit to Clinton’s inner circle and among the primary compilers of the campaign universe that will surround Clinton, should she run.
She’s coming for you, Republicans.
Winning an election that was an expected win isn’t a mandate on the Republican platform, especially not when raising the minimum wage won in four red states. (You have to love the power of dark money that fooled voters who are FOR the minimum wage into voting for a party that thinks we need to abolish it all together.)
So while House Republicans didn’t manage to pick up the 29 seats expected in a second-term midterm, they did manage to take advantage of the red wave map of 2014, and Republicans now control the Senate. However, they will only be controlling the senate for two years before they face the blue wave. And it will be even more daunting if Democrats have a strong front runner like Hillary Clinton on the top of the ticket, in a presidential election when more Democrats turn out.
Republicans are crowing now, but that’s what they do. In reality they should be looking at their failed platform and trying to fix it. Wins like this only exacerbate their inability to force their members and base into some semblance of reality that would win the White House. Democrats held 21 of the 30 six seats contested last night. In 2016, the burden of defending will switch to Republicans who will be defending the Tea Party sweep of 2010, with Republicans holding 24 out of 33 seats being contested.
In the Senate Republicans didn’t manage to do a lot of damage to states that will be in play in 2016. They picked up North Carolina, Iowa and Colorado (I posit that far right Tea Partier Joni Ernst might not help Republicans win Iowa over for the White House — familiarity breeds contempt sometimes and with extremists, this is more often the case). But Arkansas, Montana, South Dakota and West Virginia probably aren’t going to be up for grabs in 2016.
One imagines Ms Clinton texting last night, “GOP wave? LOL. See you boys in 2016.”
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Sarah has been credentialed to cover President Barack Obama, then VP Joe Biden, 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and exclusively interviewed Speaker Nancy Pelosi multiple times and exclusively covered her first home appearance after the first impeachment of then President Donald Trump.
Sarah is two-time Telly award winning video producer and a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.
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