Blue Wave Down
In a song by the contemporary rock group, Five For Fighting, John Ondrasik sings:
“Tuesday came and went…
Like a helicopter overhead”
And so it did. Midterm election Tuesday FELT like a helicopter flying overhead. The noise was deafening. The shadow raced across our landscape at breakneck speed, as if to scorch the land. Like a helicopter, the earth shook. And, like a helicopter, it faded into the distance, getting smaller and smaller as time passed.
Prior to election day, EVERYONE said what a crucial election it would be. The Democrats said it would be essential to their ongoing attack (which they like to call “the resistance”) on President Trump, who, they say (with absolutely no evidence to back up their claim) was fraudulently elected. The Republicans, on the other hand, said that it was essential to further advance the Trump agenda. So, the helicopter that was the 2018 midterms, BOTH sides said, would come crashing down to either crush Donald Trump or beat the Democrats back yet again. In the end, however, the helicopter didn’t crash at all: it was, instead, a soft landing.
Neither side got all it wanted, yet both sides scored points. Which, in divisive times such as these, is EXACTLY what the framers of our Constitution envisioned when they drafted the document two and a half centuries ago. The claims of “disenfranchisement” promulgated by the leftist liberal “progressive” Democrats were shown, once again, to be baseless. The genius of the American system of government, once again, was on display for all to see.
The “Blue Wave” that was fervently hoped for by the Democrats did not happen. It’s true that they picked up approximately 27 seats in the House (source: Time Magazine). Although this was much less than what was predicted, it was enough to allow them to claim a House majority for the first time since 2010. But the shift was much less impressive than the 60 seats lost by the Democrats in the midterm 2010 election, two years into the Obama Presidency. Further, the Republicans did quite well in a number of high profile races such as Ted Cruz over Beto O’Rourke in Texas, Rick Scott over Bill Nelson in Florida and Ron DeSantis over Andrew Gillum in the Florida gubernatorial race. And the Republican achievement is even more impressive when one considers that Democrat billionaires such as George Soros, Thomas Steyer and Michael Bloomberg outspent Republicans wildly in several races, and that there were personal appearances for the Democrats by every Hollywood celebrity short of Roman Polanski. So, despite all of the above, the Republicans strengthened their hold of the Senate and minimized their losses in the house.
And, the reasons for this are clear. Number one is, of course, Donald Trump. More than any single factor, Trump’s campaigning and energy saved the day, YET AGAIN, for the Republicans. And, if one considers this election to be a referendum on Donald Trump (as Trump himself encouraged, and which, PRIOR to the election was also touted by the Democrats, but, post election, not so much), turns out, he did pretty well.
Despite historical precedents of massive reversals following three chamber sweeps (as occurred in 2016), despite overtly partisan media coverage, and despite the dire predictions by numerous analysts and pollsters that Republicans would loose the Senate, Republicans actually GAINED Senate seats: at least three and possibly four. And several of the victories noted above were delivered personally by Mr. Trump as evidenced by dramatic shifts in polling numbers before and after his visits.
Next, is Brett Kavanaugh. Or, more precisely, Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings. In EVERY “battleground” state in which an incumbent Democrat voted AGAINST Mr. Kavanaugh’s confirmation, that Democrat was defeated. Apparently, open minded Americans were appalled at the proceedings and the way Kavanaugh was treated.
Next, the migrant caravan on the march across Mexico raised the index of concern that most Americans feel toward open borders. The fact that the caravan migrants refused settlement offers from the Mexican government brought into question the legitimacy of their claims to be “asylum seekers”. The photos and videos of many migrants swinging clubs, throwing bottles and tearing down fences further increased national anxiety. And the likelihood that at least SOME criminals, terrorists and MS13 gangsters had mingled in with the migrants further distressed voters.
Lastly, the Democratic agenda itself must also be “credited” with damping down the “blue wave”. With a few exceptions (Occasio-Cortez in deep blue Brooklyn and the Bronx, and Ilhan Omar in Minnesota, both areas with large amounts of foriegn born citizens) far left operatives such as Beto O’Rourke, Kara Eastman, Dana Balter, and Katie Porter and others were all defeated.
In the end, the “blue wave” was more of a splash. In the end, with a Democratic House Of Representatives, the Trump program may be more difficult to implement, but is still very much alive. In the end, America voted for moderation. How novel!