You can hear how this is supposed to play out now from the mediaites. Now the filibuster is suddenly an acceptable tool, and I'm certain they feel everything should return to 60-vote majority votes. Reid's already talking compromise, something he never practiced as majority leader.CNN: A Republican tide ripped the Senate away from Democrats Tuesday, according to CNN projections, giving the GOP full control of Congress and the power to pin down President Barack Obama during his last two years in office.
The thumping win upends the balance of power between the White House and Capitol Hill only six years after Obama's Democrats swept to power and marginalized Republicans in a rush to reform health care, Wall Street and pass a huge stimulus package.
Now, it's Democrats who will take the back seat on Capitol Hill, relying mostly on the power of the filibuster to stymie Republicans and keep Obama's legacy intact.
"For too long, this administration has tried to tell the American people what is good for them and then blame somebody else when their policies didn't work out," Mitch McConnell, who is expected to become the next Senate majority leader, said in a victory speech.
In the House, the GOP won 246 seats, its largest majority since World War II. Speaker John Boehner, celebrating a widened majority, said he is "humbled by the responsibility the American people have placed with us."
"But this is not a time for celebration," he said. "It's time for government to start getting results and implementing solutions to the challenges facing our country, starting with our still-struggling economy. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who has controlled the Senate since 2007, congratulated Republicans on their victory.
"The message from voters is clear: they want us to work together," Reid said. "I look forward to working with Senator McConnell to get things done for the middle class."
But there was silence from the White House after Tuesday's results became clear. Obama will make a public statement Wednesday on an election many will see as a repudiation of his presidency, and he will host bipartisan leaders on Friday to try to chart a way forward.
Now is the time to hand the Democrats a taste of their own medicine with everything they wrought on this country for the past eight years in congressional power. However, call it skepticism, call it cynicism, but I find it difficult to believe that the leadership of McConnell/Cornyn and Boehner/McCarthy at the helm will provide such assurances. Are they even capable of holding an overreaching president and his Executive Branch accountable? The people who voted them back into power are expecting it, but will they fulfill those expectations?
Related links: Sen. Ted Cruz: Republican victory a powerful repudiation of the Obama agenda
Obama in denial, says he doesn’t feel repudiated in last night’s Republican wave election
The Republicans Have a Huge Mandate -- Whether They Know It or Not
Morning after: Obama, GOP in new political dynamic
Republicans win the Senate majority; Update: No WH congratulations?
