More improbable than the Democrats’ stellar day was Wall Street’s reaction to it. “Stock market today: Dow surges 1,500 points in best day of 2026, S&P 500 and Nasdaq rally after historic midterm election.”
At the same time, djt, Donald’s own corporation, fell to its all-time low, $4.49 (its high was $92.05 in 02/22). What do I think? The “smart money” is driving up the price of the market in preparation for a huge sell-off. Beware! But I am no financial advisor, so beware acting on my advice!
The smart money didn’t wait long to cash in their gains. The next day.
Back to politics.
For starters, the pollsters got it wrong. Virtually every one of them, from Nate Silver on down, cautioned Democrats to be less optimistic about a so-called Blue Wave, claiming that in recent years Republican voters had not cooperated with pollsters, so Democrats were over represented in polls. They were pretty sure that we should expect not to do as well as the polls indicated. Boy were they wrong!
For starters, take the Texas Senate race. Up until Election Day, Democrat James Talarico‘s lead was dwindling down to one point, sometimes a tie, and sometimes the indecently corrupt Trump candidate, Republican Ken Paxton, running ahead by one or two points. Talarico won Texas by 12 points. A bloodbath. The Democrats won Senate seats that no poll had picked for them, as they were historically red states, in some cases, very red states. Maine, North Carolina, Ohio, but especially South Carolina, Kansas, Iowa and Texas. As much of a surprise as Democrats winning these Republican states was the margin by which they beat the Republicans. The Republicans have some serious soul-searching to do while they lick their wounds over the next few years.
The Guardian has a wonderful page: Where Trump and Republicans lost the midterms – a visual analysis of the key states. Check it out! It’s actually a fun and interactive page. It seems to suggest that virtually every demographic – the young, the old; the educated, the uneducated; the rich, and the poor – swung to the left in significant numbers. I don’t think the article looked at Jewish voters, whom I suspect did not swing further to the left this time in the face of the new Left’s increasing antisemitism, having voted for Democrats since the days of FDR.
Running up to the election, polls suggested that the Democrats would take the Senate by 53 to 47, but we should be prepared for 52 or 51. At the moment, the day after the election, Democrats have won 54 Senate seats and the Republicans 44. But there are two contests that have not been decided and in both cases they are Republican states and Democrats lead in both. At least one of these states will probably go to a recount. My simple point is Democrats will capture 55 seats in the Senate. That is an historic thumping of Republicans, as 2011 is the last time Democrats had such a strong plurality in the Senate.
Up to date as of this moment, House results show the Democrats have captured 253 seats to the Republicans’ 161. A 90 seat difference. 21 seats have not been decided. Scatter them equally to both parties and the Democrats will seat 263 to 172 for the Republicans. Still a 90 seat difference. The Democrats’ best year since 1991.
The Democrats will have enough power in the House to impeach Donald Trump for the third time. But they don’t have enough of a plurality in the Senate to convict him unless lots of Republicans join them. My suspicion is, they won’t bother until and unless he commits an offense so egregious that even his own party turns on him. Is it possible?
Let’s not forget Governor’s races. 29 Democrats to 20 Republicans. In Alaska, the Democrat commands a huuuge lead over his second place rival. But Alaska is a ranked choice voting state, and the winner needs to win a majority of the votes. But the other candidates are Republican leaning, so a Republican may win in Alaska. But it will take days. So, 29 Democratic governors to 21 Republican governors. Best since 1993.
I suggested that the Republicans must do some serious soul-searching over the next few years. But I would like to emphasize that the most probable reason for the Democratic tsunami was the unpopularity of the most corrupt office holder in American history, Donald J Trump, currently a dismal 37% approval. The Democrats on their side are made up of corporate Democrats who are on their way out (the voting public is NOT looking for moderation, they’re looking for Democrats who can deliver a liberal, working class, agenda). Progressive/Liberal Democrats are in the ascendant. As are DSA Democrats, especially the antisemites among them, who if they take over the party will doom the Democratic Party, if not our country, for a generation or more.
How about the Supreme Court? Contrary to Democratic talking heads, Trump does have time to appoint another Trump conservative to the bench. He has two more months to impose his will on the nation. But Samuel Alito has indicated he will not step down anytime soon and Clarence Thomas will not step down at least until he becomes the longest serving justice in SCOTUS’ history which will not take place in the next few months. So, relax, the next associate justices may be ours!
This is what I believe. How long will it take the Republicans to shed their djt/MAGA skin? Americans have short memories. As for our team: Democrats of the future need to make clear to the voting public that We (liberal/Progressive) Democrats are Adam Smith capitalists, we believe in a regulated capitalism not unfettered capitalism. We are not Marxian socialists. Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance, the 40 hour work week, are all socialistic programs that make capitalism more palatable. We reject outright the musings of socialists who are ignorant of basic economics and who believe themselves to be smarter and more creative than our Founding Fathers, slavery notwithstanding, who believe that the U.S. Constitution needs to be scrapped and replaced by their vision of an anti-American future. We Democrats believe in competition and we believe in cooperation. And compassion. We believe that the super-rich have had it all too good these past 50 years, not paying a penny of income tax; and, therefore, a nationwide, non-trivial, wealth tax is a priority for us. If the Elon Musk’s of our nation choose to leave the country instead of contributing to our revenue stream, there will be consequences, both financial and criminal. We also stand four-square for the end of money in politics and large corporation lobbying. And we stand for pulling the plug on commercial AI and the immediate closure of all data centers. And, finally, taking seriously all of humanity’s long term environmental crises. In other words, my friends, we stand for pretty much everything that the majority of Americans stand for. If we don’t deliver this time, we will deserve what we get.
Why Physics Says We Will NEVER Reach Mars 🚀 | Leonard Susskind Explains Reality
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TZ3dES5WWQ
Jewish Democrats: For nearly a century, one party has captured the vast majority of Jewish votes.
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/jewish-democrats/
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