LogFAQs > #911966097

Anyway, I may have more to say on this tomorrow when I/we have a better grasp on all the results since there are still a number of races outstanding/I'm still playing catch-up a bit on the time I missed.

But the Senate is really disappointing. Which seems kind of weird given the House is mostly performing within expectation. With the Senate results as it is, it does feel hollow to say "blue wave" but then you look at the popular vote and the House and historically I mean.. it technically is? I don't think I'm in favor of using the term (except mocking "RED WAVE" which is always okay.)

While I've backed away from the ledge I was nearing around 8:30 or whenever I made the decision to check the **** out of this topic, election coverage, and being awake I gotta say I still feel disappointed. Part of that is surely because as we all know (do we? Maybe not, I'm probably overestimating my own notability) I was high up on the optimistic end for how the night would turn out and we definitely didn't get there. We're hovering around my "Cynicism" forecast (which was around/slightly above Suprak's predix IIRC) so like... this outcome wasn't outside my range of expected outcomes but it still hurt to see it happen, especially since it felt kind of front-loaded with the Indiana and Florida (always florida) one-two punch.

But also because I think the Senate results - whatever reason you attribute to them - will be seen by Trump and the GOP (and make no mistake they are one-and-the-same and have been since 2016) will see it as validation for the appeals to race and fear that he was going hard on in the final weeks. And in certain areas that might not even be the wrong calculation, at a certain point the results just speak for themselves. And so I think they'll double-down on that strategy going forward. 2020 is going to be dark. And it's just so depressing to me to see that's where this country is heading. I've always thought - and said both before, during, and after - that Trump winning in 2016 meant we were heading down this path and that was probably the last real chance to change course... but a blue tsunami in 2018 was the secret emergency last resort breaks on that and even with a good night in the House, the Senate results keep it from being an indisputable repudiation. So here we go.

On a slightly more positive note (whatever I can muster of it, this was an alarmingly dark night for me) is that taking the House is significant going forward. We'll finally have oversight on this administration. The GOP committees have been a joke on this front (in the House at least, the Senate was more legit) and that has been remedied. Any of the worst legislative agenda from Trump will be halted. Though it was always a running joke, there will be no Wall. The ACA is safe... well, what still stands of it (barring lame-duck shenanigans and tbqh I'm not sure what goes on there. Maybe nothing, maybe chaos.) Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are safe and the House originates all spending so budgets should be saner. The Mueller investigation is safe because even in the worst case scenario (and I legit think it was plausible if the GOP held both chambers) that he is fired/Rosenstein is replaced the House can hire him and keep it going.

All things equal (i.e. ignoring the implausibility), I'd prefer the Senate over the House because of its power for confirmations, but gaining the House is still a huge deal.

Think I had something else to say, but Walker was just called as having lost and I lost my train of thought so let's cut it here for now.
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