Op-Ed: The midterm results (so far) show that old political narratives don’t apply anymore
I’ve been mulling over our elections for a year.
I’ve written, debated and tweeted about it. I’ve gone online and read countless articles, books, opinions, and comments. I’ve also watched the nightly news, listened to our radio and watched TV.
I’ve heard every conceivable argument from every corner. I’ve heard how “out-of-touch” old people are. I’ve heard how “elites” don’t care about the “little people.” I’ve heard how “blue” and “red” are not a race that we should use as a basis for evaluating where we are in the country and where we need to go.
And I’ve even watched Republican primaries and Democratic primaries alike to try to understand why each side won or lost.
The truth is, there are many layers to the debate.
And, I will be the first to assure you that the outcome in the midterms was never what I expected.
But it could have been worse.
It could have been more painful.
It could have been more confusing.
The last time I thought we would see four Republicans in the majority in the House — and two in the Senate — was in 2010; Republicans had just lost control of the Senate two years earlier.
We now have a majority in the House, where Democrats have gained a net 16 seats.
We have now a majority in the Senate, where Republicans have gained 16 seats.
But, when I think about the future of American politics, I do so in light of what has come from the midterms.
The House, after the GOP gained a majority, has passed the two most conservative laws in history.
The first — a farm bill that would have cost the average American almost 50 thousand dollars a year — the second — an amendment that would strip more than 2,000 protections from our Medicare system — were both bipartisan achievements.
We finally did something that will never be done. We were able, in just four years, to pass comprehensive immigration reform that ensures that we do away with the system that was a problem, and it is now a model for the world.
And the most
