MORE FROM HUFFPOST
MORE FROM HUFFPOST
2014 elections
The best thing Republicans had going for them in this election was the fact that they weren't in the same party as President Obama. But it would be a huge mistake for them to act as though this was an endorsement of their policies -- a mistake they seem likely to make. A mistake that seems destined to be part of the 2016 Republican autopsy.
Luckily for those who won't be returning to Congress -- the tally is 75 -- their power and influence is more sought after than ever, and many "fail up." For them, the days of being lobbied are over. Now some will make the classic switch, joining the ranks of the lobbyists of K Street.
WHAT'S HAPPENING
WHAT'S HAPPENING
The voting turnout in this year's congressional and gubernatorial elections was the lowest since 1942. Much of the story was in young people, poor people, black and Hispanic citizens who tend to support Democrats voting in far lower numbers than in 2008 or 2012. The Democrats just weren't offering them very much. But the other part of the Election Day story was older voters and the white working class, especially men, deserting the Democrats in droves -- again, because Democrats didn't seem to be offering much. Republicans, at least, were promising lower taxes. Turnout on average dropped from 2012 by a staggering 42 percent. But as Sam Wang reported in a post-election piece for the American Prospect, the drop-off was evidently worse for Democrats. The two parts of this story seem to create an impossible conundrum for Democrats.
Obama shouldn't "poison the well"? Really?
