Sen. John Kerry conceded to President Bush this morning. Republicans picked up four Senate seats and sent Tom Daschle, the minority leader, home (or, more accurately, to a very high-paying job as a Washington lobbyist, like his wife.)
President Bush gained more than 50 percent of the total votes cast, more than anyone since his father. He also got more votes than anyone in history. Quite an achievement. He and his party control the two main branches of government, and he'll have a chance to appoint at least one Supreme Court justice, though it could be three. The conservative -- or at least Republican dream (many conservatives don't care for Bush) -- is now reality. What will they do with it? Look for an overhaul of the tax system, a move to privatize Social Security and continued de-regulation of the economy. As for foreign policy? Who can tell?
And how will the Democrats respond?
There'll be some finger pointing among Democrats. The liberal blogger DailyKos is calling for Howard Dean to be head of the Democratic National Committee, calling Terry McAuliffe's reign a failure.
President Bush and his team ran a fantastic campaign, and the evidence is likely to show that their ground operation turned out to be pretty strong, a good payoff for the investment they put into it. The majority of Bush voters said "moral values" was their issue, according to exit polls. More self-identified conservatives voted in this election than ever before, and they all voted for Bush. Anti-gay marriage amendments brought them out, especially in Ohio.
But more than anything, one Democrat BtC knows put it this way: "There are more of them than there are of us."
Not by much. President Bush and the Republicans control the national government, but this isn't a Nixon '72 or Reagan '84 landslide by any means.
Here in Washington, Republicans did better than they have in years. Dino Rossi has a real shot at winning the governor's mansion, Dave Reichert held on to Jennifer Dunn's House seat and Rob McKenna is the next attorney general. Democrats will likely control both houses of the legislature, so if Rossi is elected, we'll have divided government.
In the only downside for the GOP, Sen. Patty Murray was re-elected in a strong showing.
The Republicans seem to have showed they can definitely compete in this state when they nominate moderate, or moderate-seeming candidates from the Eastside, which has become battleground central.
Tomorrow, BtC's farewell.
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