The Trump juggernaut Tuesday night brought with it bitter vindication for Mitch McConnell’s extreme obstructionism. The new president will get to pick the next Supreme Court justice or justices and you can bet McConnell is not going to let the filibuster stick around long enough for Democrats to do anything about it. Because while Republicans retained the Senate, they did so narrowly, 51-47. There are two seats as yet undecided—New Hampshire’s race between Republican Kelly Ayotte and Democrat Maggie Hassan and Louisiana’s, which goes to a run-off in December.
Democrats did retain Harry Reid’s Nevada seat, with Catherine Cortez Masto defeating Joe Heck to become the nation’s first Latina Senator. We also flipped Illinois, with Tammy Duckworth beating Mark Kirk. The rest, a dismal status quo.
But there’s a few silver linings—all those Republicans who have been dancing around Donald Trum will now have to embrace him, and all his many, public, loud warts. They made this, now they have to live with it. They’ll also have to live with what will undoubtedly be an empowered bunch of House maniacs who will want to call all the legislative shots.
So, good luck, Mitch McConnell with the actual governing thing. You’ve got the maniacs and Trump and you’re going to have a regular process for funding the government? For increasing the debt limit? You’re going to let 20 million people lose their health insurance and not do anything to replace it? Good luck with all of that.