Schadenfreude. We've all been there. We were there in 2008 and now we find ourselves there again in 2012. Demography and facts appear to be on our side. We are winning again. The uglies are desperate and want to leave the country or secede. Life is good.
For the moment.
We got our a@# handed to us in 2010. We lost state legislatures which then went on to gerrymander states like Pennsylvania... a blue state, where 5 of 18 US Representatives are Democratic despite Obama's decisive win in the state. In Virginia only 3 of 11 House votes will be Democratic next year; 5 of 14 in Michigan. These are all states we won in 2008 and 2012. Our failure in 2010 is the reason John Boehner will still be Speaker of the House.
Things are not lost though. A large percentage of the Republican power structure has jumped the shark and is proving unable to deal with the reality on the ground: demography and facts are indeed not on their side. We can hope that their party won't catch a clue but we would be fools.
Republicans will push hard to move the pendulum in 2014. They will gouge us if we do not give the voters a clear message. The nutjobs on the Republican right are offering us their most recent message: they want to tear us apart. We have another message: we want to bring people together. Obama seeks to heal the breach. We offer our hand to the suspicious nose. It can bite us or come home to the family America. Dogs never respond well to shame. Welcome our opponents back to the America we believe in.
Be positive.
We have more elections to win.
And be prepared for the Republican shift if their message is failing. Be vigilant.