I have three thoughts I want to share.
First, there are a lot of people expressing astonishment at the election results, and wondering "how did this happen?"
Vote suppression worked. I think we are going to see a slew of stories the next few weeks, of just how many people showed up at the polls, and were denied their vote. My wife knows two people where she worked were not allowed to vote. We reside in North Carolina.
Stoking the fears of the wrong-wing base worked. Conservatives and Republicans really, really, truly believe that if Obama is not stopped, the United States will be destroyed. They made sure their side got out and voted. They repeatedly refer to his use of executive powers as "lawless" and "unconstitutional."
Which leads to my next point. Republicans WILL try to impeach Obama. And this impeachment process is going to be nastier, more brutal, and more fanatical than Bill Clinton's.
And there is a good chance the Republicans will succeed. Because Obama has continued, and even extended, the surveillance and police state policies and actions begun under the Bush regime. No fly lists. NSA tracking of all cell phones and emails. Secret renditions and enhanced interrogation. Assassination of American citizens so long as they happen to be "overseas." Use of aerial drones to kill people - again, so long as they happen to be "overseas." Without a single twinge of guilt, the Republicans are going to dredge up every unconstitutional aspect of our surveillance and police state and try to impeach Obama with them. Never mind that Bush did the very same things. It will be the height of irony that Obama will be impeached over the very same actions that he refused to force Bush and his minions to account for. The Republicans are going to cloak themselves in the mantle of saviors of our basic constitutional liberties. And all without ever doing a single damn thing to roll back the surveillance and police state.
Third, these new Republicans and conservatives are ruthless, vindictive, blood-thirsty, and prone to violence. They have been raised in a society that celebrates gratuitous violence in its entertainment. Worse, the archetypical American hero is someone who takes the law into their own hands, and exacts vengeance through a prolonged and "action-packed" application of violence.
And make no mistake - they intend to eliminate us. And, yes, that does mean killing us. Have any of them expressed remorse for the shooting of Rep. Gabby Gifford? Here, go read this January 2014 story about Michael Grimm, the Republican Representative for New York's 11th congressional district, which consists of Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn. Here's what transpired between Rep. Grimm and a journalist once the cameras were off:
GRIMM: Let me be clear to you, you ever do that to me again I’ll throw you off this fucking balcony.
SCOTTO: Why? I just wanted to ask you…
(Cross talk.)
GRIMM: If you ever do that to me again…
SCOTTO: Why? Why? It’s a valid question.
(Cross talk.)
GRIMM: No, no, you’re not man enough, you’re not man enough. I’ll break you in half. Like a boy.
The thing is, conservative and Republican policies do not work. They, in fact, make things worse. So as the mess in Washington becomes worse and worse, the temper of these Republicans is going to become ever more explosive and enraged. For them, impeachment will become The One Thing That Has to Happen to make everything right again. They are going to work themselves up into a towering rage, and the psychological and emotional investment they make in impeachment over the coming year will make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for them to back down.