I watched the election results on TV last night with my family. As it became clear that the Democrats were going to win the House, some of the talking heads said the results of the evening overall did not indicate a “blue wave.” I disagree. Despite Russian meddling, voter intimidation, voter suppression, and gerrymandering, the Democrats managed to overcome these obstacles and win.
It’s not surprising that Democrats didn’t win the Senate. That system is rigged to favor conservative states with tiny populations. Why should Wyoming (pop. 573,720) get the same number of senators as California (39 million)? That’s how we end up with the kind of minority rule situation we find ourselves in now. Look at this graphic from Huffington Post that someone screenshotted last night:
Voters placed 36 million votes to win 41 Democratic senators, and only 29 million votes to win 51 Republican senators. It’s a form of cheating that’s been legalized.
The good news is that in the House, 313 districts moved to the left, and only a few dozen moved to the right. The New York Times has a good infographic that makes the Blue Wave evident:
Here’s more: “But the swing districts don’t tell the whole story — they represent the crest of the wave. The average district nationwide moved 10 percentage points to the left this year.”
So not a Blue Tsunami. A Blue Wave. I’ll take it.
Image: Brett Allen/Shutterstock