Seriously folks, when you start off arguing with fanatics it's alomst impossible to have a real discussion, because you have to spend so much time refuting all this junk that has no relation to reality. so maybe we can try again.

The GOP is of course trumpeting two wins in the state races as a huge resurgence and a sign that the country has turned on the Demos, while downplaying the fact than they didn't win any races that actually involved the federal government.

New Jersey really seemed like a no brainer - a socially moderate Republican beat a corrupt incumbant governor who made millions working for Goldman Sachs, probably one of the most hated names in the U.S. right now. The fact that Obama's approval rating in New Jersey is 57% is pretty good evidence that this election was NOT about Obama.

Virginia has moved from being a solidly GOP safe state to a swing state, and this time it swung to the Republicans. Even though Bo Mc Donnell is a social conservative, he campaigned on economic issues, and it's definitely true that a bad economy hurts the party in power.

I think that's what that Demos really have to worry about - they've been way too timid about taking real actions to make things better for regular Americans while the richest are still raking in insane amounts, as the latest uproar over the huge bonuses Goldman sachs just handed out demonstrate. If they've got any sense of self-preservation, once the health care debate subsides they'll turn their attention to the horrible unemployment situation - and let's face it, it's just the end of a trend that's been going on for decades as well-paying blue collar jobs went to Mexico, China, other "free trade partners" with no real labor or environmental regualtions, letting the corporations revert back to practices that haven't been allowed in the U.S. for 75 or more years.

The other big race of course was New york's 23rd Congressional District, where the far-rightwingnuts managed to give the district to a Democrat for the very first time in over a century, since the district was formed. Yeah, they were moderate republicans because tthis was rural New York, not rural Dixieland, but suddenly all these out of state far-righters like Palin and Bachmann decided the party's candidate wasn't pureenough for their tastes and gave a huge amount of money to the rightie 3rd party candidate Doug Hoffman, himself a carpetbagger who didn't actually live in the district. The actual GOP candidate Dierdre Scozzafava withdrew, and now the House is up one more Democrat.

I find THAT pretty fricking interesting and more indicative of a real trend. The fight in the GOP between the realists and the far-right could very well cripple them even more. And Beck, Malkin, and other shapers of wingnut philosophy are spinning this as a call for further attempts for the teabaggers to take over the GOP. Thre's already two big Senate races in California and Florida where the far-righties and the moderates will be lining up for a big showdown, and they'll probably get creaemed in both states with the wingnuts come out on top.