Where's the silver lining?

The markets have opened and the numbers flashing across the screen are surprsingly green. Perhaps there's a sense that, business-wise, the nation will go back to normal under Dimocrats. Walt wouldn't bet on it.

Meanwhile, White House staff are cleaning up the debris from the watch party. Republican politicos and operatives are running as fast as they can away from ground centre. Work on the triumphal arch has ceased. And so on. 

There's no point in my giving you the latest seat or vote counts. You know what happened. What's harder to know is why. I'll give you a quick thought on that, as well as a guess as to what will happen next. There's got to be a silver lining somewhere in these very dark clouds. 

Throughout the mid-term elections campaign, President Trump kept telling American voters, "I'm not on the ballot," then urging him to vote as if he were on the ballot. And that's what they did. The usual gang of Dimocrats, leftist loonies and TDS sufferers (including more than a few Republicans) voted against him.

Meanwhile, disaffected Republicans and conservatives (not necessarily the same people) failed to heed Walt's advice to hold their noses and vote the straight GOP line. They simply stayed home.

So now we're left with a Democrat-controlled Congress. [Notice he didn't say "Democratic". Ed.] And the proverbial "lame duck" President. 

We have two months, more or less, before the most vicious political war since Reconstruction begins. In that time, both parties will be plotting strategies -- revenge for the Dimocrats and survival for the Republicans -- and, in the case of the Republicans, building bunkers. 

Expect a flurry of pre-emptive pardons, for which the lickspittle meeja will vilify President Trump, overlooking the fact that he will be doing nothing more than Demented Joe Biden (or his autopen) did two years ago. Heads will roll at RNC HQ, and it's not impossible that a cabinet member or two will feel an unpleasant chopping sensation at the back of their necks. (Hello, Pete Hegseth! The Iran war was your idea, wasn't it?)

Speaking of Mr Hegseth, once the new Congress starts "work" in January, the first thing to expect is a flurry of investigations into alleged corruption and malfeasance in every corner of the Trump administration. You think we didn't have enough investigations in the first two years of the second Trump presidency? Just wait! Revenge is the name of the game, and, since another attempt to impeach the President is likely to fail, all the minions and super-minions become targets.

Next will come a flood of attempts to legislate the undoing of most of the things that President Trump or intends to do using his executive powers. The Trump tariffs will come under attack, and rightly so, but that doesn't mean that America will suddenly embrace free trade with Mexico and/or Canada or any other country. Going back to the days of FDR, the Dimocrats can be just as protectionist as the so-called party of big business. The one glimmer of silver lining is that Canadian booze might be available again in US bars and liquor stores.

The problem for the Dimocrats (and for the country) is that any bills that make it through Congress can and will be vetoes by President Trump is he doesn't like them. Breitbart News reported on Monday that if the Democrats captured the majority in both houses, "I guess I'll become Mister Veto." He went on to say, "And then at some point, we’ll probably make deals. That's what’s happened. I mean, this...wouldn't be the first time you’ll have a president, and he won’t have the House or the Senate. They’ll be sending stuff up. You veto it, and eventually, after a month or two of getting all vetoed, you know...they come over, and you make a deal."

Last night, a White House official said the mood there was "defiant". In a statement to BN, the official added, "A final note here: regardless of how today plays out, President Trump's resolve to stop the Radical Left is only going to become stronger. Buckle up!"

Indeed. The next two years is going to be a rough ride for the politicians of both parties, and consequently rough for ordinary Americans who will be the meat in the political sandwich. The silver lining is that the "meat" -- folks like you and me -- will realize what a horrible mistake they made yesterday, and elect, as successor to DJT, another Republican. Lifetime pct .987,