George Will’s post-mortem:
As this is being written, Republicans seem to have lost a total of 55 House and 11 Senate seats in the last two elections. These are the worst Republican results in consecutive elections since the Depression-era elections of 1930 and 1932 (153 and 22), which presaged exile from the presidency until 1953. If, as seems likely at this writing, in January congressional Republicans have 177 representatives and 44 senators, they will be weaker than at any time since after the 1976 elections, when they were outnumbered in the House 292-143 and the Senate 61-38.
The GOP had it coming. If conservatism cannot overcome its dependance on know-nothing candidates who wear their anti-intellectualism as a badge of honor (‘fruit fly research in France? I kid you not…’), it will remain in the political desert.