OPINION:
In 2010, President Obama described the midterm elections as a “shellacking” for Democrats, who lost 63 seats in the House. Then, as now, the economy was the top issue.
If Republicans could have had a worse night, I do not know what it would be. From Maine to Michigan to Texas, Republicans failed miserably to get any message across to voters that would have persuaded a majority to vote for their candidates.
One reason for the debacle was that too many Republican candidates ran on fear — fear of socialism and warnings of “jihadis,” a rhetoric deployed by critics against Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed.
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The blame game started before the night was over. President Trump ludicrously blamed Fox News for the many defeats. In a way, he may be right.
Fox carried many of Mr. Trump’s rambling, egotistic rallies in which he often repeated himself, used vulgar language, called Democrats names and demeaned others. His closing remarks were at the Reflecting Pool between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. He sounded more like someone trying to sell you a pool for your backyard than a president.
Mr. Trump has fulfilled some promises. He closed the border, deported many undocumented immigrants and cut taxes for the wealthy, but his caustic personality sometimes overwhelmed his triumphs.
In 2010, when Mr. Obama used the word “shellacking,” headlines said he was humbled. No one ever accused Donald Trump of having humility.
The problem for Democrats is that they might choose revenge against Mr. Trump over cooperation with him. They will almost certainly be controlled by their new hard-left members in both chambers. Revenge might turn off many voters in the 2028 elections.
Yes, there can and should be investigations of any corruption. Don’t Republicans do the same? With the president able to veto any legislation Congress passes, Democrats are unlikely to enact their agenda, including “Medicare for All” and ending the war against Iran.
If they are smart, they will come up with a few bills that Mr. Trump could sign. That would give them an advantage in public opinion and a claim that the government can work again.
The midterm elections reveal what has been observable for some time. There has been a generational shift in beliefs and priorities, as well as in how younger people view the economy and morality. Many now lack a firm ideology. For them, it appears that everything is about feelings rather than substance.
These changes from older generations have many “fathers.” First, another generation has been raised without believing they must contribute to their country’s welfare. Second, the education system, from public schools to universities, has indoctrinated young people. It has failed to teach them how to think, instead teaching them what to think.
Then there has been a decline in belief in God and in church attendance, which, in the past, taught people more about how to live than about how to make a living.
The result has been an intellectual and moral vacuum that politicians have been all too ready to fill. Though they can change little — if they could, wouldn’t they have done so by now, as the country remains divided? — they tell people what the people want to hear.
One result of the election is evident in Michigan, where Mr. El-Sayed won the Senate race. As Bret Stephens wrote in The New York Times: “A vote for Abdul El-Sayed, the Democrat, was a vote not just for a stridently anti-Israel candidate but for the normalization of antisemitism that his candidacy has helped to produce.”
A new Gallup poll — conducted in October 2026, the most recent pre-midterm reading — finds that Congress has a miserable 14% approval. That rating is unlikely to change as long as politicians keep putting their own interests first and remain in the grip of their respective extreme wings.
According to reporting highlighted on Fox News’ “Faulkner Focus,” nearly two dozen far-left candidates backed by the Democratic Socialists of America were on midterm ballots, with at least five winning seats in the House.
Younger people with few life experiences — often called “the TikTok generation” — who have little experience with jobs, capitalism or sacrifice for their country were key in this election. They may come to regret it if the full impact of socialism takes hold.
• Readers may email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@tribpub.com. Look for Cal Thomas’ latest book, “A Watchman in the Night: What I’ve Seen Over 50 Years Reporting on America” (Humanix Books).
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