When you examine the data, there is only one word that accurately describes the midterm results.  The word is MANDATE.  When you look at the turnovers at the federal and state level, it wasn't even close.  Republicans got ZERO. Zip. Nada. Zilch. Nuthin. Not.A.Single.One.

55% of Americans voted against Republicans running for Congress.
59% of Americans voted against Republicans in Senate contests.
62% of Americans voted against Republicans running for governor.

Adding insult to injury, Independents broke 3 to 2 for Democratic candidates.

This thumping will leave a mark.   Bush might have avoided Icarus' fate if he had spent more time in the reality-based world.  The Decider Icarus can make all the noise he wants about bi-partisan intentions.    No one is listening.   Here's the beauty of this victory: Armed with a popular mandate that spans the nation, our job is simple.  We have to keep the Corrupt Bastards grounded in  reality.   Below the fold are a few suggestions that should help put cement shoes on the neo-cons, their apologists, shills, and cronies.

Living in a deep-red state like Kansas means that elections are usually pretty boring. This year, however, the tides are really turning against the GOP, even here. Because of this, I feel it's important that I let some of our blue-state readers get a glimpse inside the process. And if any of you have any red-state elections stories, feel free to let everyone know in the comments.

There's a certain kind of blog posting that pisses me off to no end.  You know the type.

The Democrats are f**ked.  Rasmussen says Bush's approval rating is up 2 points.  And Karl Rove is holding Osama Bin Laden in a cage and will bring him to Fox News's studios on November 2.  And Chuck Schumer and Rahm Emanuel suck ass and don't know how to run a campaign. They're doing everything wrong.  And Nancy Pelosi is no good on TV.  And [bitch bitch bitch whine whine].

In honor of Atrios I am calling this the WATB diary.  It represents the one thing about Daily Kos and the progressive blogs that  makes me want to rip my laptop out of its socket and throw it through my 21st floor window  (If you're walking a by a tall office building in the West 50's in Manhattan today, please be careful!).  Again, in honor of Atrios, I'll call this the WATB dictum, which I describe thusly:

Over at Daily Kos, there a front page article giving the latest focus group results form Frank "is he with us, or again' us" Luntz.  

Mixed into his "Ten Commandments for 2008 Democrats" there are some points worth a little thought -- even if none of them offer much more than what we've already heard a thousand times.  However, at the end of his list, there's a piece of advice that I find so sour, so distateful, that I can't help but respond.

10. Winning is everything. And the only thing. As in 2004, Democrats want to win. Unlike 2004, they REALLY want to win. No candidate will secure the nomination whom they fear will lose to the Republican nominee.  Electability is going to play a major role in 2008

I hate this rule, hate it with the passion I usually reserve for Rumsfeld's manic smirk.  You know what determines if someone is electable?  The election, nothing else.  If we learned nothing over the last few cycles, it should be that agonizing over electability is one of the most useless activities we can engage in.  It's idiotic, and it's idiotic for three reasons...

How many times have you heard it?  The Democratic Party has no coherent message.  Democrats lack focus, discipline, leadership.  On the other hand, Republicans are presented as the party that keeps its act together.  Republicans know how to toe the line.  They have a solid message of... of...  something.

Of course, there's little or no truth to this perception.  Democrats stand for what they've always stood for: fair wages, access to health care, equal rights, and a decent concern for the environment.

Republicans stand for their traditional values: incompetence, corruption, and the idea that there's something intrinsically patriotic about screwing the average person.

But there's little doubt that, not matter how unfair, the Democrats have been tagged by the media as the party without a message.  To get past that label is going to take something big, something decisive.  Here's an idea: vote for Democrats, and we will kick Bush out of the White House.

This is directed at anybody who thinks that their vote will not be important in the next election for whatever reason. It doesn't matter whether you are a Green disgusted at what you see as a lack of spine by the Democrats or a former Hackett supporter disgusted at what you see as an insular establishment who determines the candidates for Senate in smoke-filled backrooms. You are missing the key point as to why it is so important that you go to the polls and vote for a Democrat. You forget that a vote for a Democrat for Senate or the House is a vote for John Conyers as chair of the House Judiciary Committee.

Today, I am endorsing Chuck Pennacchio for Senate in 2006. This will be one of many endorsements I will be making on my blog and linking to. I will not always endorse the establishment candidate. I may even endorse a sleeper candidate from time to time.

I feel that the Democratic Party must become a party of principle if we are to win again and build a permanent majority so that Bush and his minions can never take power again. This means that we should vote for the candidate who is the best person on the issues, who plays by the rules, who campaigns actively, and who will listen to people.

This is a followup to this diary from last night by Adam T.

Update [2006-1-2 16:23:38 by NeuvoLiberal]: John Morris and Roger Waun will field Democratic challeges in TX-12 and TX-13, respectively. Thanks are due UKLIB at myDD and boadicia over at dKos for posting updates on the filing status. We have 4 filings left to cover all the bases in the lone star state, and 3 hours to do so.

Update [2006-1-2 20:46:8 by NeuvoLiberal]: Per 5:45pm posting, all the CDs in Texas except TX-11 have a Democratic candidate. Please see this posting, and please stay abreast with filing deadlines and status at Barry Welsh's 2006 Congressional Races page, and get involved at local and national national levels. Thanks for helping and participating. Next up: WV (01.28.06), Kentucky (01.31.06), NM (02.14.06), and OH (02.16.06). Have a great day!

Cross posted on Daily Kos and Booman Tribune

If we survive the next two plus years, I've started to think about what I consider to be non-negotiable demands I will make of the next president.

Here are some things that I've come up with, what about you?

A clearly defined strategy for dealing with Iraq. This does not mean a bunch of double talk, triple speak and hemming and hawing. It means a precise description of what will happen, how it will happen, and when it will happen. This must be articulated in clear and crisp sentences which contain a beginning, a middle and an end.