The results last night have been analyzed to death because political news is so slow that pundits need to find danger for the Obama administration in order to gin up ratings for the coming election cycle.

But looking at the data objectively, democrats should learn three lessons from last night and republicans one.

DEMOCRATS

1. Get back to grassroots, exciting campaigning. Otherwise our apathetic base stays home.

2. Recruit charismatic candidates who appeal to new voters and minorities. Otherwise our apathetic base stays home.

3. Look for every opportunity to create contests between rational sounding democrats versus tea-party-type conservative populists. This causes even moderate independents to vote democratic.

REPUBLICANS

1. Use the McDonnell/Christy big tent model and not the Palin/Club for Growth model. If Virginia, New Jersey and NY-23 did not prove this beyond any doubt to the GOP -- republicans will win far fewer seats than they expect in 2010. Next test --are they dumb enough to destroy Crist in Florida and hand another Senate seat to the Democrats?

Stay tuned to see if theSE obvious lessons are learned or ignored.

Wonder if Sarah Palin and the Tea Party gang are gonna go after Kay Bailey Hutchinson in the Texas Governor's race? Dick Cheney has already endorsed her and pledged to campaign for her. I imagine he'll do some fundraising for her too. Interesting race.

Some insight into righties thinking on DeMints 15,000 strong conference call:

Sen. Jim DeMint says Republicans must be "rock solid" conservatives to win in 2010, and predicted a national "army" will rise up next year.

TPMDC listened in last night on a call run by DeMint's Senate Conservatives Fund as they ticked off the races they are watching and detailed the conservative direction they think Republicans need to head toward.

DeMint said he wanted to "harness the energy" he saw during the tea parties.

He said he wants to show that "anywhere in the country," a "principled Republican with conservative principles" can win.

"That is going to change politics in America," he said. "You're going to see an army of Americans fighting for freedom in this next election."

Full article:

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I agree, good post.

Regarding Republicans, any endorsement from any former Bush Asministration official would probably be anathema. Which is probably at least one reason why McCain lost in 2008. He simply couldn't distance himself far enough from Bush.

Sarah Palin, though she did enjoy some brief popularity in the limelight, is also probably not a good champion for GOP causes in either 2010 or 2012. Moderately conserative to moderate candidates are the best bet or the GOP in the foreseeable future.

For Democrats, moderately liberal to moderate candidates would probably still garner the best results.

For both parties, the trick is to get back to rheir mainstream roots and support base.

In that way, the voters will have a better slate of candidates to choose from, and there probably would not be as much disaffection over the election resuls, since the winner of any election would be more inclined to represent the will of all, instead of blindly adhereing to party loyalty and party lines.

Just going by the trend in the GOP, I am afraid they are going to go hard right in 2010 and 2012, costing them even more seats and giving Obama a guaranteed 2d term.

Palin has been one of Rick Perry's buddies since the election last year. Cheney may not be popular nationally,but he he still has a lot of clout in the GOP base in Texas. Lots of friends with lots of cash too.

Cash and clout can give you some leverage, but won't necessarily influence the outcome of elections.

Going hard right will totally screw the Republican Party. Just as a hard left stance would be harmful to Democrats.

At some point in time one or both parties is going to have to get back in touch with it's mainstream grassroots or go the way of the Dodo Bird.