GOP victory is truly historic

The waters are still receding, but it is clear that the country has been swept by an electoral wave that will likely change the political landscape for years to come.

The term “historic” is often thrown about a bit too loosely in politics, but it definitely applies to Tuesday’s election results.

Starting at the top, Republicans appear set to gain in the range of 60 to 65 seats in the U.S. House, the most since 1938, and it gives the GOP its largest House majority since 1954. In the Senate, they picked up six seats, although they remain short of a majority.

The wave swept through statehouses across the country as well, with Republicans picking up 20 legislative chambers as well as 12 to 14 governorships. That gives the GOP the most power the party has had in state capitals since the 1920s.

Montana’s Legislature was part of that mix, with Republicans winning as many as 68 seats in the House, which was split 50-50 in seats for the last two years, and retaining a 27-23 advantage in the Senate.

Ripples from the wipeout obviously reached Flathead County, with Republicans winning every single office up for grabs, mostly by wide margins.

So what does it all mean? We would suggest that voters across the country have rejected a remorseless, incremental creep in the reach of government that has been underway for decades, and the overreach of the last two years was simply too much. At a time when the private sector has been strangled by recession and uncertainty for the future, the exponential growth in government was insufferable.

Voters wanted a brake — or better yet, a reverse gear — to respond to increased government spending, larger deficits and ever more intrusive regulation. They want a growing economy with more jobs. They want government getting of the way rather than riding roughshod over the private sector. The brake they chose in many parts of the country was a fleet of Republican candidates that were in most cases calling for a stiff dose of fiscal discipline.

So it was frustrating, even irritating, to hear political commentators during election night coverage repeatedly saying that voters want their elected officials “to do something,” as if the something is beyond definition.

Extending the Bush-era tax cuts beyond their expiration at the end of this year would be a good starting point. Implementing real cuts in spending would help. Finding ways to either improve, repeal or resist the regulatory juggernaut that is Obamacare was also a clear desire expressed by a majority of the voters who spoke this week.

In short, they want an improved economy, and substantive, meaningful resistance to government gone wild. Now, let’s see if they get it.