In what Democrats and the Left hoped would be a steal reclaiming control of both the House and Senate on the coattails of a much-anticipated Clinton victory, Republicans firmly held their ground retaining control of both chambers of Congress as Donald Trump wins the presidency.
With all 435 seats up for reelection in the 247-seat Republican-dominated House of Representatives, Democrats made only moderate gains picking up a net total of only five districts with only a few races remaining undecided as of Wednesday afternoon but not enough to alter the balance of power.
Unsurprisingly, Paul Ryan, who has been critical of his party’s own presidential nominee and now President-elect Donald Trump, easily won his reelection, defeating Democrat opponent Ryan Solen in a landslide with 65 percent of the vote. Although Ryan is favored to be reelected Speaker of the House for the incoming 115th Congress, he is also likely to receive opposition from both Democrats on the Left and Trump-Republicans who disagree with the speaker on his support for “free trade” agreements — namely, the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
It still remains to be seen whether House conservatives or President-elect Trump will push Ryan from the speakership in favor of another Republican congressman. However, in a statement posted on Facebook, Ryan congratulated Trump on his victory and vowed to work with the president-elect. “We are eager to work hand-in-hand with the new administration to advance an agenda to improve the lives of the American people. This has been a great night for our party, and now we must turn our focus to bringing the country together,” Ryan said.
Among Republican losses and Democrat gains in the House was the ouster of incumbent 12-term Florida GOP Congressman John Mica, who maintains a lackluster cumulative score of 57 percent from The New American‘s “Freedom Index,” which measures congressmen’s fidelity to the Constitution based on the votes they cast. Mica lost his reelection bid to Democrat challenger Stephanie Murphy, the first Vietnamese-American women elected to Congress.
Also in Florida, former Republican governor-turned-Democrat Charlie Crist defeated incumbent freshman Republican Congressman David Jolly, who holds al Freedom Index score of 48 percent.
The most disappointing race for conservatives was the defeat of seven-term New Jersey Republican Congressman Scott Garrett, who lost to Democrat challenger and former Clinton-speech writer Joshua Gottheimer. Garrett rates a cumulative Freedom Index score of 76 percent, which is the highest for any congressman from New Jersey, but far less than ideal. All constitutionalist top-tier Freedom Index score recipients in Congress easily won their reelection campaigns.
In Michigan, where Trump is expected to win the state’s 16 electoral votes, libertarian/constitutionalist Republican Congressman Justin Amash crushed his Democrat opponent Douglas Smith 59 to 38 percent with 100 percent of precincts reporting. Amash, boasts an impressive Freedom Index score of 93 percent, second only to Thomas Massie of Kentucky who has a near-perfect score of 98 percent. Massie also blew out his Democrat opponent with an even wider electoral margin of 71 to 29 percent. Both Amash and Massie have made reputations for themselves as heirs to former Congressman Ron Paul as leaders in the liberty movement in Congress. Amash and Massie have firmly opposed reauthorization of the Patriot Act, have vigorously opposed indefinite detention and unconstitutional surveillance-state measures, and have championed pro-liberty causes such as auditing the Federal Reserve as a step towards eventually abolishing the Fed and restoring sound money, i.e. a gold-standard currency.
Other incumbent constitutionalists such as Congressmen Alex Mooney of West Virginia and David Brat of Virginia easily won their races against their Democrat rivals. Congressmen Amash, Brat, Massie, and Mooney have also expressed deep reservations about and oppostition to the TPP agreement advocated by both President Obama and House Speaker Ryan.
In the Senate, Rand Paul was easily reelected with 57 percent of the vote, garnering over one million votes compared to Democrat challenger Jim Gray who received only 813,224 votes, 43-percent. Looking forward, Senator Paul optimistically told Fox News on Wednesday morning, “The one thing I’m excited about in the Trump presidency is I think in the very first weeks of this next Congress, the Republican Congress is going to repeal some regulations. I hope a half a dozen regulations or more and we’ll get them onto Trump’s desk and I think he’ll sign them.”
In Wisconsin, in what was a rematch and ultimately a repeat of the 2010 U.S. Senate race, incumbent Republican Senator Ron Johnson defeated Democrat opponent former Senator Russ Feingold. Johnson’s reelection victory was an upset to Democrats who hoped to unseat him as part of an effort in one of five states they sought to flip from Red to Blue in order to regain control of the Senate.
The only Republican loss in the Senate, which is hardly a loss for conservatism and constitutionalist principles, was in Illinois where RINO (Republican in name only) incumbent Senator Mark Kirk lost to two-term Democrat Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth. Kirk has the lowest Freedom Index score of any Republican in the U.S. Senate with a dismal 35-percent. He was defeated by Duckworth, who received 54 percent of the vote.
As far as what to expect from the new Congress, Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky told reporters early Wednesday morning that repealing ObamaCare is a “pretty high item on our agenda, as you know.” McConnell went on to call President Obama’s landmark health insurance legislation the “single worst piece of legislation” from Obama’s first term.
Trump’s victory, coupled with Republicans maintaining control of both chambers of Congress, sends a clear anti-establishment message to Washington that Americans want a cooperative Congress to work with a President Trump and Vice President Pence to finally and fully repeal ObamaCare, nominate constitutionalist judges to the Supreme Court, and put an end to anti-sovereignty trade deals such as the TPP, Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), Trade in Services Agreement (TiSa), and the still-under-negotiation and little-known U.S.-China Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT). Of course, none of this will happen without the same steadfast tenacity and commitment to contacting and urging Congress to take these appropriate steps as was utilized when working toward achieving these historic wins on Election Day.
In a post-election message from The John Birch Society, Vice President of Communications Bill Hahn impassionedly stated:
The John Birch Society has never been closer to victory as we are today. Think of the opportunity that has been afforded to us. Here we have a president that has been talking on many issues that we have called attention to, especially illegal immigration and trade agreements. When in recent memory have we had a presidential nominee even mention Americanism or advocating for scaling back our involvement within the UN? We all realize the faults that Trump has and where his views on issues differ but let’s not use that as an excuse to not get involved. If you are waiting for a better candidate or a better time in the future they do not exist.
Hahn optimistically implored listeners and constitutionalist grassroots activists that “we have a tremendous opportunity to advance our action projects, turn the tide of globalism, and put our country back onto a track of less government, more responsibility, and with God’s help a better world.” Emphatically, Hahn urged activists to “place twice the amount of time, energy, money, and gusto into The John Birch Society than you did with this election. Your efforts paid off, so let’s double down and strike while the iron is hot.”
With the obstructionist roadblock of a globalist Democrat president removed from the equation, the incoming 115th Congress has the potential of either moving in the constitutionalist direction or becoming a huge disappointment in the fight for liberty. Only time will tell whether the new Congress, in conjunction with President Donald Trump in the White House, will keep its campaign promises. One thing, however, is certain, as Hahn stressed: This is a tremendous opportunity for those seeking to roll back government and advance the cause of liberty.
