I put off writing this post last night, partly because I was still processing the massive surge of new data, partly because I was tired, but mostly because I needed to get in the right mood.

And now? I am in the mood to fucking gloat.

Because dude, we did it, and the Republicans helped by doing so much to themselves. I don’t have the time or the motivation to go over each and every way they fucked up, by Matt Taibbi’s Rolling Stone piece, which called the current legislature the worst Congress ever, does a better job than a mere mortal ever could.

Duke Cunningham, Jack Abramoff, and Mark Foley upset a lot of people, but I suspect the bigger problem was the persecution complex that has become a major part of the GOP’s platform. Even with control of all three branches of government (and don’t forget, they’ve still got two of them), they acted like they saw wicked liberals lurking around every corner, waiting to pounce and force them into gay marriages to pro-choice clones. Despite a string of Democratic losses that rivalled the humiliation of the 1984 Presidential race, the Republicans would have had us believe that the Democrats were this close to conquering the world and making us all eat soy bacon.

Bill O’Reilly and his ilk warned us for months of the terrifying new world that Nancy Pelosi would bring us as Speaker of the House. Gay people would marry! Abortions would be safe and legal! The minimum wage would come slightly closer to covering basic expenses! Congress would spend their precious vacation time investigating the administration’s misconduct! She was a liberal! A San Francisco liberal! And how could she be Speaker? She was a lady!

Sooner or later, the fact that this wasn’t really that scary got through to the public, along with the fact that the war in Iraq keeps getting worse. “Staying the course” sounds nice and all, but it’s not the best idea when you’re waist-deep in manure and there’s a perfectly serviceable road a few feet away. Sure, that road might not be great either, but at least you’ve kept your options open. Hell, the reason I objected to the war in the first place wasn’t the administration’s questionable motives, but my belief that they just weren’t smart enough to pull it off. That’s a gold star for me.

Now, the sorry state of the war effort and the ongoing corruption and laziness in Congress have finally gotten so bad that people had no choice but to demand something be done. In my home state of Pennsylvania, we gave Rick Santorum the ol’ boot, which I’m sure he considers a form of sexual immorality. Even if nothing else had changed, if the Republicans had held onto the rest of their seats, or even gained a few, I wouldn’t have cared. Santorum was gone, and I spent last night celebrating.

I danced. I sang “Don’t Stop Believin’” at the top of my lungs. I went to bed, woke up, and danced and sang some more. I made a casserole. It just came out of the oven, and it looks pretty good. But Rick Santorum doesn’t get any casserole, because he’s a douchebag, and calling him that is no longer an unfair attack, because he’s a private citizen again. What accusations can they really make? That I’ve undermined his constituents’ faith in his ability to mow his lawn?

Here’s hoping you’ve got some hobbies, Rick. Christmas is coming soon. Maybe Jesus will bring you a new pillow to cry into.