[oceanview]

you are trying to tell us they appealed to actual conservatives more then the republican candidate? did those "conservative voters" know anything, anything at all, about the agenda of the national democratic party? or are you identifying a new voting block, "dumb conservatives in the republican base".

[longtermmemmory]

Do these numbers include the absentee ballots?

The MSM which includes fox now, is not explaining the absentee ballots.

[Vicomte13]

The REAL lesson of tonight is that it was a good night for Independents.

Republicans do not win elections.
Neither do Democrats.
Neither are a majority, anywhere.
Both are minorities.
It's the Independents who choose one side over the other in any particular election.
Tonight, where there was a clear Independent choice: economically liberal, militarily conservative, he won.
Big.
There's a lesson there.

Neither party, of course, wants to learn it.

Republicans are not losing seats tonight because REPUBLICANS turned on their own. They are losing because INDEPENDENTS are sick of the party.

[Question Liberal Authority]

you are trying to tell us they appealed to actual conservatives more then the republican candidate? did those "conservative voters" know anything, anything at all, about the agenda of the national democratic party? or are you identifying a new voting block, "dumb conservatives in the republican base".

Most of the Dem pickups were in open seats. The Dem candidates in the open seats tended to run as conservative Democrats. That's not to say the voters were conservative. Just that they would take a conservative Democrat over a liberal Democrat. The newbie Dems who actually ran as leftists tended to get squashed like a bug.

The National Democrat agenda had little or nothing to do with those races. The Dem agenda has been completely obfuscated. Example, the #1 issue, according to voters in the exit polls (if they can be trusted) was CORRUPTION. Well, which party is more corrupt? Absolutely it is the Democrats. Harry Reid $1.3 million kickback and William Jefferson's freezer full of cash trumps Dennis Hastert not going ballistic over a couple of naughty emails, or any $2,000 campaign contributions anyone received from Jack Abramoff.

Similarly, voters have been led to believe that we are in a near soup-kitchen economy, even as gas prices plunge and the Dow breaks record highs.

Anyway, the point is that CONSERVATIVES didn't lose the election. Republicans running from conservatives lost them some seats, and Democrats pretending to be conservatives gained them some seats.