The base voted almost straight GOP.
Concur. We lost the independents 3:2 in most of the close races. Women, Catholics, suburban Moms went RAT. Weary of the war in Iraq.
Of course they did. Depressing your base doesn't mean that they vote for the other party, it means that they don't vote in the same numbers as the opposition. It is clear that happened tonight.
The base, VOTED. WE VOTED. WE ARE THE BASE.
All others who didn't vote, are NOT the base, no matter their claims.
Ohio was a glaring exception to that rule.
I think a whole lot more than the base came out, though. I think this was a referendum on Iraq and I didn't see that coming. I thought since we won in 2004 and Lieberman was polling well, the Iraq issue was settled in our favor, but I think the relentless MSM negative pounding on it finally had an effect. People who otherwise wouldn't have bothered to vote in an off-year election went to express their displeasure with Reps over the war.