First of all, by my account at least 25 GOP incumbents lost yesterday, so even if there were no retirements we still would have lost the House.
The House losses were not better than expected, they will probably be at least 36 and possibly over 40.
Let’s not sugar-coat what happened. It was BAD.
Gosh, I just don't want to sugar-coat how bad the Republican House has been since the 2016 election. Worse than useless. Got nothing done, never stood up to back Trump in any confrontation with the Dems, just passed continuing resolutions and avoided Trump's agenda. The swamp, both parties, defended itself, tooth and claw, in a creepy display of bipartisan evil.
What can you do about perpetual incumbents who have no principles, such as Ryan? They were the enemies of the Republic, but now most of them are gone. The Trumpist GOP Congressmen will be the incumbents in 2020.