Despite possible disappointment in the outcome of the presidential race, Republicans can find reasons for encouragement in election returns of November 3rd.  GOP Congressional candidates performed far better than expected, making significant gains in the House and holding their own in Senate contests. These victories have set up the strong likelihood that Mitch McConnell – himself handily re-elected – will maintain the GOP’s crucial Senate majority. This means that the more radical and alarming elements of the Democratic agenda can be blocked in the Upper House: no court-packing, no Green New Deal, no automatic statehood for DC or Puerto Rico, no confiscatory tax increases.

The Founders, who provided for a system of checks and balances to prevent too much concentrated power in the hands of a single faction, would be pleased to see that even if a Democrat ultimately wins the White House, the tradition of divided government will endure.