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November 7, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – Both sides are reacting with a mix of pleasure and disappointment over last night’s midterm election results, with the mainstream media in particular coming to grips with an anticipated “blue wave” that failed to materialize and deliver a clear rebuke to President Donald Trump.

Republicans expanded their Senate majority while Democrats took over the House of Representatives Tuesday. Key Democrat incumbents such as Joe Donnelly, Claire McCaskill, and Heidi Heitkamp lost their reelection bids, while left-wing hopes of ousting conservatives Ted Cruz and Steve King were dashed. On the other side, Democrats appear to have finally defeated Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, and New York’s 14th congressional district elected 29-year-old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, an avowed socialist.

In practical terms, the election means that Trump will have a wider margin with which to confirm constitutionalist judicial nominees, but will likely go another two years without the opportunity to sign pro-life budgets or legislation. Nevertheless, many in the press expected more.

Various outlets made predictions that a “Blue Wave Could Crash Far Beyond Washington,” a “'blue wave' is probably coming,” and the “blue wave is real, and it’s a monster.” But the mixed election results were consistent with historical House trends and actually defied Senate trends.

By 9 PM EST, CNN’s Jake Tapper was admitting “this is not a blue wave. This is not a wave that is knocking out all sorts of Republican incumbents.” His colleague, CNN commentator and left-wing activist Van Jones, called on his fellow travelers to “stay out there and continue the fight” while admitting the outcome was “heartbreaking.” Jones went so far as to compare Democrats to “antibodies” trying to purge a GOP “infestation of hatred and division.”

Tapper also suggested a silver lining for House Democrats, who “are going to have subpoena power and they’re going to make his life a living hell.” Conservative commentator Dana Loesch replied by predicting that such efforts “will overreach and guarantee a 2020 reelection victory with a GOP majority in House and Senate.”

On NBC News’ election-night panel, Tom Brokaw admitted the “big reason” Democrats didn’t do better was that “the economy [is] chugging right along,” but went on to blame Democrat leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi for not “pull[ing] the Democratic Party together at some retreat and saying we got to get our act together, folks and we understand we are a part of this.” He also called on both leaders to step down.

“NeverTrump Republican” analyst Steve Schmidt went further on the panel, claiming that “Donald Trump's campaign of incitement has worked here” to unleash “racial animus” on the country.

MSNBC host Joe Scarborough declared that the “big headline” was the “end of one-party rule in Washington” and hailed the possibility of the House investigating the Trump administration, but also accused “a lot of Americans” who support Trump of supporting a man who not only “lies” about “everything,” but who makes “overtly bigoted racist statements.”

“The key question” of the Senate results, NBC News intelligence and national security reporter Ken Dilanian claimed, “is how much longer the American majority will tolerate being pushed around by a rural minority.”

Various additional reactions from left-wing media figures ranged from disappointed to unhinged:

Some in the mainstream media are taking the results as an occasion for introspection, however.

“No liberal will want to admit it, but Trump is an asset to the Republican Party, while President Barack Obama was a disaster for the Democratic Party,” the Washington Post’s Ed Rogers wrote. “Voters had a chance to repudiate Trump and they did not […] The 2018 results show it is clear [Democrats] need a different plan if they think they can win in 2020.”

“Trump and his allies have an appeal that the elites in New York and Hollywood cannot dismiss or combat. All of the 2018 Democratic heartthrobs lost,” Rogers noted. “For the most part, when voters had to decide, the angry left was rejected and Trump was rewarded.”