Eric Cantor is not gloating:

http://republicanwhip.house.gov/Majority/Cantor.pdf

I have long believed that success for the Republican Party is tied to success for America. Thomas Jefferson once remarked that "governments are republican only in proportion as they embody the will of the people, and execute it."

To that end, we must govern differently. Not just differently than the Democrats, but differently from our previous majority.

I would gloat over the defeat of Dems except I'm still stuck with Jim Moran, Maurice Hinchey is still in Congress and California reelected Senator Ma'am and Gov Moonbeam and I just don't think the GOP learned their lesson.

Eh, it's still better than the alternative.

I'm celebrating only to the extent that I have at least some hope the TP-elected Republicans will at least try to put the brakes on the fically liberal types from both sides of the fence.

Michigan is so screwed up economically, that there is no time for gloating. Too darn much work to do.

'lanched

http://pajamasmedia.com/instapundit/109389/

Just remember -- The Michigan GOP people screwed it up last time they were in power. Having control of the Legislature as well as the Governor's office 8-16 years ago, they failed to make vital changes that are still desperately needed. Instead, they presided over an unprecedented bloat in state government.

We'll see if this crop does any better.

Corruption is not just endemic to the system, it IS the system.

The whole point of Congress is to pass out favors from public funds. That's why there is so much money spent on elections.

No matter which party is in power, whoever makes into office generally owes big time favors and they need each other to help make those favors happen.

Congress will offer up a few quick palliatives and get back to business as usual as fast as they can.

We need long attention spans and we need to vote in as many amateurs as we can.

All we need to do is keep the bastards slightly off-balance. That should be enough to convince them to keep the levels of corruption down to a more manageable level.

Eradicating corruption is crazy talk and might not even be a good idea. We've certainly never tried it before. Who knows what might happen?

We're about to go "full Michigan" here in CA and entrust our once great state to the failed socialists.

I hope Snyder shows us how it's done.

Shorter fustian: "they're all crooks." (rolls eyes)

Eric, the only part I would change in your post is that I believe you are conflating Tea Partyers and independents with establishment Republicans (AKA Country Club Republicans). Certainly at least some of the former voted for their favored candidates (Rand Paul comes to mind) as much as they voted against the Democrats.

Many who celebrate this "big" victory deserve to, as they've worked long & hard to get a different crop of people into Washington.

But you should gloat. For a little bit. Maybe an afternoon. :)

I'm not much for gloating, either. Smells too much of hubris. And besides, this is only the beginning and there's much hard work ahead and many difficult choices to be made.

"If Republicans doubt this and want to test the theory by behaving as arrogant and entrenched rulers..."

They already tested that theory, in 2006 and 2008. They need the Tea Party to hold their feet to the fire and ensure they do not try it "one more time, it'll be different, I know it..." The Tea Party has to take the place of the Roman slave who stood behind a triumphal general whispering "Remember, you are mortal."

I hate to be an optimist, but I think the chances of the R's not falling into the same corruption/entitlement trap is about ten percent. Then what?

I heard Michigan was about to become a Right to Work state. With the Republicans in charge we should expect nothing less.

I'm waiting...

Steve--When, and if, the R's don't 'get it,' then it is time to put forth a serious third party candidate. :-)
In the meantime, keep the heat on, guys...Keep telling the R's that they too, will meet the same ignoble end, if they get too big for their britches, and too much up in our grills!!

I, for one, am happy to see Michigan morph from a blue to a red state. It's time to give the GOP a chance to turn things around. Now we have to work on changing senators - we still have big libs Levin and Stabenow. Hopefully, Debbie will be voted out in 2012 when we change the occupant of the whitehouse.

If any repubs go back to their old corrupt ways, I think the best way to deal with them is to beat them in the primaries with a Tea Party challenger, as was done several times this election. The Tea Party needs to be careful vetting candidates though, to avoid more Christine ODonnels. Yes you want them to have the right positions, but also make sure they have either real elective experience, or real business experience, and are not loose cannons.

I dont favor the 3rd party route unless the majority of the repubs refuse to listen to the Tea Party. Right now, they appear to be afraid enugh of primary challengers to listen. third parties have too many structural barriers against them. Better to work within the repub party as long as it is still possible.

As for stopping government corruption, I agree you never can completely. But if government power is properly limited, then gov corruption is less damaging, and also less worthwhile for a company to pursue. So the best way to limit government corruption is not to pass complicated government rules against it, instead just limit opportunities by limiting government.