Now that the champagne corks have ceased ricocheting around Republican headquarters, it's time to ask the question all Democrats are asking themselves today.  "What the hell happened?"

First, believe it or not, Youngkin's victory is not the most significant.  It was expected.  The three really important results were the New Jersey governor's race and two races few were watching.

Youngkin's victory came from a simple appeal to the Common Man.  Before Youngkin started his first-ever political run, he already knew the issues that would appeal to voters.  Youngkin knew the issues because they were his personal issues, too.  Less taxation was one important issue, but another important, emotion-laden concern was that Virginians want a say in what their kids are taught in school.

The aftermath of the transgender's school bathroom sexual assault, CRT, and McAuliffe's debate blunder solidified that issue in people's minds.  The Loudoun County school board's attempt to hide the crime only revalidates the media-coaching maxim of what to do when faced with bad news: tell it all.  Tell it yourself.  Tell it today.  It's the cover-up that kills you.  The school board's attempted smokescreen put votes in the Youngkin column.

The New Jersey result was more surprising because Republicans recaptured the suburbs.  Political analysts will spend months trying to tell us why.  Let me save you hours of repetitive reading.

The 'burbs know that the Bidenistas are screwing up everything they touch.  New Jerseyans watched it happen.  Ask any New Jersey voter if Biden messed up Afghanistan, if he wants CRT, or if he wants higher taxes — and you already know all three answers and his vote.  AOC may be a media darling and big on the Rutgers campus, but she does not play well in Paramus.

The first of the two unseen, but significant results, was the Buffalo mayor's race.  The current mayor ignored a socialist female primary challenger and lost that primary election to her.  Undaunted, the mayor staged an almost impossible to win write-in campaign in the general election and beat the socialist almost 3 to 2.  AOC and the rest of the squad were all in for the socialist, but their enthusiasm for her did not result in votes.

The Eliminate the Police question in Minneapolis was another surprise.  Polls favored it passing, but inside the voting booths, it died a quick death.  Strong opposition from Black clergy was one of the reasons it was DOA.

What are the lessons learned about November 2, 2021?

1. It was a sharp personal rebuke for Bidenism.  For example, he and his team went all in on the Virginia race.  They failed.  Biden even personally guaranteed a victory.  Mistake #734.  The individual issues may have been different in each race, but they all have roots in rejecting the left-wing Democrats and their "we should run your lives" philosophy.  This also means that the Biden Agenda is far weaker Friday than it was Tuesday morning.  "Get out of my life — get out of my wallet" is alive and well across the country.

2. AOC and the Squad will be neutered.  They may still be good copy for news stories and airtime, but Miz Cortez will curtsy the next time she sees Queen Nancy.

3. There is a new road to victory for Republicans: blue-collar, the 'burbs, and get out of my pocket.  Stop trying to make my personal decisions for me.

4. Republicans need to make the Culture Wars a "them versus us" proposition.

5. Republicans can win without Trump.  Although Trump's memory was strong among Republican voters, Trump did not screw it up for Youngkin by staging rallies only to complain about the 2020 general.

And here's a final thought on how out of touch, I'm sad to say, some Trump-supporters are.  The latest "Q" story is that JFK Jr. did not really die in the plane crash 22 years ago.  Q claimed that JFK Jr. was so disgusted with current Dems that he was the real clandestine driving force behind Trump's 2016 victory.  To stage a Trump comeback, JFK Jr. was going to appear at Dealey Plaza in Dallas Tuesday to announce a Trump-Kennedy ticket in 2022.

A few hundred Trump-supporters actually traveled to Dallas to welcome JFK Jr. back to life.  I cannot wait for Q to tell us why he didn't "materialize."  Of course, while the drive-by media loved the story, it's worth pointing out that a few hundred people out of the 75 million or more who voted for Trump is a vanishingly small number.

Ed Sherdlu is the pen name of a former CBS television network reporter.  He uses a pen name because his mother would be so embarrassed to know that Ed's 12-Step Journalism Recovery Program had been a failure.

Image: Glenn Youngkin's victory speech (edited in befunky).  YouTube screen grab.

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