Election Results a Victory for Progressive Movement

Bush and Rove drove the Reagan coalition straight off the cliff this cycle. Their strategy to divide the nation into "us and them" and hope to turnout more of "us" reached its limit yesterday as millions of pragmatic, moderate-to-progressive Americans chose a different course for the nation.

According the national House exit polls, Democrats won every income category under $100,000; all non-college educated voters; and Catholics. They essentially split married voters. They won nearly 6 in 10 of both moderates and independents. The Reagan Democrats have returned home. The conservative "markets and morals" coalition is in shambles, falling on the weight of its own deceptions, extremism and incompetence. And the progressive coalition is strong and growing in this country.

Equally important, all of the Bush/Rove messages about progressives coddling terrorists, cutting and running from Iraq, and harming the economy failed dramatically. Many voters do not believe the economy is working to their benefit. They do not believe the war in Iraq is on the right course or that the President's strategy is worthy of going "full speed ahead." They did not believe the fears and smears the GOP hurled for months. They do want action on wages, jobs and pensions; healthcare; energy independence; and a more intelligent and effective approach to Iraq and terrorism.

The results yesterday represent a clear victory for the entire progressive movement. All aspects of the progressive infrastructure fired well from high quality candidates and good ideas from think tanks to strong ground organization and strategic smarts and passion from bloggers. The progressive faith community did a tremendous in proving that the GOP does not "own" religious voters. In the end, millions of Americans agreed with progressives that our government should be doing more to serve the common good and to help struggling citizens and the least fortunate among us find quality work and greater opportunities to get ahead.

John Halpin, senior fellow, Center for American Progress