"Wait: Virginia elected a conservative? And a moderate in New Jersey was able to unseat an unpopular incumbent? And a gay marriage thing that’s never happened before also didn’t happen last night? Well, it’s a good thing you have me—Mr. or Ms. Political Analyst!—around to detail all the many troubling implications these developments carry for the guy on the national stage who received 69 million votes last year! What’s fascinating, though, is that fourth graph: because there actually was an election last night where our national political opiates got mainline-slammed into the bloodstream of local politics, with all the can’t-help-yourself sloppiness and unintended consequences that metaphor implies. And by any stretch, it’s hard to see how that turned out well for the GOP."