Photo: Aaron Burden, Upsplash

It didn’t take long into the night to find that the midterm elections had became a rout, a wipeout by Democrats.

In short order, the recriminations began within a Republican Congress that had spent the past two years kowtowing to Donald Trump, defending the indefensible, excusing the inexcusable, turning a blind eye to a level of Boss Tweed-style corruption unprecedented in the American presidency, and abandoning the very oath of office its members had sworn to uphold.

As the election returns rolled in, so did the excuses. Republicans scrambled to explain how the president they had defended so faithfully had become a political pariah the voters could no longer ignore.

Even the Supreme Court’s conservative justices could not escape scrutiny over their expansion of presidential insanity. It doesn’t take a law degree or a black robe to recognize that legal protection is not the same as moral authority.

Republicans who had spent two years applauding Trump’s every move miraculously discovered the courage to question him.

Not when it mattered.

Only when it cost them.

Democrats swept—even in red territory.

Now the hard part. Now it’s time to govern—responsibly, honestly. Voters didn’t cast ballots against what they had suffered through, they voted for something better. And Democrats now have an obligation to deliver it.

No political theater. No bluster. Just the hard work of striving to turn a swamp of corruption into that shining city upon a hill.

Investigations? Yes. Accountability matters.

New legislation to rein in presidential power? Absolutely.

But so does restoring the public’s trust. And trust isn’t won through investigations alone. It’s earned by putting the people’s business first: affordable healthcare and housing, Social Security and Medicare, prescription drug prices, jobs that pay a living wage, tariffs that reach into every American household, and the human and economic consequences of the war with Iran.

In short, the things that matter to Americans trying to make a living and raise a family. Governing is about serving people, not winning political battles.

Democrats must stand firm on principle while working with Republicans willing to put country before party.

But the real test isn’t winning power. It’s what happens when you have it.