Left Losing Influence

Only shadows ahead
Barely clearing the roof
Get to know the feeling of
Liberation and release
--Crowded House

One trend that has become readily apparent this election season is the declining political influence of the Left. Donald Trump's presidential victory merely accentuates a tendency that has been building since at least the midterm 2010 elections. Save for Obama's re-election in 2012, Democrats have been losing seats in both the House and Senate for years.

At the state level, the trend has been similar. Republicans have added to their share of state governors as well as state legislators.

While the Left's decline can be readily viewed as a referendum on a failed Obama administration, there seems to be more to it than that. The Brexit vote, political upheaval in France, Germany, Italy et al,, and other events suggest that the Left's collectivist agenda is becoming less popular among voters in other parts of the world as well.

It remains to be seen, of course, whether this is merely a cyclical correction or something more enduring.