In the closing days of most campaigns, anxiety builds, polls tighten, and sometimes drama appears, but no one had the high drama unfolding in Michigan on their bingo card. Pollsters and pundits have been preaching a coming blue wave that will hand Democrats the House and Senate which would be historically consistent with the president’s party normally losing seats. Despite favorable polls and the winds of history at their backs, Democrats were somewhat doubtful and nervous about a blue wave breaking on the shores of Washington.

With a razor thin one vote Republican majority in the House, Democrats are well poised to take the House, but the Senate is much more complicated. Democrats must flip at least four Senate seats in places like Alaska, South Caroline, Maine, Ohio, Kansas, and Texas, but they must also retain seats in too close to call states like Michigan and Minnesota. Michigan has shown to be much tighter for Democrats than they like to admit, so Democrats were shell shocked Sunday when former Democrat Senate candidate Haley Stevens dropped a bomb endorsing Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers.

Stevens only lost to Michigan Democrat Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed by 1 percentage point in the primary; ironically had she won, the general election would probably not be close. After her narrow loss, Steven magnanimously endorsed El-Sayed and offered to campaign for him. As late as Saturday, she was expected to join South Carolina Congressman Jim Clyburne and El-Sayed at a Sunday rally to get out the black vote for El-Sayed, but by Sunday morning she was at a black church in Detroit with Rogers and then endorsed him. What happened?!

A moderate Democrat, Stevens had consistent concerns about El-Sayed’s extreme positions on socialism and transgenderism, but most troubling were his patently antisemitic stances. When Cenk Uygur through Rebellion PAC dropped a highly offensive ad blaming Jews and Israel for high prices because of their campaign in Gaza, Stevens asked El-Sayed to condemn the ad; he refused and went further and told Stevens she is no longer welcome at his campaign events. Apparently, that was the catalyst that prompted her late change of heart.

Democrats across the country were stunned and immediately attacked Stevens as a traitor. Unlike when Democrats applauded Liz Cheney for flipping on Republicans and endorsing Joe Biden, they had nothing but scorn and vitriol for Stevens. Most howled that her last-minute betrayal was unforgiveable, but some attacked her as mentally unstable and others eluded that this was simply sour grapes.

Oddly, Stevens acted on her concerns that were also voiced by most of the Democrats now castigating her. Establishment Democrats have been very concerned by the Democrat Socialist insurgency for years but failed to come up with a strategy to deal with socialists and extremists high jacking the Democrat Party.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi spent her tenure keeping “the squad” in check; and she just recently declared that Democrats are not anti-Israel and any like El-Sayed are wrong. Knowing El-Sayed would be drag on the ticket and a problem in the Senate, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and establishment Democrats spent over $60 million to defeat El-Sayed in the primary, but now he condemns Stevens and swears support for El-Sayed because he wants to be Majority Leader more than he wants to protect his party from extremists.

Among the bomb throwers, Democrat strategist James Carville is perhaps the biggest coward and hypocrite. He has spent the past year railing against Democrat Socialists telling them to stop saying they are Democrats and get their own socialist party. He famously declared he would not be in the same party with radical antisemitic socialist influencer, Hasan Piker, but now he aligns himself with El-Sayed who embraces and campaigns with Piker.

Showing remarkable courage and integrity, Haley Stevens stood up and acted on the common concerns establishment Democrats failed to address. In her endorsement of Rogers, she said she must “stand with the country, can’t stand with hate, and can’t stand with Hasan Piker.” She did what Carville, Pelosi, and Schumer lacked the fortitude and integrity to do.

If her bold endorsement of Rogers helps defeat El-Sayed, she may have very well rescued the Democrat Party from a catastrophic collapse into extremism and socialism. Despite their current protests and laments about her endorsement, establishment Democrats will be greatly relieved if El-Sayed loses because that will give them a cudgel to beat the socialists back into the shadows.

Rumors abound that moderate Democrats hope El-Sayed loses. Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman has steadfastly refused to support antisemite El-Sayed; and former West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin has declared his support for Rogers for similar reasons.

As of this writing, Democrats will take control of the House, and it appears they may also take control of the Senate. While partisans will be disappointed, Americans often choose divided government which is supposed to foster healthy competition and vigorous debate. But that is the big question, can Democrats and Republicans have civil meaningful debates that are productive for the American people?

So now the question is will Democrats take their new found Congressional power to work on their professed priority of affordability for working Americans or will they squander it repeatedly impeaching Trump?! Will they earnestly work on healthcare reform and affordable housing? Oddly enough, Trump will certainly work with Democrats if they put aside their animosity for him personally, but will they?

Republicans are certainly disappointed and stunned by unexpected losses, but despite a fundamentally sound economy, the cost of living is still too high for working Americans and they made that known at polls across the country. So, the question for Republicans is will they recognize they must deliver on affordability for working Americans?

If the Democrat Socialists prevail and drive an aggressive socialist agenda and relentless pointless prosecution of the Trump Administration, the voters will likely reject that acrimony and chaos in two years. They clearly want results. Stevens is certainly persona non grata with the Democrat Party for now, but perhaps her example and other principled Democrats like Fetterman and Manchin can begin the arduous process of restoring the Democrats as an American Party that works with the president to deliver for the American people. That’s what they expect.

“And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand” (Matthew 12:25).

Pete Riehm is a Navy Veteran, conservative activist, and columnist in south Alabama. Email him at peteriehm@bellsouth.net or read all his columns at http://www.renewamerica.com/.

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