Eden Robins

Opinion contributor

The Democrats won big in the midterms, but you wouldn’t know it. Between the tedious semantic discussions over whether this was a blue “wave” or “ripple” or “trickle,” and Trump trumpeting this election as a “Big Victory” for himself, one might be forgiven for thinking Democrats lost the 2016 election all over again. We just can’t help being the Eeyores of the political world, seeing only our rotten tail and not the glories of the Hundred Acre Woods.

For decades, Republicans have been preternaturally deft at controlling the political narrative. They expertly frame arguments that, by their very nature, demean any counter-argument. How America views social safety nets, gun control, and, until recently, health care, is in large part the work of Republicans weaving emotionally-compelling narratives with strong imagery. Think “welfare queens,” the “good guy with a gun,” and “death panels.” And if the GOP is expert at storytelling, Trump is their Brothers Grimm.

Democrats scored big gains on many fronts

Yes, of course the horrors of American elections — the rampant voter suppression, a crumbling electoral infrastructure, general Republican corruption, media being media — became starkly apparent on Tuesday. But for, say, propagandist-in-chief Sean Hannity to call the House wins “meaningless” is just more phony GOP narrative. This election was actually … pretty refreshingly predictable.

The House flipped, the Senate remains Republican-dominated, and there were lots of down-ticket wins for progressive candidates. A record 100-plus women have been elected to Congress, many of them running progressive campaigns in conservative districts. And there have been incredible "firsts" for women of color and LGBTQ folks — perhaps the most stunning of which is the election of Native lesbian Mixed Martial Arts-fighting lawyer Sharice Davids from Kansas.

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Even many of the unexpected outcomes worked in Democrats’ favor. Traditionally Republican districts in Texas flipped, due in part to massive progressive mobilization for losing Senate candidate Beto O’Rourke. Florida’s Senate and gubernatorial races were ugly, but the state also passed a ballot measure reinstating voting rights for 1.5 million former felons, which will have tremendous impact on the 2020 election. And Michigan, a hotbed of voting controversy in 2016, passed ballot measures to expand voter registration efforts and establish an independent redistricting council.

Meanwhile, Trump refuses to believe he’s not the winner. And in a country that still refers to its first elected leaders as “Founding Fathers,” it’s really hard to let go of the President Dad narrative. Can Father be wrong? How can Democrats be the winners when Trump says he’s the winner?

We don't have to listen to 'President Dad'

This is precisely why young adults are so important to the political landscape right now — they are rebelling against their parents in real time, and they’re teaching us how to do the same. If anyone can change the narrative and teach America that we don’t have to listen to Dad, it’s teenagers.

Democrats have to realize that there is no going back to the heady days of 2009, after Barack Obama's victory, when we unironically said things like “post-racial.” If Democrats were expecting Trump to pack up his toys and go home after this election, then we haven’t grasped the enormity of this fight. We must celebrate our victories and figure out, quickly, what to fight for next.

Might I suggest: riding this wave of enthusiasm for voting rights and investigations into voter suppression, fixing gerrymandered districts, and making sure these new blue-state public servants actually follow through on their promises. But most of all: it’s time to finally flip the script in our own minds. Trump and his GOP stooges are not invulnerable, and they are going to lose.

Eden Robins writes fiction, essays, and software that helps people make good decisions about their health insurance and finances. Follow her on Twitter: @edenrobins