The legacy of Barack Obama will be written in the history books as one of optimism. He was the first black president, leaving office with more than half the country approving of his job. His signature legislation was upheld multiple times in the Supreme Court. He won the Nobel Prize for Peace!

But… that won’t reflect the utter devastation he has wrought upon his own party.

As Barack Obama rode a blue wave into office, he was backed by 29 Democratic governors, 27 state legislatures, and Democratic majorities in both chambers of Congress. He will leave office with both chambers under Republican control, only 19 Democratic governors left, and only 12 state legislatures. And he hands the keys over to a Republican no one thought would win.

What in the hell happened?

Simply, he overplayed his hand. Barack Obama struggled to realize that he did not, in fact, have a mandate to do as he wished. He, like so many other Democrats, decided that their majorities meant they had a permanent majority. They felt like they could do what they always wanted and that the American people would always support them. They then proceeded to invade the average life of the American citizen in new and exciting ways.

They completely took over health care and forced higher costs on American citizens. They repeatedly stated they wanted to restrict people’s ability to own a firearm. They alienated groups and demographics at the expense of others, not caring what effect it would have. They praised protesters and ridiculed those unhappy with the state of the government. They made it impossible for any meaningful change to occur.

The results are pretty clear. The American people grew tired of the government encroaching into their lives. They had enough.

Barack Obama’s legacy will be written by people who favor him. Few will dare to criticize him because he was the first black president. But, he destroyed his own party and left them powerless for at least four years.

And all for what?