A Republican midterm defeat will not be an earthquake

Democrats are likely to make gains in Congress but divided government is unlikely to derail Trump’s agenda.

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The impact of a Republican defeat in the mid-terms will be blunted the fact that Congress has been irrelevant in the last 20 months,  says the writer.

The impact of a Republican defeat in the midterms will be blunted by the fact that Congress has been irrelevant in the last 20 months, says the writer. 

PHOTO: REUTERS

Edward Luce

America is at a point in its political cycle where phrases like “groundswell” and “wheels coming off” engulf us in historic waves. Who among us does not relish an electoral sea change? Noticeable by its absence, however, is any consensus on what the looming Republican defeat will mean. The answer is less than implied.

Today’s circumstances are very different from those around typical midterm elections, including Donald Trump’s first term. Our vocabulary has not kept pace.

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