In other words, voters had had enough. And, contrary to some pre-election punditry, theirs was not a random “throw out anyone in power” spasm of anti-incumbency. No incumbent Democrats lost -– not in the Senate, not in the House, not in the governors’ races, where Democrats for the first time in ages will now live in a majority of governors' mansions. Democrats didn’t even lose any open seats they previously held.

This was an anti-Republican verdict, a sweeping one, aimed squarely at both the Bush administration and at a Republican-led Congress that has refused to exercise its constitutionally required powers of oversight. This was a vote against Republican arrogance, incompetence, extremism, cronyism, and criminality, but it was also a vote for an assertive Congress and against one-party rule. And this verdict came in spite of, not because of, Democrats.

Democrats as a party, and the party’s most visible figures, spent much of this election savaging Bush (it was about time!) but studiously avoiding taking any true leadership positions themselves. The war in Iraq was by far the election’s biggest issue, but because the country’s voters and the Democrats’ activist base and netroots made it that way, not because Democrats themselves wanted to talk about Iraq much (or, in some cases, at all) or had a coherent plan.

Voters won this election -- not Democrats. This election was about exercising checks and balances, and Democratic candidates were the only available tool to accomplish that end. The two biggest upshots of this are very clear for the Democratic Party.

First, over the next two years, as Congress (hopefully) flexes its muscles and aspirants begin their serious campaigns for the 2008 presidential race, there will be a ferocious, and probably inconclusive, battle for control of the Democratic Party. The blogosphere, and Internet organizing in general, played an unprecedented role in the 2006 election, and the populist impulse this represents is in direct contrast to the ossified Beltway creatures who have traditionally controlled much of the party’s hierarchy. The latter won’t go quietly into the night, but they no longer have a monopoly on serious fundraising or on candidate recruitment. And the passion is all with the populists.

Secondly, this election was not about choosing Democrats; it was about repudiating Republicans. Now that Democrats, for the first time in six years, have some serious influence in Washington, the public will expect them to use it, and use it in a way that’s perceived as better than what they’ve replaced. If they don’t, the freshman class of 2006, elected largely for who they were not, could just as easily be gone in 2008.

For both of these reasons -- and regardless of how the battle for control of the Senate resolves -– progressives should celebrate for a moment this morning. But only for a moment; there’s a lot of work to do. There’s the damage from a couple of catastrophic wars to address, runaway spending to rein in, an exodus of jobs to stem, global warming to get serious about, a sane future energy policy to craft, and right on down the list. D.C. is still a lobbyist-dominated town, regardless of which party is in power, and none of these things will happen without a push from the public. A strong, steady, well-informed, vigilant, passionate push.

The public shoved mightily on Tuesday. It’s time to keep on pushin’.