Two weeks ago, Tennessee Democrats got together for their annual Jackson Day fundraiser in Nashville. By all accounts it was a horn-tootin' good time.
Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz got the crowd fired up by making fun of state and national Republicans before handing the microphone over to Tennessee Chairwoman Mary Mancini, who spiked the political football with the most profound statement of the evening.
According to Mancini, "Republicans are unfit to hold any elected office on any level." I repeat, "any office" at "any level." Whew, that's a pretty bold pronouncement.
No doubt, that line got a hefty round of applause from the audience. In a state where Democrats are less popular than the Vanderbilt football program, it had to feel good to say such a thing among friends. But really, who is Mancini trying to kid? Aside from holding the federal government's executive branch, the Democratic Party is floundering, and once again, events this week highlighted that truth.
Though recent polling hinted at a very different outcome, Kentuckians turned over the keys of their governor's mansion to tea party candidate Matt Bevin, who won Tuesday's election by nearly double digits. It was a monumental win for the state's GOP since he's only the second Republican elected governor in the Bluegrass State in the last four decades.
And while Bevin was strolling to victory in Kentucky, Virginia voters were proving many pundits wrong by leaving Republicans in control of both chambers of the commonwealth's legislature.
So, here's my question: If the GOP is unfit for office, why hasn't the electorate figured that out?
Here's Marina Fang of The Huffington Post offering up the standard excuse from the left in her analysis of Tuesday's elections: "Traditionally, more Republicans turn out for midterm and off-year elections, giving them a built-in advantage."
Ah yes, the old "only geezers vote in off-year elections" line. This is a favorite among Democrat apologists who just can't wrap their minds around the fact that Republicans keep winning elections. It's a soothing balm that goes nicely with the popular notion among liberals that it's just a matter of time before the GOP goes the way of the dodo bird - that demographic shifts will eventually spell doom for the Republican Party.
But while Democrats bide their time waiting for ultimate triumph to land in their laps, Republican strategist Rory Cooper has some incredible numbers to share: "Under President Obama, Democrats have lost 900+ state legislature seats, 12 governors, 69 House seats, 13 Senate seats. That's some legacy."
Holy cannoli. A legacy, indeed.
Sure, the most visible portion of the GOP - its massive presidential field - is looking kind of sloppy these days. Down ballot, however, Republicans are strong as ever. A White House win next November would, as Vox.com's Matthew Yglesias pointed out, "give Republicans the overwhelming preponderance of political power in the United States - a level of dominance not achieved since the Democrats during the Great Depression."
The left can scoff at Republicans all day long as they cheer on Barack Obama's Oval Office victory lap, but they are only one election away from being banished to the political margins.
Democrats are in denial of the fact that they are teetering on the edge of irrelevance. But instead of mobilizing a ground game to counter the growing Republican tide, their leaders like Schultz and Mancini prefer to make themselves feel good by snickering at the GOP.
If Hillary loses, they'll need a barrel of laughs to make themselves feel better.
Contact David Allen Martin at davidallenmartin423@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @DMart423.