In an age of hyper-partisanship, it's hard to imagine members of one party saying they're "really, really happy" that someone flying under their own political banner lost an election.
Yet that's exactly what Sen. Bob Corker had to say after Republican Roy Moore's loss to Democrat Doug Jones in Alabama's U.S. Senate special election on Tuesday.
Corker is not alone. Many Republicans across the country breathed a collective sigh of relief as Alabama voters elected their first Democrat to the Senate since 1992.
As astounding as that might normally sound, the worst outcome for the GOP on Tuesday would have been a Moore win. Had Moore defeated Jones, Republicans would've held onto a 52-48 edge in Congress' upper chamber, sure, but the long-term consequences would've been steep.
Moore was a bad candidate out of the gate. He was already a lightning rod of a fellow with a skewed appreciation for the Constitution. Then came multiple allegations of past sexual misconduct. And as the country stumbles through a reckoning on sexual misdeeds - one with reverberations far and wide - having an alleged serial pedophile on your team just won't do.
It's hard to express just how bad Moore was as a candidate. A Republican losing a statewide race in Alabama is a truly remarkable feat. Shoot, had Tennessee's Phil Fulmer run as a Republican on Tuesday versus Jones, he would've won in a cakewalk. (If you don't follow college football, and are unfamiliar with the Fulmer/Alabama saga, Google, "Why does Alabama hate Phil Fulmer.")
So the answer is yes, there actually are limits to how far one political team will go to elect someone simply because they wear the same jersey.
Good for that.
As is normally the case, the instant the election was called, pundits began hypothesizing what the result means for future contests. However, given the unique nature of Moore's candidacy, it's hard to draw straight-line parallels between the Alabama race and, say, Tennessee's upcoming U.S. Senate race - which, should be a doozy in its own right.
For those on the left, Tuesday's results were emboldening. Indeed, on the heels of Jones' win Democrats have adopted a new mantra: "Compete everywhere!" While I can appreciate that sentiment, using Moore's defeat to frame contests elsewhere is a bit of a stretch. Why? Well, first of all, Republicans won't be putting supposed pedophiles on ballots across the country in 2018.
But "compete everywhere" likely does read well in a fundraising letter.
The biggest takeaway for Republicans is that the establishment and grassroots elements need each other.
Over the past few years, there has been a popular narrative making the rounds that the GOP establishment is held hostage by rabble rousers in the party - that if Republican candidates want to win an election, they must make their peace with their party's more raucous voices.
On a national scale, this pits the likes of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell against former White House counsel and professional provocateur Steve Bannon.
What we saw on Tuesday is that no matter how loud the Bannon bullhorn, the grassroots wing cannot achieve much without the establishment. Bannon went all in for Roy Moore. McConnell and his mega-donor friends, conversely, did not lift a finger for him.
When those two camps are united, Donald Trump goes to the White House. When they're not, Alabama sends its first Democrat to the U.S. Senate in a quarter century.
Whatever your biggest takeaway might be, Tuesday's result was a win for both parties. Most important, though, it was a win for the country.
Something we should all be "really, really happy" about.
Contact David Allen Martin at davidallenmartin423@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @DMart423.