Democrats, Republicans, take note: A new era has begun - By E.J. Dionne Jr.

Tuesday’s Democratic sweep obliterated a series of outdated story lines in American politics and opened a new era.

Forget those repetitious tales about some piece of President Trump’s base still sticking with him. It’s now clear, from Virginia and New Jersey to Washington state, Georgia, New York, Connecticut and Maine, that the energy Trump has unleashed among those who loathe him has the potential to realign the country.

In droves, voters rebuked his leadership, his party and the divisive white-nationalist politics that was supposed to save Republican Ed Gillespie in the Virginia governor’s race, the centerpiece of the GOP catastrophe.

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Widespread reports of new organizing and activism on the progressive side of politics were often written off before Tuesday because earlier this year Democrats lost four special congressional elections in very Republican constituencies. Typically overlooked were sharp shifts away from the GOP in all these districts. It’s now clear that the backlash against Trump is the most consequential fact of American politics.

Other right-wing narratives died as well. Anti-Obamacare sentiment was once an asset for the Republican Party. Not anymore. On Tuesday in Virginia, the exit poll found that health care was the top issue in the governor’s race, named by close to 40 percent of voters. Health-care voters backed Northam by better than 3 to 1. In Maine, voters defied their erratic arch-conservative governor, Paul LePage (R), and voted for the ACA’s Medicaid expansion.

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-democratic-sweep-ushers-in-a-new-political-era/2017/11/08/2bb87676-c4ae-11e7-84bc-5e285c7f4512_story.html