A not-so-old quote from Kyle Cupp:

Much to my disappointment, I notice that I, on occasion, passionately hold opinions about matters of which I have little to no knowledge. On these occasions, when I come upon a view contrary to my own, I almost instinctively draw my sword, raise the banner, and launch a thousand ships, ready to battle in a fit of Homeric rage. Of course, my opponent has but to breathe the slightest breath in support of his position, and my sword is shattered, my banner is torn, and my fleet is lost to the stormy sea. I retreat and seek shelter in the labyrinths of Wikipedia or Google, hoping against hope that I might find some posthumous support for my uninformed opinion.

An old quote from Jonah Goldberg (h/t Conor Friedersdorf)

Dissent from Bush was muted for years, in large part because of 9/11 and the Iraq war. Conservatives, right or wrong, rallied to support their president, particularly in the face of shrill partisan attacks from Democrats who seemed more interested in tearing down the commander in chief than winning a war.

Always be wary the team mentality of politics. I must admit I found myself swept up in the victories of last night, despite my full agreement with this statement by Conor:

The core reason is my suspicion that were they returned to power tomorrow, things would turn out exactly as they did when the Republicans last controlled Congress and the White House.

We can’t let early victories go to our heads if we’re going to really evolve into something good for the country. I’m thrilled that we won some races last night but this is not a corner turned. Many of the same people who got us into this mess are still in office. We’ve still got a lot of work to do.  An interesting dynamic is raised by Goldberg though. How easy we let ourselves become defenders of policies we don’t really like because, y’know, that guy’s on my team and I want to be loyal.  Loyalty is earned – and should not be given blindly.