Midterm elections are over, and here at the Journal, we’re a tad bit confused. No, it’s not the fact that the Republicans took over the House – saw that one coming. And it has nothing to do with people voting yes on Question 1 in Massachusetts (although we’ll get to that malarkey next issue). Sadly, this time it has to do something that affects both the nation and our egos: Nobody has been paying attention to the Journal!

For the past month or so, we discussed the lunacy of several Tea Party-backed candidates and how there was no way, absolutely no way, the buffoons we had so much fun making fun of could ever be taken seriously. This is America! Sure, we can be silly, but we’re generally sane – two of our main media men even held a rally this past weekend to prove it!

We never thought we would put our money where our mouths are. Poking fun at an exasperatingly strange woman (this is the last time Christine O’Donnell… for now at least) and a sleaze ball group of cronies (Carl Paladino and company) seemed only natural when considering their many media blunders. We laughed, we repeatedly uttered the phrase, “I’m not a witch, I’m you,” and we ran our mouths without worry. After all, nobody could take a goofball Tea Party candidate seriously, right? Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

The Tea Party showed what it was made of this year, and though we hate to admit it, its candidates’ publicity stunts and overall zaniness won this battle.  No, nothing went as far as Crazy Carl or Cooky Christine taking their respective races… Oh wait, Rand Paul won Kentucky.

The big issue at hand, for us at least, is the fact that a lot of these races were quite close. The fact that Sharron Angle even stood a chance against Harry Reid in Nevada is extremely alarming; the same goes for Paladino, who managed to take 35 percent of the votes in New York before his loss to Andrew Cuomo. Four in 10 voters expressed support for the Tea Party in exit polls.

Do we have to mention once more that this movement began one stupid year ago? Will we have to put up with this nonsense two years from now? Should we worry now that we’re eating our own jokes?

Be afraid, be very afraid.