But what's more telling are the ballot initiatives. Marijuana legalization continued its streak, winning over Oregon, Alaska and the District. (Despite winning a majority vote in Florida, the initiative to legalize medical marijuana failed to get to the 60 percent it needed to pass. And you'd think with all that glaucoma, they'd be all over it down there.)

The left also won on the so-called personhood front — defeating anti-abortion measures in both Colorado and North Dakota. (Tennessee voted for handing lawmakers tighter control.)

Finally, Alaska, Arkansas, Nebraska and South Dakota all voted for higher minimum wages, despite their reddish hues. (This could drive a larger, national discussion, but I doubt it.)

So what now? What will happen? What should happen?

But let's imagine, for the sake of argument that the politicians actually meant all those things they said.

Well, the "what will happen?" is the easier answer. Probably nothing.

The low-hanging fruit here is immigration reform. While both parties agree something must be done, the schism in the GOP will prevent any real movement on this front. Unless, of course, the media narrative is on point and establishment Republicans have, in fact, quelled the Tea Party uprising. I'm just not sure I believe that. And I know Ted Cruz doesn't. But, we'll see.

But in the posturing leading up to the next presidential election, Republicans run the risk of squandering the political capital the hapless Democrats have handed them. Since they're now running things — at least in two of the three branches of government now — they no longer have the luxury of obstructionism. Simply put, the part in charge can't be the party of no.

So, what should Republicans do? For starters, pass some kind of meaningful immigration reform. It will attract new minority voters to the party and be a huge PR coup. Sure, Obama will probably try to take credit for it, but it's a small price to pay.

Republicans should also push through a 3 percent to 5 percent corporate tax cut, putting the onus on Obama to wield the veto pen. (It would certainly give the Republicans something to fight back against come 2016.)

But it's important they counter that cut with a modest bump in the minimum wage. Voters clearly support it, and it would defuse any of those corporate-loving accusations from the left. Republicans ran a lot — and obviously won — on historically liberal issues this election, decrying poverty levels, questioning unemployment numbers, targeting minority voters and equal pay. Tackling the minimum wage would be an easy way for Republicans to put their money where their mouths are.

(For a more exhaustive look at this, check out this Slate piece that — despite the reporter's bias — does a pretty good job of breaking it down. I'm not sure I buy his conclusion, but he brings up some interesting points.)

More importantly, what to do with PPACA? I think repeal is off the table. For two reasons: One, most voters don't want that. And, two, at this point I think it would do more harm than good. No, what Republicans need to do now is simply kill both the medical device and Cadillac taxes.

"But how do we pay for this thing? That's a big chunk of the funding mechanism," you point out.

Easy, Congress jumps out ahead of the legalization movement, legalizing (at least) marijuana, while imposing, say, a 2 percent federal excise tax on all sales. That money would be put in some kind of PPACA fund. The states would be wise to follow suit, since that federal Medicaid expansion money won't last forever.

Just a thought…