As noted here, the physics of what happened during lame duck were anomalous, but not very complicated. I think the reason it came as such a surprise to so many people — myself included — is that the Democrats spearheaded it.
Remember, these were the same Democrats who needed weeks and weeks to get it together and pass health care reform after Scott Brown won. That night, all sorts of members, from the rank and file to Barney Frank — Barney Frank! — stumbled like zombies out of a caucus meeting to eat the bill alive. It would be an insult to Democracy to jam it through the weeks-long window between his victory and his swearing in, they said.
Well, that’s basically the same principle as lame duck.
And based on that history, you’d think the midterms would have resulted in more, not less, political paralysis. These aren’t Republicans, who happily impeached Bill Clinton during a lame duck session. These are Democrats: impressionable, divided, ideologically insecure.
It’d be nice to think that the positive feedback loop they just enjoyed might break them of this instinct. But I don’t think that’s very likely.
