There was some light in the recent elections — as analyzed by my professor friend, Peter Dreier from Occidental College, in this article that I received yesterday (the link is below):
“Tuesday’s Republican wave of election victories did not reflect public opinion or the public mood. Instead it was the result of the GOP’s triumph in changing the rules of democracy to favor big business and conservative interest groups, including the triumphs of corporate money and voter suppression
…. progressives won some impressive but little-publicized victories on important issues — including minimum wage hikes — especially in red and purple states, suggesting that voters are not as conservative as the pundits are pontificating.”