There was an item in the Huffington Post newsletter screaming of "ARMAGEDDON."

"This is a very, very, very bad night for the progressive movement -- a blow that calls into question whether there is such a thing. The idea that running as a passionate progressive-populist, working hard, raising a ton of money and doing bang-up constituent work is a legitimate path to reelection in a conservative district, even in a wave year, was thoroughly demolished."

And there was a list of defeated candidates:Tom Perriello, Carol Shea-Porter, Mary Jo Kilroy, Alan Grayson.

Well, those folks lost, or were overwhelmed by a huge amount of corporate money spent on attack ads to defeat them. It wasn't so much that American progressivism lost as it was that fear won, marketing won. GOP-Tea Party candidates with weaker resumes, weaker communications skills, weaker grasps of the issues, won because their side had the money, and sold their message, which was the message of fear.

The GOP-Tea Party message was: be afraid of that black guy in Washington, because who knows what he's up to! Be afraid of Muslims! Be afraid of Mexicans! Be afraid very afraid of gays! Just be afraid that those people in Washington are stealing something from you. Stealing what? Don't ask. Just be afraid.

GOP-Tea Party did not deal with issues. Those Tea Partiers who addressed issues, during the primaries, were silenced by the GOP establishment during the general election campaigns, and told to keep quiet, and to deny what they said during the primaries. The elections weren't decided on issues, or on matters which concern progressives. If they were the GOP would have lost all of them. Large majorities of Americans support the progressives positions on social security, on job creation, on help for the unemployed, on job outsourcing, on aid to education, on gay rights, on the separation of church and state. The elections were decided on who got out their message, and who kept their message out there. Who had the money to do so.

Progressives need to spend no time whining, but to get ready, today, for the 2012 elections. The fear mongers will be ready.