JERRY POURNELLE on what Republicans should do now. “The Tea Party can be proud. They hold the balance of power in the United States. It is no mean accomplishment. And the Republican leadership needs to understand: the Tea Party played by the rules. They ran in primaries, and where they didn’t win they still turned out to vote Republican. It is now the turn of the Country Club Republicans to learn how to play to win. The Tea Party holds the balance of power here — and West Virginia shows there are alternatives to the Republican Party if the Country Club hasn’t learned that.”

Yes, the Tea Partiers were supposed to be the flighty, self-centered spoilers who would ruin things if they didn’t get their way — but instead, that sort of behavior was exclusively the province of “respectable” establishment Republicans like Lisa Murkowski or Mike Castle or Charlie Crist or . . . well, you get the point. Entitled narcissists.

KEEPING THE GOVERNMENT out of your Amazon account.

CHANGE: Three Iowa Justices Defeated For Same-Sex Marriage Ruling. “Three Iowa Supreme Court Justices were tossed as a result of their votes mandating that same-sex couples be allowed to marry. They are the first Justices who failed to be retained since 1962, when the current system was implemented.” I’m in favor of gay marriage, but I think it’s better that it happen legislatively. On the other hand, had these justices been retained it would have been democratic sanction for the decision. That’s a virtue of elected supreme courts.

NASHVILLE SCENE: It’s Off to Siberia for Tennessee Democrats: Contemplating the Collapse of Andy Jackson’s Party . It’s not the end of the two-party system — in fact, since Republicans haven’t been in charge before since Reconstruction, it’s more like a reassertion of the two-party system. But it’s certainly a change that has left a lot of people discomfited.

Why? According to one defeated legislator: “The president poisoned the well. State-wide people just aren’t voting for Democrats.”

FROM THE KNOXVILLE NEWS-SENTINEL: A short film on Bill Haslam’s successful run for governor.

UPDATE: A reader who works at Pilot emails: “I’d say in 12 minutes that video pretty much nails it. Bill hired me at Pilot over 16 years ago. The parts of the video on that time in the company were accurate. Bill’s lack of ego, seen by many of us who admired his approach to issues, is crucial to his success. I’ve never met anyone as un-affected as Bill, and I assert it is wholly due to his faith and his relationship with God, and Jesus Christ. He never, ever, wears that on his sleeve as so many in the secular/religious Bible-belt do. He is very different from his big brother, and his dad. Bill was an effective businessman and an effective public servant. Jimmy is an effective businessman (understatement, there) but would be a crashing failure as a public servant. Each has ended up right where they should be.”

HOW TO defund ObamaCare.

THOUGHTS ON THE KINDLE from Adam Carolla. “I still can’t get over the capacity of these things: 3,500 books. Can we figure out a way to apply this technology to other areas? Hey Mr. Kindle, for your next invention, let’s focus on a thermos that holds eighty gallons of beer, a lunch box that holds a six-foot sub, or a single suitcase that can contain Lady Gaga’s entire wardrobe.”

BUT AM I REALLY “SUPER SCARY?” George Washington, Christian Grantham, and Glenn Reynolds Walk into a Bar. I’d say more super-duper scary. I mean, just look at this blood-curdling picture. Or — if you’re really, really brave — this one.

CHANGE: Algae for biofuels: Moving from promise to reality, but how fast?

BARNEY FRANK SURVIVED SEAN BIELAT’S CHALLENGE, but as this “train-wreck” victory speech demonstrates, it really got under his skin and he’s lashing out in what looks more like an angry concession speech. I think Barney Frank is actually hurt that he had to take it, not just dish it out this time around. But the Tea Party movement has not yet begun to dish . . . .

But Frank’s childish behavior provides a good lesson in how to deal with the political class. Mock them, and don’t treat them with the respect they — wrongly — feel is their due. They’re not used to being challenged. Keep it up, and odds are they’ll either quit, or embarrass themselves fatally.

UPDATE: Reader Kevin Greene emails: “Remember, Glenn … Barney Frank had to shell out $200,000 of his own money to fund his last-minute commercials since nobody wants to donate to him any more. That’s gotta STING!”

ANOTHER UPDATE: Robert Ferrigno writes: “I think you’re missing the real roots of Barney’s rage. Yes he won, but now he’s no longer the chairman of the house banking committee. He’s just another backbencher. That’s what he’s angry at.”

MORE: Reader Diane Allocco writes:

I think Barney is still cranky that he had to campaign without scorn and condescension toward his opponent. Frank’s entire intellectual stance is that any opponent or interlocutor is an idiot. This tactic was denied him by the obvious intellectual seriousness and experiential heft (harvard, even) of Beilat. Sneering derision is the anchor of Frank’s soul; it is the coherence principle of his personality. For the first time in his adult life, I’d bet, he couldn’t deploy it — not sure he will ever recover.

Well, that’s just tragic.

IT’S A BAD DEAL ON BOTH ENDS: Fed to Buy $600 Billion of Treasurys.

BEET JUICE boosts brain blood flow in older adults.

HOUSTON VOTERS reject red-light cameras by wide margin.

LOADS OF DIGITAL-CAMERA BUYING INFORMATION over at Popular Photography magazine’s new buying-guide site. And I should also plug DPReview.com, too.

ONE-DAY SALE: 60% off men’s dress pants.

SONJA SCHMIDT: Barack And The Beanstalk.

FASTER, PLEASE: Discovery In Salamanders Could Lead To Human Limb Regeneration.

FOOD NEWS: Sugar soars to 30-year high as supply fears grow.

HOW TO replace your laptop with an iPad.

GROUP DEMANDS immediate halt of full-body airport scanners.

THE HILL: Few Dems Survive Vote In Favor of Health Reform.

SO MUCH FOR THE GENDER GAP: ” The conventional wisdom that women all prefer government-provided safety over freedom has been put to rest.” Hey, the Tea Party movement is majority-female.

DAILY BEAST: 5 Best Moments from MSNBC’s Election-Night Meltdown. “Matthews asked Bachmann if she was hypnotized. Olbermann feared the Tea Party would eat away at the Earth’s core. O’Donnell prepared for the Rand Paul end times.”

CATO: What spending should the GOP cut?

Why not all of it? Seriously, how about starting with a 5% across-the-board cut, sparing nothing — entitlements, defense, whatever? States do this sort of thing when they’re in budget trouble.

LIMBAUGH TO REPUBLICANS: Forget compromise! Compromise is for losers! You won in a wipeout!