ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH: Colorado to adopt ‘Gender X’ option on driver’s licenses.

WHO? The Most Ambitious Man in America? Dem Rep. Eric Swalwell to Run for President. “The 37-year-old would be the youngest candidate for president since William Jennings Bryan in 1896.”

BY ANY MEANS FAIR OR FOUL, BUT MOSTLY FOUL: Sen. Bill Nelson Hires Perkins Coie/Trump Dossier Attorney Marc Elias to Handle Florida Recount.

He also served as general counsel for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign and for John Kerry’s in 2004.

OH: Federal judge blocks construction of Keystone XL pipeline.

SCENES FROM THE WORKERS’ PARADISE: UN Says Number of migrants, refugees from Venezuela reaches 3 million. “The exodus, driven by violence, hyperinflation and shortages of food amounts to around one in 12 of the population.”

The World Bank says the crisis has already cost Colombia almost half a percent of its gross domestic product in 2018: $1.2bn.

Earlier this year, Ecuador and Peru announced tighter entry rules, with the former declaring a state of emergency in three northern states which receive up to 4,200 Venezuelans daily.

“I have nowhere else to go,” said Daleny Gonzales, a Venezuelan migrant in Colombia. “They are telling us we can’t stay here. But I don’t know where else to go.”

If you’re opposed to socialism, it’s because you’re an uncaring monster.

LIZ SHELD’S MORNING BRIEF: Every Vote Counts in Large Amounts and Much, Much More. “Literally, you can count on them or with them. The Democrats in Florida, Georgia, and Arizona are continuing to ‘count’ the ‘votes’ in the 2018 election and, curiously, as they continue to “count,” the Democrats either take the lead or close the gap.”

They mean to win. Does the GOP?

NUMBER ONE SHOULD NOT SURPRISE YOU: 10 of America’s Most Overrated Tourist Destinations.

THEIR MEMORY IMPROVED BUT THEY DIDN’T FEEL LIKE DOING MUCH: Active Ingredient In Marijuana Reduced Alzheimer’s-Like Effects In Mice.

DAMN RIGHT WE DO: Study Claims Men Who Play Video Games Perpetuate ‘Technomasculinity.’

NICE: Trump Honors Victims of Communism.

WINNING: U.S. crude output at new record with oil at lowest price since March.

I had been assured by the smartest President ever that we couldn’t drill our way to lower energy prices.

ANALYSIS: TRUE. Democrats Aren’t Losing Faith In Our Constitutional System. They Just Don’t Like It.

David Harsanyi:

Why would Democrats lose faith in a “system” that is doing exactly what was intended? The Constitution explicitly protects small states (and individuals) from national majorities. The argument for diffusing democracy and checking a strong federal government is laid out in The Federalist Papers and codified on an array of levels. This was done on purpose. It is the system.

I mean, do Democrats really believe the Electoral College was constructed to always correspond with the national vote? Do they believe that the signers of the Constitution were unaware that some states would be far bigger than others in the future? If the Founders didn’t want Virginia to dictate how people in Delaware lived in 1787, why would they want California to dictate how people in Wyoming live in 2018? If you don’t believe this kind of proportionality is a vital part of American governance, you don’t believe in American governance.

You can despise Brett Kavanaugh all you like, but why would Democrats lose faith in “the system” that saw Republicans follow directions laid out in the Constitution for confirming a Supreme Court nominee? Why would Democrats lose faith in “the system” that elected Donald Trump using the same Electoral College that every other president used? Why would they lose faith in a system that houses a Supreme Court that stops the other branches from banning political speech? When the Supreme Court affirmed the election of George W. Bush, it turned out to be the right call.

It’s because they see the system as a way to achieve partisan goals, not as a set of politically neutral idealistic values.

“Partisan goals” is I think David’s nice way of saying “raw political power.”

THEY AREN’T THE ONLY ONES: Cannabis Industry Cheers Sessions’ Departure at DOJ.

IS IT REALLY THAT EASY? Iran’s ‘Ghost Ships’ Evade Oil Sanctions By Turning Off Trackers.

LEARN TO LOVE THE CONSTITUTION AND ADOPT NEW, LIBERTY-MINDED POLICIES? Progressives’ plan for victory just took a gut-punch. Now what do they do?

Despite a good night for congressional Democrats overall, nearly all of national progressive groups’ star candidates fell short in their contests in red or purple districts and states, potentially slowing the momentum the emboldened left had enjoyed since Hillary Clinton’s loss two years ago.

“Progressives have to really do some hard thinking about the shape of the movement looking at 2020 and beyond,” said progressive strategist Jonathan Tasini, adding that while the left had successes in some local races, they struggled in statewide contests.

“The failure, for example, of the Ben Jealous campaign in a very Democratic state says both that sticking a simple ‘progressive’ branding on a candidate’s campaign may sustain a small cult, but that isn’t enough to win enough elections.”

You don’t say.

HE ISN’T WELL-BEHAVED ENOUGH TO DESERVE ONE: White House doubles down on decision to pull press pass from CNN’s Acosta.

21ST CENTURY PROBLEMS: Transgender Woman Files Human Rights Complaints Against 16 Women For Refusing To Wax His Male Genitalia.

THIS IS NO TIME TO GO WOBBLY: McConnell Discussing Areas of Bipartisan Agreement with Pelosi.

SPOILER: THE BIRDS DON’T CARE. Woman Launches ‘Feminist Bird Club’ to Promote ‘Intersectionality’ in Bird-Watching.

CORN, POPPED: Democrats are sounding every alarm now that Trump has forced Jeff Sessions to resign.

Several prominent Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and Rep. Adam Schiff of California, who serves as ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, have raised concerns that Sessions’ departure could throw a wrench in the special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.

“The firing of Attorney General Jeff Sessions places the Special Counsel’s investigation in new and immediate peril,” Schiff said in a statement.

“It is abundantly clear that Sessions was forced out for following the advice of ethics lawyers at the Department of Justice and recusing himself from the Russia probe, and for failing to bring about an end to an investigation that has produced multiple indictments and convictions and may implicate the President or others around him,” Schiff said.

Democrats have major concerns regarding the newly appointed Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, who has previously lashed out at Mueller and the Russia probe at large.

I’m still waiting for any sign of smoke, much less fire.

LATE-STAGE SOCIALISM: Venezuela’s consumer prices rose 833,997 percent in past 12 months.

“The figure is still scandalously high,” opposition lawmaker Angel Alvarado said. The legislature has become the only source for economic indicators after the central bank stopped publishing such information nearly three years ago as the economy unraveled amid a collapse in crude oil prices.

Socialist President Nicolas Maduro in August slashed five zeroes off the ailing bolivar currency and boosted the minimum wage thirty-fold in an effort to stabilize inflation, which has eroded purchasing power and contributed to an exodus that has seen 2 million Venezuelans migrate since 2015.

Plus: “The IMF expects hyperinflation to reach 10 million percent in 2019.”

Zeros remain in abundance, comrades.

SCOTUS: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospitalized After Breaking 3 Ribs in Fall.

HERE WE GO: Soros-Funded MoveOn.Org Plans Mass Demonstrations Thursday to Protest Sessions’ Firing.

MONICA SHOWALTER: Biggest loser at midterms? Barack Obama.

Then there were the midterm campaigns that weren’t gimmes, some very high profile, and high media-exposure ones: Joe Donnelly of Indiana for Senate. Bill Nelson of Florida for Senate. Andrew Gillum of Florida for governor. Stacey Abrams of Georgia for governor.

Those were the ones Obama went hoarse campaigning for, yelling and waving his arms, voice cracking, speeches described as fiery, telling voters to vote for these guys or die. With Gillum in particular, racial appeals were a factor and Obama’s presence was supposed to help. Gillum had a big media buildup about being a first black governor of Florida as an argument to draw votes, and he later cried racism to fend off corruption allegations. Adding Obama to campaign was obviously part of the appeal. This time, the race-politics identity card simply failed.

And Obama? What did he get? Zilch. Zip. Zero. Nada. The voters rather noticibly rejected the ex-president’s appeal for votes. Been there, done that.

He’s the bride at every funeral and the corpse at every wedding.

MIGHT? A Partisan War Awaits Trump. That Just Might Suit Him.

On Election Night my dear friend and Instapundit coblogger Sarah Hoyt worried that Trump would seek to cut deals with Pelosi, and get blindsided by nefarious Democrats the way both Bushes did. My take is that Trump looks forward to a two-year fight, and will run for reelection, with apologies to Harry Truman, against the “Do-Crazy” Congress.