The midterm elections that benefited the Republican Party may also mean an audit of the Federal Reserve is one step closer to reality.

The 113th Congress has been often dubbed a "Do Nothing Congress," citing its lack of passage of bills and waning popularity. But the original "Do Nothing Congress" was the 80th Congress during President Harry S. Truman's first term. The historical lessons that can be learned from the 80th Congress should serve as a warning to both parties, and will probably dictate much of the political strategy for the 114th Congress and the 2016 presidential election.

The incumbent president of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff (Workers Party), was re-elected on October 26 with a margin of less than 4 percentage points (3 million votes) over opposition leader Aécio Neves (Brazilian Social Democratic Party). The key factor in the election was a threat made through letters and SMS messages by the ruling party's campaign that an income distribution program called Bolsa-Família would eventually end if Neves wins.

"No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen."  -- U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 3, Clause 3

Every once in a while we get to see a politician jump across state lines to take advantage of an open Senate or House seat -- Hillary Clinton's successful senatorial bid in New York has been a high-profile recent occurrence.

Voter's today are often under the mistaken assumption that the current American two-party political system operates the same as it always has. The truth is, this two-party system was fundamentally altered after the 60s, and looks nothing like its former self. Excessive partisanship has even convinced us that one party has a monopoly on "conservatism" and the other "liberalism."

No one party is going to hold the majority for long. For all the rhetoric from the vice president, by the end of Election Day, the results were not that surprising. The Democrats were not going to keep control forever and the Republicans need to realize neither will they.

UPDATE November 7, 2014 at 6:00pm: As IVN predicted, the latest count shows Scott Peter's lead widening dramatically to almost 4,500 votes. As of Friday evening, Peters now has 51.2% of the vote (92,410 votes) to Demaio's 48.8% (87,919 votes).

IVN is projecting that first-term incumbent U.S. Representative Scott Peters will keep his seat in the race against Republican challenger Carl DeMaio in California's 52 Congressional District.

Tuesday was typical.

Republicans swept the 2014 midterm elections on Tuesday, capturing the Senate and delivering a stinging defeat to Democrats that will likely define the next two years.

In Colorado, Governor John Hickenlooper (D) held on to his seat for another 4-year term. With 55 of 64 counties reporting so far, he defeated Republican challenger Bob Beauprez 48.87 percent to 46.49 percent.