There was a midterm election this week. The Democrats lost as many as 63 House seats as well as losing six Senate seats.

In the Senate it could have been worse, but for three Tea Party Senate nominees they were not yet ready for prime time: O’Donnell, Buck and Angle.

Miller in Alaska belongs on the list but it looks like Republicans will save the Senate seat there by the write in candidate, current U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski.

It was more than the typical midterm losses expected of a first term President. The sea of Republicans going into the House reflects a public mood not in support of Republicans, but determined to continue kicking out the Congress until their views are both heard and respected. 2006 was a change election, as was 2008 and now 2010. The message for members of the House should be simple enough, do not buy a house in Washington and do not sign a lease over two years since you may not be staying.

Still, while Americans are very unhappy about Congress and the direction of the nation, Democrats did nothing to help themselves avoid the outcome this past Tuesday.

The President seemingly cannot find an issue that he cannot complicate to the point of confusion in communicating it to the public.

In spite of all the loud voter anger over spending, Democrats could not find anything to cut this year to show even a modest interest in fiscal responsibility. And surely we can find some valuable changes in the new health care law, like tort reform, to demonstrate that these changes will continue to reflect good policy.

Most importantly President Obama and the Democrats in the Senate need to show the nation that they can compromise for the good of the country, as do the newly elected Republicans in Congress.

In a new Bloomberg National Report poll, 80 percent of Americans said they expect their elected representatives to compromise even if it means compromising principles.

Only 16 percent of respondents believed that gridlock without compromise was the right way forward.

So what will Republicans do when the public wishes them to work with the Democrats making policy that helps Americans?

Last week new House Speaker Boehner said, “This is not a time for compromise.” Mike Pence, number four in the majority, said “…if I have not been clear enough yet, let me say again: no compromise.”

Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader is equally direct about his goals for the next two years. Are they legislative? Not in the least. Mr. McConnell says his primary goal is to make President Obama a one-term president.

But maybe the newly elected Republicans who claimed Tea Party affinity will be more willing to seek accomplishment over ideology.

Rand Paul, Tea Party favorite and new U.S. Senator from Kentucky, has said he is one of the 16 percent who favor gridlock over cooperating with Democrats.

Republicans will have an opportunity to set the tone for the new Congress early on. If they should decide to attempt to reverse health care reform, lacking both the votes and public support to do so (the public is equally divided on health care reform with 47 percent favoring the reforms and 48 percent wanting repeal of the reforms), that will reflect they have chosen confrontation over the work of the people.

If they choose investigation, as they did in the Clinton years, over legislation that too will indicate they have chosen conflict over accomplishment.

As Americans let us all hope congress works together to cut wasteful spending and improve government wherever possible with a goal of helping the nation more than helping themselves.

Jim Crawford is a contributing columnist for The Tribune and a former educator at Ohio University Southern.