You know how the old saying goes: Pride cometh before a fall.
And after last night's midterm elections, no Republican more exemplifies that old saw than far-right MAGA Republican Colorado Representative Lauren Boebert.
After two years of being among the most belligerent and bigoted members of Congress, Boebert looks poised to get sent back to Colorado with her tail between her legs by her Democratic challenger Adam Frisch.
The results spelled doom for Boebert early in the night--and just mere hours after she posted a series of bragging tweets about the "Red Wave" of Republican victories throughout the country that has so far decisively failed to materialize.
Yesterday afternoon, Boebert seemed assured of her success—like most Republicans had for weeks—and she took to Twitter to boast about her forthcoming victory.
\u201cFor the record, I never used cockroaches.\u201d— Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1667936828
Boebert tweeted:
"They called you cockroaches."
"They called you cult members."
"They called you extremists."
"They called you terrorists."
"Today, we call them losers!"
"#RedWave"
Well, that tweet aged like a gallon of skim milk in the trunk of a hot car.
Boebert still has a chance to pull off her reelection bid against Frisch, but with 90% of the vote in, Frisch leads by 1.2 points--certainly not a wide enough margin to guarantee an upset, but more than sufficient to solidly repudiate Boebert's braggadocio.
\u201cThese before and after photos at @laurenboebert\u2019s election party are giving me life\u201d— Keith Edwards (@Keith Edwards) 1667971176
Boebert followed up her tweet with another later in the day similarly boasting that "The red wave has begun!" after MAGA Republican Anna Paulina Luna's victory in Florida.
\u201cThe red wave has begun! \n\nCongratulations to Congresswoman @realannapaulina!\n\nAmerica First is winning!\u201d— Lauren Boebert (@Lauren Boebert) 1667958051
In reality, the much vaunted "Red Wave" is a red drip at best.
With the exception of absolutely running the table in Florida, Republicans' hopes of a decisive majority have all but evaporated.
In the Senate, Democrats look to be poised to at least maintain their current 50/50 split, with a 51/49 split on the table as tight races in Nevada, Arizona and Georgia have potential to swing Democrats' way.
And while Republicans are still likely to take the House of Representatives, they will probably do so only by a razor-thin margin resulting mostly from newly elected moderate Republicans in heavily gerrymandered districts in the suburbs of New York City.
Those are hardly the types of politicians to go all in on the MAGA agenda of politicians like Boebert and the House's top Republican Kevin McCarthy.
And in some states the "Red Wave" didn't just not materialize, it was replaced wholesale by what some pundits are calling state-level "Blue Tsunamis"--including Boebert's home state of Colorado, where Democrats held or flipped seats in the Senate, House, state legislature and the Governor's mansion by decisive margins.
Democrats made similar magic in Michigan, both nationally and at the state-level, handing newly reelected Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer the state's first Democratic majority in decades.
Another big winner last night was abortion rights, as several states--including dark red ones like Kentucky--decisively repudiated the GOP's attacks on access to reproductive health.
And Senate victories in Ohio and Wisconsin aside, high-profile MAGA candidates bearing former Republican President Donald Trump's imprimatur are having a rough go of it, with those still in the game hanging on by vastly narrower margins than expected.
All in all, even if she pulls her own race off, Boebert's vitriolic tweet ripping Democrats is looking to be a bit of a miscalculation.
And people on Twitter are absolutely reveling in the schadenfreude.
\u201c@laurenboebert Today we call you unemployed.\u201d— Lauren Boebert (@Lauren Boebert) 1667936634
\u201cJust a shout out to my Dad who lives in her district and told me last month @laurenboebert could lose and I didn\u2019t believe him.\u201d— Jen Psaki (@Jen Psaki) 1667973880
\u201c@laurenboebert I'm making this the wallpaper around my house. Thank you for this.\u201d— Lauren Boebert (@Lauren Boebert) 1667936634
\u201c@laurenboebert Lauren.\n\nGiven your deep faith in God.\n\nLosing your reelection must mean He's just not that into you.\u201d— Lauren Boebert (@Lauren Boebert) 1667936634
\u201c"the red wave has begun!" \u2014 Lauren Boebert, yesterday\n"you want fries with that?" \u2014 Lauren Boebert, tomorrow\u201d— Jeff Tiedrich (@Jeff Tiedrich) 1668007534
\u201cIf that imbecile Lauren Boebert loses I might run outside and hug strangers.\u201d— Edward Luce (@Edward Luce) 1667964487
\u201c@laurenboebert @realannapaulina the red wave left you behind i fear\u201d— Lauren Boebert (@Lauren Boebert) 1667958051
\u201cOk, @laurenboebert wins for the funniest tweet of the night. Not only is there no red wave, Lauren is about to be voted out.\u201d— Fred Guttenberg (@Fred Guttenberg) 1667965086
\u201c@laurenboebert @realannapaulina I need to frame this\u201d— Lauren Boebert (@Lauren Boebert) 1667958051
\u201c@fred_guttenberg @laurenboebert Boebert is the Biggest Loser!!!!\ud83e\udd73\u201d— Fred Guttenberg (@Fred Guttenberg) 1667965086
It's likely to be several more days before we see the full picture of the midterm results, but so far it looks to be a lesson in not counting your chickens before they're hatched.
Boebert might want to hit the delete button on these tweets.