Republicans win -

 Why was the result such a surprise to those who like to think of themselves as" intellectual and progressives"; 
Are the people fickle and was the main reason the cost of living?
Yes but it's also about unconvincing chatter and scare campaigns by those who have NO Life experience and no practical science engagement to know why their biggest worry ( Global warming) changed to something that tries to take all ( Climate change ) means nothing but Ur saying nothing  - completely unprovable ( CO2 role in air temp )

Soon it will not be safe (scientifically) for anyone to safely talk about CO2 even though twits like Bowen and Greens may think they will. 

SUMMARY 
Because the comfortable elites (cheque in the mail every fortnight) have stopped listening and still run stupid and no longer relevant old Marxist prejudices and HYPOCRISY about whose rich and whose poor and why .

The right and left divide is the lefts myth that has been exploded TODAY .
The democrats and Leftists have nothing to say and their incompetence and distraction by the Greens and old rich class hate comes to the fore.  

Today's result in the USA is IMO a welcome victory for higher productivity and less sentimentality. A victory for hardworking people ( eg Regional )and less support for comfortable dependants . (eg Cities )

But such basic and responsible wins are hard to get because the ignorant idealists effectively hold power and force vote seeking nonsense TALK and PROMISES by big party leaders. ( eg less than 1% of population are farmers )

We in Australia need to note one reason why most Western Democracies are vulnerable to weird thinking idealism--- One vote one value seems fair . but makes popular chatter and the voice of the dependants the deciding factor.

Having said all that there is always a risk that poor and powerless will suffer if another rich group now get comfortable. We have some tough eco issues that require hard edges discomfort and real precision in decision. As a regional person who knows how much the public purse chasers get, I suggest anyone who gets a regular cheque ( incl from shares ) recognize who really are the poor. Time to rid ourselves of old prejudices about poor workers /unionists and the terrible nature of big business owners when they are shareholders with regular income . SOME MORE SOBER STUFF just in case you think I am far right , I am with SOLZ in saying that The West still does NOT YET have the courage and is too comfortable to properly look after its children. The Speech That Cost Solzhenitsyn Everything | Harvard Commencement Address 1978 (youtube.com) POSITIVES This new team will have the chance to not follow the idealists in their ignorant doctrines and scare campaigns that are anti science,