The Week: The Blue Tsunami, Alphabet’s Worst Day Ever, and How to Log Off

Nov 6, 2026 · Summarized Nov 6, 2026

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Key takeaways

Scott argues that young men aged 18–29 swung 38 points toward Democrats because they prioritize economic prospects and the ability to form households over many social or geopolitical issues.
The election exposed a Republican rural-vote collapse, with Democratic victories in districts Republicans had redrawn to protect themselves.
David Brooks says today’s Trump-aligned movement is anti-left reaction rather than the Burkean, Hamiltonian conservatism he once supported.
AI infrastructure spending has pushed nearly every hyperscaler into negative free cash flow, making companies that once funded themselves increasingly dependent on bond and equity investors.
Anna Lembke recommends interrupting rumination by moving attention into the physical and social world, then doing the concrete thing reality requires.

Summary

The Democrats’ “blue tsunami” reshaped the midterms

George Hahn reports that Democrats won 54 Senate seats, 240 House seats, and five new governorships, reaching 29 governors nationwide, with upsets in South Carolina, Kansas, and Texas. Scott says Trump’s involvement sank South Carolina Republican Darlene, arguing an unknown Republican without Trump’s endorsement would have won. He highlights major swings toward Democrats among white women (11 points), white non-college voters (14), Black men (16), Hispanic voters (28), young people (32), and especially men aged 18–29 (38), whom he says are focused on economic prosperity and forming households.

Republicans lost rural voters despite redistricting

Scott says Republicans also lost ground with rural voters, traditionally their core constituency. Jessica Tarlov calls the rural collapse a central storyline, especially in South Carolina, and says Republicans’ redistricting efforts in Florida and North Carolina became “dummymanders”: Democrats won in districts Republicans had redrawn to exclude them. She mocks the party for having “cheated so badly” and still failing to gain seats. Tarlov cautions that the Democratic coalition may not last into 2028 if Republicans nominate more conventional candidates, since some voters were voting against the current Republican leadership rather than for Democrats.

David Brooks separates conservatism from anti-left reaction

David Brooks says Edmund Burke and Alexander Hamilton shaped his belief in epistemological modesty, incremental change, and limited but energetic government that promotes social mobility. He now sees Trump as representing reactionary politics rather than conservatism. Brooks traces a crucial split to the 1980s: his circles at National Review, the Wall Street Journal editorial page, and the Weekly Standard promoted conservative ideas, while figures such as Laura Ingraham and Dinesh D’Souza at the Dartmouth Review were primarily anti-left. He recalls their editors attacking a campus anti-apartheid shantytown with sledgehammers as an example of that antagonism.

Trump-era distrust is pushing allies to buy insurance

Fareed Zakaria says two Trump elections have convinced allies they need protection against another Trump-like president, including J.D. Vance or Donald Trump Jr. Canada is diversifying trade with the European Union, China, and India because its integrated North American economy can be used to pressure it; Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to continue even if a Democrat wins in 2028. India is slowing its planned shift away from Russian arms and bought French fighter planes instead of American ones. Zakaria says the U.S. may stabilize alliances, but cannot restore the old trust.

Investors punished Alphabet’s AI spending and search risk

Scott contrasts Microsoft’s 5% rise with Alphabet’s nearly 13% fall, its worst day since going public, and Amazon’s roughly 7% drop. He says Microsoft convinced investors it could grow revenue and earnings while keeping capital expenditures relatively disciplined, whereas Alphabet’s executives admitted AI Mode produces fewer ads—effectively acknowledging that its new product can cannibalize Search, its core profit engine. Scott says Microsoft is renovating with cash on hand, while Alphabet appears to be taking out “second mortgages,” and he now performs basic searches on Claude, behavior he expects eventually to appear in the numbers.

Big Tech now depends on capital markets to fund AI

Ed Elson says Google, Oracle, Meta, Amazon, and the other hyperscalers have entered negative free cash flow because data-center spending reached nearly $700 billion over the past 12 months, up almost 90% year over year. Microsoft is the only one still positive, though its free cash flow fell 27%. The companies hold nearly $600 billion in cash and short-term investments, but projected capital expenditures exceed $2 trillion over the next two years. Microsoft’s $25 billion bond sale and Meta’s planned $95 billion equity raise show that once-independent companies now need investors’ permission to continue the AI buildout.

Anna Lembke’s prescription for getting out of your head

Stanford psychiatrist Anna Lembke says distress usually traps people in rumination and the illusion that more thinking will solve the problem. She describes a recovering patient who learned not to trust every personal narrative and instead went kickboxing, looked at a rose bush, and talked with people. Her recommendation is to pivot attention outward, surrender attempts to control reality through “mental mentations,” observe what is actually happening, identify what needs to be done, and take that action.

Show notes

George Hahn connects the dots across the week's biggest stories: How the Democrats won a majority in both chambers of Congress, why investors will hesitate to hand more money to Big Tech, and what a Stanford psychiatrist says about getting out of your own head.

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