The results of the Iowa Caucus are in. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are essentially tied, and three Republicans are running neck and neck. The obvious lesson from the caucus is that Iowa voters do not support the establishment candidates of either party. Bernie Sanders is not an establishment candidate and received about half of the Democratic votes. Ted Cruz and Donald Trump are the non-establishment  Republican candidates, and together they received slightly more than half of the Republican votes. The message being sent by the voters seems rather obvious–we don’t want more of the same.

Today The Hill posted a story that might indicated that the Washington establishment may not have received the message the Iowa voters have sent.

The article reports:

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), seeking to protect his majority in a tough cycle for Republicans, is leaning toward holding back several measures that have bipartisan support but are divisive in his conference.

McConnell, who will meet in the Oval Office on Tuesday with President Obama and Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), is under pressure from some in his conference to take action this year on a sweeping Pacific Rim trade deal, criminal justice reform legislation and an authorization for the use of military force (AUMF) against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

Others in McConnell’s conference are not keen to tackle any of those issues, however, and Senate GOP sources say McConnell is likely to take the safe route and not advance any bills that divide his ­conference.

“McConnell is smart to wait on issues that divide us until such time as we can achieve a consensus,” said a senior Republican aide. “There’s no question that some members want to turn to some things sooner than others. But McConnell’s duty is to do what’s best for the entire conference. Seems what’s best for the conference is to focus on the things that unite us.”

Essentially, Leader McConnell is saying that he isn’t going to lead. He doesn’t want to rock the boat. If the voters did not want to rock the vote, Donald Trump and Ted Cruz would not have been the top two winners in Iowa last night. Remember when the Senate refused to join Ted Cruz in fighting ObamaCare? There were convinced that if they did not cave, the world would end. Ted Cruz was told that he had ruined the Republican name. Somehow, I think that observation has been proven to be false.

The Republicans need a backbone. Given the chance, the voters will elect those candidates that exhibit a backbone. Those who do not have a backbone can expect to have their political fortunes changed at the first opportunity. Regardless of how you feel about him, Donald Trump has energized those voters who want the Washington establishment and the media that supports it to go away. A victory in the Republican primaries for either Ted Cruz or Donald Trump will be a step in that direction.

During the coming weeks, watch for a major attack on both Ted Cruz and Donald Trump. Those are the two candidates in the Republican party that are most threatening to the status quo that includes both the Washington establishment and the dominant media.

Also note that one of the leading contenders in the Democratic primary is an avowed Democratic Socialist. I am not even sure what that actually means. It is, however, an indication that Democrats are also unhappy with the status quo.