With the majority of Democrats swept out of office nationally, we’re hoping change comes for the better.

Tuesday night’s midterm elections should serve as a wake-up call to the nation. Republicans took over in the U.S. House of Representatives, weakening the Democratic hold in the Senate.

The Tea Party can no longer be brushed off as a bunch of screaming lunatics.

It is no longer a protesting movement. Major wins in Kentucky, Florida and beyond validated the strength of the Tea Party. We hope the Tea Party is prepared to take on the responsibilities of a force on Capitol Hill. The agenda of this movement is still unclear.

The Tea Party helped push many of their candidates through the election on promises of a new and better way to fix the weak economy, the ongoing health care problem and a faulty government.

We suspect the American people will only wait so long before rallies and angry voices are no longer enough. Only time will tell if they can channel their energy into actual change. If the Republicans and the Tea Party want to sweep the 2012 election, they had better get started. The clock is ticking.

Although we’re trying to be positive, we fear the worst. A do-nothing Congress is going to make the next two years very painful.

College students can kiss their hopes of an affordable higher-education goodbye. Health care for everyone will likely be nothing more than a pipe dream once new house majority leader John Boehner gets his hands on Obama’s health care bill. For now, we’re counting on Obama and the few remaining Democrats who made it into office to hold things down. We hope they don’t drown in a sea of red.

The above editorial is the consensus opinion of the Daily Kent Stater editorial board.