Mitch McConnell is one of the most shrewd and calculating politicians in modern history.

He is not about to throw away the opportunity this election season has given Republicans.

Republicans had a friendly election map this year. A number of Senate Democrats were up for re-election in conservative-leaning states and in two years the map will flip; Republicans will be defending seats in liberal-leaning states.

There is also that one seat up for grabs at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. in 2016 and Hillary Clinton is already a very popular candidate.

Presidential elections drive out Democratic voters in significantly higher numbers than in off-year elections.

Though the Republicans fared slightly better last week among black voters and slightly worse among women voters than they did in 2010, we have no reason to believe these groups find favor with Republicans.

The fact that Republicans still cannot make any ground on female, minority and young voters should concern them.

Trends have shown they will largely vote in favor of Democrats in 2016 .

The last thing McConnell wants to do is give them an excuse to vote against Republicans.

Republican success in the midterm elections is not necessarily an indication that the country has swung conservative; in fact, across the country, people favor policies Republicans oppose.

Higher taxes on the wealthy, raising the minimum wage and fixing student loan rates all enjoy national support. Legalization of marijuana, recognizing gay marriage, reforming gun laws, immigration reform and even environmental regulations are popular across the nation.

So why did voters who oppose Republican policies vote these conservative firebrands into office? The economy. Right or wrong, the President usually gets pinned as the face of the economy.

At face value the rate of unemployment, stock market totals and GDP are impressive, but most people are not feeling any economic recovery.

Corporate profits are at an all-time high, but none of that money is being put back into the economy. The United States leads the developed world in low-paying jobs.

McConnell has already taken a government shutdown off the table for Republicans. If the economy doesn’t improve for real people, McConnell will have to try to convince voters it was the President’s fault.

But President Obama still holds the veto. Voters have rejected the Tea Party brand of politics in favor of moderate Republicans and Democrats.

Even in Texas, Utah and Kentucky, the three states that voted in Tea Party standard bearers Ted Cruz, Mike Lee and Rand Paul, voters defeated Tea Party candidates both this year and in 2012.

If Republicans are expecting a dramatically different game plan over the next two years, they will likely be disappointed.

McConnell will use his power and influence to keep the Tea Party at bay. The wild card in all of this is President Obama.

If he refuses to work with the Senate, McConnell may have no choice but to be adversarial or viewed as weak. We will see in January.