As expected, the Republican Party has reclaimed control of the Senate, giving it control of both houses of the U.S. Congress for the first time in eight years. The GOP also increased its holdings in the House of Representatives; its 246 seats are its largest majority in nearly a century. Now, the GOP must decide its purpose: Will it govern in partnership with the president or will it be a conservative buzz saw, determined and unyielding, preferring defeat to legislative success if it means making a compromise?

Ominously for new Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker of the House John Boehner, the choice is not clear for many members of their party. A failure to come together will focus attention on the dysfunction on the right, giving critics of Washington gridlock a clear target and boosting the case for a swing back to the Democratic Party in national elections that will be held two years from now.

A Republican victory was anticipated in this week's vote. Traditionally the party that does not control the White House makes big gains in "off year" elections, and this year GOP's prospects looked especially strong. There were more Democratic senators than Republicans up for re-election this year — beneficiaries of the Democratic tide that brought Barack Obama to power in 2008 — and most of them were in states that GOP candidate Mitt Romney had carried by double digits in his losing effort in the 2012 presidential campaign.