Yesterday, Republicans officially took control of the Senate following a fall election cycle that was relentless and, ultimately, lopsided.

Between the Nov. 4 primary and the Dec. 6 runoff, Democrats lost nine seats in the Senate, including here in Louisiana, where Mary Landrieu was ousted in favor of Bill Cassidy.

That gave the Republicans a majority in the upper chamber, with the count currently standing at 54 Republicans and 44 Democrats in the Senate.

During the same timeframe, Republicans extended their control of the House of Representatives, winning 13 more seats than they held before the elections.

Yesterday, these new legislators were sworn in to their new posts.

Regardless of to which side of the political spectrum you lean, the message for the future is clear.

The American people are tired of the stagnation that has characterized Congress since 2008. Now, with no more excuses about their hands being tied by their counterparts on the other side of the political aisle, those in the majority in Congress must act, must bring about some form of progress and must quit relying criticism of the president as a replacement for performing their civic duty.

This country is in dire need of some forward movement, and it is time for those who have been elected to facilitate this forward motion to do their jobs. Talk is cheap.

And lest all those newly elected legislators forget, midterm elections are rarely kind to members of the party of the sitting president, but American voters seem to have grown increasingly impatient. Two years is plenty of time for the pendulum to swing the other way.