Filed under: News, Politics, President Obama, Health Care Debate
Gridlock is approaching.
Unless Democrats and Republicans find a way to work with each other, it looks like this country is headed to a nasty bipartisan battle that won't benefit you.
After winning control of the House in last week's midterm elections, Republicans have been spewing a lot of tough talk, and Democrats, with the presidency and razor thin margin for control of the Senate, aren't backing down.
This means legislation that could benefit Americans will never see the light of day and other legislation, such as health care reform, could be dismantled.
The AP writes:
Resurgent Republicans rallied Sunday behind an agenda based on unwavering opposition to the Obama White House and federal spending, laying the groundwork for gridlock until their 2012 goal: a new president, a "better Senate" and ridding the country of that demonized health care law.
Republicans said they were willing to work with President Barack Obama but also signaled it would be only on their terms. With control of the White House and the Senate, Democrats showed no sign they were conceding the final two years of Obama's term to Republican lawmakers who claimed the majority in the House.
"I think this week's election was a historic rejection of American liberalism and the Obama and Pelosi agenda," said Rep. Mike Pence, the Indiana Republican who is stepping down from his post in GOP leadership. "The American people are tired of the borrowing, the spending, the bailouts, the takeovers."
I think what Americans are really tired of is political bickering that doesn't make things better for anyone.
President Obama has extended a hand to the Republicans, but he's not getting any positive responses:
"The president did say this week he's willing to work with us," said Rep. Eric Cantor, the Virginia Republican who is in line to become majority leader. "Now listen, are we willing to work with him? First and foremost, we're not going to be willing to work with him on the expansive liberal agenda he's been about."
Democrats are also not planning to back down:
"I don't see any sign of the president retreating from his principles, but I do see his willingness to reach out, and wherever reasonable and in the interests of moving the economy and jobs forward, he's going to work with the Republicans, as are the Democrats," said Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., who led the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Both parties are jockeying for the 2012 presidential elections. Caught in the middle is the American public. We can't wait for another two years for things to happen. Thousands of Americans are losing their jobs every week and the country's housing market is on the verge of a massive foreclosure scandal.
Maybe Democrats and Republicans should pick a couple of important issues and find the common ground to work on them for the sake of all Americans.
I don't know about you, but I hate sitting in traffic.