Sen. Mitch McConnell (Ky.)
image courtesy http://www.upi.com
I wasn’t going to blog about the midterm elections. I know they are important and I voted. But I have no patience for pundits and their speculation of what the next two years will look like for the U.S. But I was shocked this morning when I heard what Republican Senator Mitch McConnell (Ky.) said yesterday:
“Our friends on the other side can change now and work with us to address the issues that are important to the American people that we all understood, or further change obviously can happen in 2012,” he said.
(quote courtesy UPI. http://www.upi.com)
How does this kind of threat help the U.S.? How does it help bolster the economy? create jobs? fund healthcare? strengthen our schools? find solutions to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars? support our veterans?
Not only did the majority of American voters show Congress that they were unhappy with the Democrats, but their votes also showed that they are fed up with the bipartisanship of Congress. Come on Congress, get to work! Work together!
Philawriter 
I believe not too long ago McConnell said the main purpose was to make Obama a one term president (paraphrasing). Obviously that’s just showing he’s only serving self-interest there…I think the real issue is that moderate candidates (either party) that are more likely to work together are disappearing and a lot of that is to blame on our primary system. Independents cannot vote in primaries so you are left with the more extreme folks (the moderates tend to lose in the primaries) and a lot of people tell me it’s hard to find a good candidate to enthusiastically vote for. Just my opinion.
I agree! George Will keeps repeating that this is the way it’s supposed to be. It’s a 2-party system for a reason. I agree that the parties and government branches were designed to keep each other in check, but I highly doubt that the gridlock and animosity we’re experiencing is quite what the founding fathers envisioned. Can you imagine the politicians of today writing the Declaration of Independence? The Constitution? It would never happen! There’s a reason so many sections of those documents are open to interpretation. The writers had to compromise! I dirt-word in Washington these days. Sigh.
Americans are an impatient bunch and there are always vultures waiting in the wings to offer them snake oil. Millions of jobs were lost in the last 9 years. NO ONE could have replaced them in less than 2. Jobs are, in fact, being created (not just government), but it will take time. The DOW is up 3000 points since Bush left office and the debt is being exaggerated (it was up 5 trillion under Bush). I think everyone just shot themselves in the foot, but only time will tell what the outcome will be. I sure hope it’s positive, because unlike Limbaugh, Beck, McConnell and so many other supposed, loud-mouthed patriots – I am actually rooting for those in office to succeed.
I have never longed for the good old days, the days of the old boy’s club–but the way the veteran senators talk…those days were pretty good. Respect. Civility. Acknowledgment of a shared purpose of Congress. @onefoot: I’ve never thought about the role the primaries play in all of this, but that makes total sense. @Renee: I can’t say that I want the Repubs. to succeed, per say, but I do want all of them to do their job. DO their job, not just KEEP their job. There’s a difference!
You might want to study early American political history a bit more. Things are actually far tamer now than they used to be. Hell! They used to kill each other over the insults they delivered back and forth.