Republican leader reiterates hope for Obama to be one-term president

November 4th, 2010

8:53 pm PT

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell held a press conference Thursday once again saying he wanted to make sure President Barack Obama would be a one-term president. This comes a day after the president called for the parties to work together.Photo: Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

One day after President Barack Obama held a press conference to say he hoped Republicans and Democrats could work together, a top Republican official once again said that would not happen.

A week before the midterm elections, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Republicans’ No. 1 priority was to make President Obama a one-term president. Well, on Thursday he said the same thing again. Instead of saying he was willing to work with Democrats to solve the problems this country faces including high unemployment, increasing deficits and an economy that is sputtering along in its recovery, he said Obama needed to move toward the right or he would get no compromise.

“Over the past week, some have said it was indelicate of me to suggest that our top political priority over the next two years should be to deny President Obama a second term in office,” McConnell said in his press conference. “But the fact is, if our primary legislative goals are to repeal and replace the health spending bill; to end the bailouts; cut spending; and shrink the size and scope of government, the only way to do all these things is to put someone in the White House who won’t veto any of these things.”

He said he wanted President Obama to be defeated in 2012 because Republicans “can’t plan” on the White House listening to the American people and cooperating on some of his party’s top political priorities – although him thinking the American people specifically want conservative ideas over liberal or moderate ideas is a little out of touch and not listening to the American people either.

McConnell said he wanted the Senate – which is still Democratically controlled – to vote multiple times on repealing the new health care law. Because he did not expect President Obama to sign a repeal though, he wanted to work with the House on denying funding for its implementation, he said.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid pushed back against McConnell’s suggestions by pleading with him to stop the partisanship and work together because that was what the American people wanted in order to get the country moving again.

“It means that we are going to have to work together, and anyone who tries to take more out of that, I think there’ll be a big mistake,” Reid said. “It’s not going to be our way or the highway. It’s not going to be their way or the highway. It has to be our way to get us down the road to success.”

Independent thoughts

What the American people need and want is for this economy to get moving again, for the unemployment rate to go down and for them to know kids will have a better chance at success than previous generations.

People can argue over Obama’s policy ideas and more often than not liberals and Democrats will say they were necessary to keep this country from going into a second Great Depression. Conservatives and Republicans will say the policies were a waste and have not helped – clearly ignoring and not wanting to admit the fact that before the stimulus this country was losing 700,000 jobs a month and after the stimulus once money started trickling through the economy the private sector has seen job growth every month for almost a year.

The solutions then fall with the independent voter – remember those people who are moderate thinkers and who do not vote always with the Democrats or always with the Republicans, but with the candidate they think will best serve this country. Those voters, although they might not like how Democrats handled things, do not necessarily like how Republicans handle things either. Not all independent voters went against the Democrats for the same reasons. Some might have said Democrats did too much while others might have said Democrats did too little.

That means McConnell should not take the Republicans regaining the House and almost regaining the Senate as a sign voters full-heartedly agree with their agenda. For him to suggest President Obama needs to go with their ideas or they will not compromise is not what is best for this country.

Fight for principles

Just as Republicans have said they will not compromise on their principles if they think policies are harmful, President Obama and the Democrats should do the same. It is admirable President Obama wants to continue trying to compromise and work together with Republicans, but if he is going to keep running into complete opposition then he needs to stick with his principles and what he believes is correct as well. After hearing McConnell’s message yet again, most in the Democratic base would say OK it is absolutely time to fight.

President Obama needs to use McConnell’s words and go on the offensive. Not in a year, not months and weeks before the 2012 election, but now. McConnell has effectively said he is not going to do what is in the best interest of the American people for these next two years just because he wants the Republicans to get control of the White House.

President Obama failed to communicate his policies these past two years and how they were beneficial for the American people not just in the short term but also in the long term. He only started to go on the offensive and get his base enthusiastic in the summer but by then the damage had been done. Voters want this economy to get moving again and for the parties to work together, but if McConnell and the Republicans’ single most important thing is for President Obama to be a one-term president then President Obama needs to get out there and communicate to the American people now that the Republicans do not want this country to succeed and move out of this economic mess, they just want him to fail