Getting To Yes

Republicans really do want to work with Democrats. That was the message conveyed by Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell in an interview with Bloomberg yesterday, as reported by AOLNews.com. The notable quote:

"No one wants him to fail," McConnell told Bloomberg, referring to Obama, and taking an indirect swipe at Rush Limbaugh. "But saying 'no' to bad policy is not saying 'no' to everything."

In its report, Bloomberg noted that McConnell outlined areas of potential agreement between the President and the Republicans:

In the interview, McConnell said one issue he and Obama might work together on is a possible move to recast at least one of the three major entitlement programs -- Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid. At a White House health-care forum last week, he told Obama an accord would be easier to reach if a bipartisan task force of lawmakers made recommendations.

They also may find common cause on foreign policy, he said. Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana, the top-ranking Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee agreed, saying the two might be allies if the U.S. and Russia begin to forge a new nuclear arms-reduction agreement.

For Republicans to say yes, however, Obama, Reid, Pelosi and company need to practice true bipartisanship: that is, meeting the Republicans somewhere in the middle, as opposed to requiring Republicans to toe the Democrat line completely.
Please note: The postings of "G. Morris", written by John K. Bush and which end in 2016, stated his views as of the dates of posting and should not be understood as current assertions of his views. The postings, which have not been altered since they came to an end, remain on this blog to preserve the historical record. In 2017, Mr. Bush took a position that precludes further public political comments or endorsements. He will no longer be contributing to this blog.