President Obama dropped a truth bomb on the Republican Party. He said that we have a faction, “that view “compromise” as a dirty word, and anything that- is even remotely associated with me, they feel obliged to oppose.”
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Transcript via This Week:
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: 51% of the vote.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Yeah.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: First president since Eisenhower to do it twice. You put gun control at the top of the agenda, immigration reform, climate change. All of it stalled or reversing. How do you answer the argument that- beyond the deficit, this has been a lost year? And how do you save it?
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Well- on immigration reform- for example- we got an- terrific bipartisan vote out of the Senate- that showed that there is a recognition from all quarters, from business, from labor, from- the clergy, from farm interests, that- a sensible immigration policy will grow our economy, make us stronger. So you had Democrats and Republicans in the Senate come together, come up with a bill that wasn’t perfect, it wasn’t my bill, but got the job done. It’s now sitting there in the House.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Not goin’ anywhere.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Well- but what I will say is this: If Speaker Boehner put that bill on the floor of the House of Representatives right now, it would pass. It would pass. So the question then is not whether or not- the ideas that we’ve put forward can garner a majority of support certainly in the country. I mean gun control, we had 80-90% of the country that- that agreed with it.
The problem we have is we have a- faction of the Republican Party- in the House of Representatives in particular, that view “compromise” as a dirty word, and anything that- is even remotely associated with me, they feel obliged to oppose. And my argument to them is real simple. That’s not why the people sent you here.
The reason the people sent you here was to think about their lives, about their jobs, about their kids’ college educations, about their retirement security. And- you know, all I can do when it comes to that group of- members of Congress is to continue to talk to ’em and say, “Let’s put aside our differences. Let’s stay focused on the American people.” If we do that, we can get things done.
The president wasn’t saying anything that most Americans don’t already know, but there is something sad about the straight forward way that Obama said it. This wasn’t some shocking revelation. It is an accepted fact that whatever this president supports, Republicans will be against. Many House Republicans feel that they were sent to Washington to do nothing but oppose Obama.
This mentality is the reason why it is impossible to pass legislation. House Republicans have adopted the position that it is their way or no way. Republicans keep losing elections, standoffs, and the crises that they manufacture because most Americans know who to blame. Obama’s comment was a way for the president to put Republicans on notice that everyone knows what they are doing.
Congressional Republicans are handing the president and every Democratic candidate a club to beat them over the heads with in 2014. People are tired of the do less than nothing Republicans in Congress, and Obama is setting the stage for their potential ouster next year.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
