Yesterday, a damaged and contrite Barack Obama held a White House press conference and took ownership of Tuesday’s devastating election results. With the exception of a handful of issues, Obama extended a cooperative hand to the newly emboldened GOP, and suggested a willingness to compromise on everything from tax cuts to energy policy to provisions of his health care law.
Today, at the conservative Heritage Foundation, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell offered his rejoinder. And the contrast couldn’t be more stark: For just about every entreaty Obama made, McConnell just said no.
“We will stop the liberal onslaught,” McConnell warned.
That was the basic theme of the speech. If Obama wants to get anything done, he’ll have to embrace the GOP’s views on spending, tax cuts, and just about everything else.
“We will make the case for repeal of the health spending bill even as we vote to eliminate its worst parts,” McConnell promised. “We will vote to freeze and cut discretionary spending. We will fight to make sure that any spending bill that reaches the Senate floor is amendable, so members can vote for the spending cuts Americans are asking for. We will push to bring up and vote for House passed spending rescission bills.”
“If the administration wants cooperation, it will have to begin to move in our direction,” said McConnell.
To get the sense of just how out of sync the two are, watch the video below:
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