President Obama says Democrats need to get some perspective: Despite the fact that they lost a Senate seat in Massachusetts last week, they still have a huge majority to work with to get things done. But he also acknowledges that Republicans are filibustering everything, and puts it to them to…not be so mean.
“I will not give up on changing the tone of our politics,” says Obama in his prepared State of the Union remarks.
I know it’s an election year. And after last week, it is clear that campaign fever has come even earlier than usual. But we still need to govern. To Democrats, I would remind you that we still have the largest majority in decades, and the people expect us to solve some problems, not run for the hills. And if the Republican leadership is going to insist that sixty votes in the Senate are required to do any business at all in this town, then the responsibility to govern is now yours as well. Just saying no to everything may be good short-term politics, but it’s not leadership. We were sent here to serve our citizens, not our ambitions. So let’s show the American people that we can do it together. This week, I’ll be addressing a meeting of the House Republicans. And I would like to begin monthly meetings with both the Democratic and Republican leadership. I know you can’t wait.
That should do the trick.
