Obama Vows To Cooperate After Republicans Retake Senate

            The midterm elections went as many expected with Republicans retaking the Senate. Now in control of both houses, the Republican Party will be able to hold firm control over any proposed legislation throughout the rest of President Obama’s second term. An article published in The New York Times by Julie Hirschfield Davis stated that President Obama intends to cooperate with the Republican congress, but only to a certain extent.

            Gridlock has been plaguing congress since the house was retaken by Republicans in 2010. The president has tried unsuccessfully to work with house leadership to pass some of the groundbreaking legislation that he promised during his campaign such as immigration reform. Republican leadership in congress had made it very clear to the President that he would not be able to pass any legislation unless he tailored it to their liking.

            Now the President is vowing to try to cooperate with the Republican house and senate. If he has any desire to pass any legacy policies in his second term he will be forced to extend the olive branch and negotiate with his opposing party. A speech given by the new Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that with both houses under Republican control, gridlock should finally be over. Many democrats are extremely skeptical of this claim and with support for congress at an all-time low, most Americans feel the same.

            The new congress will have to be willing to compromise with the President in order to truly end the gridlock. Unfortunately, with the radicalizing of both parties the odds of the president and congress working together are extremely low. For now, the best American citizens can hope for is that partisan politics can be put aside so the federal government can begin to solve the many problems that are holding our mighty nation back from progressing.

Hirschfield Davis, Julie, and Michael Shear. "Mitch McConnell Promises Cooperation and Compromise." The New York Times. The New York Times, 5 Nov. 2014. Web. 5 Nov. 2014. <http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/06/us/politics/midterm-democratic-losses-grow.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=span-ab-top-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news>.