Hope Obama supports their wishes but spend a majority of their time weakening his chances at re-election. Change Obamacare despite a slim majority in the exit polls supporting it's continuance.
The perpetual campaign:
An emboldened Sen. Mitch McConnell on Thursday will declare that President Barack Obama must be defeated in 2012 because Republicans "can't plan" on the White House to listen to voters and cooperate on some of his party's top political priorities.
“Over the past week, some have said it was indelicate of me to suggest that our top political priority over the next two years should be to deny President Obama a second term in office," the Senate Republican leader plans to tell the conservative Heritage Foundation, according to excerpts of his speech provided to POLITICO.
"But the fact is, if our primary legislative goals are to repeal and replace the health spending bill; to end the bailouts; cut spending; and shrink the size and scope of government, the only way to do all these things is to put someone in the White House who won’t veto any of these things," the Kentucky Republican will say. "We can hope the president will start listening to the electorate after Tuesday’s election. But we can’t plan on it.”
While Democratic leaders said Republicans should be prepared to compromise in order to pass legislation, McConnell will make clear that he wants the administration to "move in our direction" if it wants his party's cooperation.
McConnell's sharpened attack would be a departure from the more collegial tone that some Republican leaders struck in the immediate aftermath of Election Day, where voters returned Republicans back to the House majority and elected six more Senate Republicans, narrowing the Democratic majority in the upper chamber to 53-47.
But McConnell's comments suggest that Obama will face a far more confrontational Senate - particularly if the president doesn't dramatically overhaul his agenda. And the Republican leader suggested that he's prepared to tie up the Senate floor and unite his party against some Democratic bills, which could lead to legislative gridlock and have profound repercussions across the 2012 campaign trail.
In particular, McConnell planned to say the Senate should be prepared to vote on a straight repeal of the new health care law "repeatedly."
"But we can’t expect the president to sign it," the excerpts quoted him as saying. "So we’ll also have to work, in the House, on denying funds for implementation, and, in the Senate, on votes against its most egregious provisions.”
Lacking the ability to control the Senate agenda, McConnell planned to signal that he would use parliamentary maneuvers to push and "bring up and vote for House-passed spending rescission bills" in an attempt to freeze domestic discretionary spending.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), speaking to reporters Wednesday, pushed back against McConnell's suggestions, saying the electorate was pleading for the two sides to find common ground - though he said the "ball is in [the Republicans'] court."
"It means that we are going to have to work together, and anyone who tries to take more out of that, I think there'll be a big mistake," Reid said. "It's not going to be our way or the highway. It's not going to be their way or the highway. It has to be our way to get us down the road to success."
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