Obama addresses House GOP retreat
January 29, 2010 12:08 p.m. EST
Obama will huddle with the GOP caucus as it holds its annual retreat in Baltimore, Maryland. The president accepted an invitation from House GOP leaders to address their caucus.
At issue is whether it is possible for the Democratic president and increasingly conservative House Republicans to find a middle ground on a growing number of sharply divisive issues.
Political leaders on both sides of the aisle also are struggling to bridge a trust gap. Democrats have pointed to near-uniform GOP opposition to most administration initiatives as evidence that Republicans are pursuing a strategy of total obstruction to maximize gains in the upcoming midterm elections.
Democrats‘ tenuous ability to pass legislation on a strict party-line basis was undermined by last week’s special election to fill Ted Kennedy’s U.S. Senate seat in Massachusetts.
GOP state Sen. Scott Brown’s upset victory stripped Democrats of their 60-seat Senate “supermajority” and gave Republicans the ability to block votes on most bills.
Obama acknowledged the changed political climate in Wednesday’s State of the Union address when he told Republicans they now share in the responsibility of governing.
“If the Republican leadership is going to insist that 60 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,” he said.
“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.”
Obama appeared to extend an olive branch to Republicans during the speech, announcing his intention to begin monthly meetings with both Democratic and GOP leaders.
“I know you can’t wait,” he said to laughter.
The health care overhaul and debate over a jobs bill promise to be among the top issues at Friday’s GOP retreat.
In his speech Wednesday, Obama challenged Republicans to come up with an alternative to his struggling health care plan. Republicans have said such challenges are disingenuous, pointing to a proposal that House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, unveiled in November.
Boehner’s proposal is less ambitious in scope than most Democratic plans. It costs much less and would extend coverage to far fewer uninsured Americans.
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