Like a large number of their fellow Americans, the Democrats lost their house on Tuesday. The power has shifted in Washington with the Republican controlled house serving as a counterbalance to President Obama and the Democratic majority in the Senate. A major concern is gridlock in this weak economy. Gridlock would be a result of both sides not working together in order to better position their own party for future elections. Now, more than ever, both sides need to meet in the middle to enact legislation that will deal with the myriad issues facing Americans including housing reform, taxes, security, education, and most importantly, job creation (this latter might actually be the reform of existing legislation that may be hindering private sector employment).
We are encouraged by Mr. Obama’s conciliatory tone used in his post election press conference. He suggested he would be willing negotiate with Republicans on some issues. We hope the Republican leadership also views the next two years as an opportunity to work with the President to better the country, rather than focusing on prospects for the 2012 election.
The majority of us are somewhere in the middle on most of the issues. However it appears the most vocal extremes on each side get the most attention. If either side hopes to do well in the 2012 elections, we believe they would be best served by listening to the 70% of Americans in the middle. We need our elected officials to work together and succeed and wish the best to all representing us.