Polls and recent election results in Massachusetts are showing that Americans are gradually losing trust in government to fix the unemployment problem. Many Americans consider Washington too preoccupied with partisan politics, where positions or a political party are often put before the issues that really matter to the American people.
The recent loss of the Massachusetts Senate seat may be a wakeup call for Democrats and President Obama in particular, who campaigned on a slogan of change in Washington. Most Americans agree that there hasn’t been much of a change when it comes to bipartisanship on Capitol Hill.
With Democrats loosing their super-majority in Senate, we may now be seeing attempts to change the course. Leading Senate Democrats have just unveiled a new agenda to focus on job creation with first votes on additional legislation expected on Monday. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev) did not elaborate on the details of the legislation but emphasized that Democrats are seeking bipartisan support: “We don’t agree on everything, but we certainly agree on the fact that we’re going to move forward on a jobs agenda. That’s why we’re here and we will have a vote on a jobs bill on Monday.” Reid said.
He added, “We hope to have a bipartisan proposal. … I’m hopeful that’s the case, if not, we’ll lay one down ourselves, but we do believe very emphatically that we’re going to be able to have a bipartisan bill Monday.”
Senator Max Baucus (D-Mont), the chairman of the tax writing Finance, said it was important to address the 7 million Americans who have lost jobs since the start of the recession. “This is why we must focus on job creation and do it now,” he said. “We must use every legislative tool we have available to create good-paying jobs for American workers. I am optimistic that this effort will gain broad support and let us work together to get Americans back to work this year.”
On Saturday morning, at the Democratic Party’s Winter Meeting, President Obama will address Democrats across the country to talk about future agenda and challenges we still face. Last week President Obama met with the Republican leaders in an apparent attempt to establish a new dialogue.
Will this be an honest attempt to tackle unemployment across party lines or will we see more of “politics as usual”?
Polls and recent election results in Massachusetts are showing that Americans are gradually losing trust in government to fix the unemployment problem. Many Americans consider Washington too preoccupied with partisan politics, where positions or a political party are often put before the issues that really matter to the American people.
The recent loss of the Massachusetts Senate seat may be a wakeup call for Democrats and President Obama in particular, who campaigned on a slogan of change in Washington. Most Americans agree that there hasn’t been much of a change when it comes to bipartisanship on Capitol Hill.
