Huggins: Time for compromise in Congress
Last week on Election Day, Republicans took back the Senate and gained the majority in both houses of Congress.
They needed six seats to have a majority in the Senate. The GOP was able to pick up Senate seats in Iowa, South Dakota, Colorado, Arkansas, West Virginia and North Carolina.
Not only did the GOP win control of the Senate, but they were also able to retain the House of Representatives.
I don’t think the results of these midterms were a shock for many Americans. President Obama’s approval rating has not been good for much of 2014.
According to the polling website Gallup.com, Obama had an approval rating of 41 percent during the week of Jan. 1-5, 2014. This past week, Obama’s approval rating had fallen to 39 percent.
Republicans had an advantage in the midterms from the very beginning, as candidates running for office could point the finger at Obama and say, “Hey, this president isn’t doing a good job. Look at his approval ratings.”
Republican candidates obviously had a platform they ran on, but by being able to blame the president, this strategy turned out to be effective for the GOP.
From the Democrats’ perspective, it was a complete disaster. The 2014 midterm elections forced the them to lose the control of the Senate.
Democrats’ stance on political issues the past two years often lined up with Obama’s views on certain issues in the past, which appeared to be troublesome for them in this election. In other words, voters didn’t approve of the job the Democrats in Congress were doing.
Now that the Republicans are in control of both the House and the Senate, what’s next? Will Americans have to suffer witnessing the same old gridlock that occurs between Democrats and Republicans, or will elected members of Congress do what they’re supposed to do, representing those who elected them by passing legislation that benefits the citizens of the United States.
I’m not saying opposing sides have to agree on everything. Although, it would be nice if both parties would compromise once in a while.
