|
(Continued from page 35)
course pitch that essentially boiled down to a plea for more time to make things right and a hope that Congress will be more accommodating than in the past.
• The vanquished Republican, Mitt Romney, tried to set a more conciliatory tone on the way off the stage.
• ___
Democrats solidify their Senate rule but Republicans will still run House in 2nd Obama term
• Democrats strengthened their hold on the Senate but failed Tuesday to recapture the majority in the House of Representatives they lost two years ago. President Barack Obama, in his freshly authorized second term, will face the same divided Congress in 2013 that has bedeviled efforts to enact his major legislation.
• "Now that the election is over, it's time to put politics aside and work together to find solutions," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who may have a slightly bigger working majority -- but not as big as the filibuster-proof one Obama enjoyed his first two years in the White House.
• House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, who also gets to keep his job, offered to work with any willing partner, Republican or Democrat, to get things done. "The American people want solutions -- and tonight, they've responded by renewing our majority," he told a gathering of Republicans.
• But Boehner also said that by keeping Republicans in control of the House, voters made clear there is no mandate for raising taxes. Obama has proposed imposing higher taxes on households earning over $250,000 a year.
• The first post-election test of wills could start next week when Congress returns from its election recess to deal with unfinished business -- including a looming "fiscal cliff" of $400 billion in higher taxes and $100 billion in automatic cuts in military and domestic spending to take effect in January if Congress doesn't head them off. Economists warn that the combination could plunge the nation back into a recession.
• ___
Analysis: With Congress little changed, and both sides claiming mandates, Obama renews agenda
• WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama's re-election, coupled with Republicans' continued hold on the House, gives both parties a chance to rethink, and perhaps undo, the bitter partisanship that has gripped Washington for four years (Continued on page 37)
|
|
