funding the disastrous election results permits party for earlier this week
he has a choice to make the fight back
what do you mean a republican demands
the scenes as usual in my opinion
he has chosen the latter
when they said no to the public action the President conceded
when they said no to taxing the big banks the paper finance reform
the President conceded
it was a familiar pattern
and now the republicans have a house
the concessions only promise to pick up steam
now a new round of surrenders have begun today
first the President assured the country
but you'll back some republican proposals
the question's going to be
and democrats republicans
a sit down together and come up with a set of ideas that address those for concerns
I'm confident we can
%um I think that there are some areas where it's going to be very difficult for us to
agree on
but I think they're going to be a whole bunch of areas where we can
of course republicans will not agree to
any democratic bills so there's any agreement
it will be GOP ideas that prevailed
in fact the capitulation on the issues began today when the President signaled he would
accept tax cuts for the richest people in the country
the longtime republican demand
so let's get this right
republicans compromise on nothing
and then one huge
democrats of the King of compromise and they got crushed
so was undemocratic yes it today
compromise
well you know really
how do you try playing back for change and see how that works out
but on the crazy
now joining us a man who knows how to fight back democratic congressman alan race in from
Florida
congressman it's great to have you on
oh I got myself was a missile of obvious question
you know you've you're very hard fighter up for your side everybody knows that
i'll tell you one of losing elections so tell us what happened why you think that happen
well it's very simple democrats didn't vote
%uh in my district in the early voting the republican turnout was down twenty percent
from two thousand eight and the democratic turnout was down sixty percent
that was just my district that was districts all over Florida we lost four seats
these districts all over the country except for parts of the west coast of new england
everywhere democrats didn't vote because they didn't feel like voting
that democrats don't vote
the democrats can't win
so why do you think they didn't vote what what drove that after see if you will
I think that
democrats are sad and and demoralized by this policy of appeasement
on the other side has what they regard as a winning strategy that summarized in one
word with two letters the strategy is no
whatever the democrats want the answer from republicans is no
and they were able to ride that's who is sixty six-e_ victory in the house
depending upon how the last few races happen to come out
so they've got their strategy instead what about our strategy a strategy for two years
has been of appeasement
and look where it got us
I think democrats want to see of fighting leadership they want to see of fighting President
somebody who actually accomplish is good things for constituents
someone makes progress on the employee free choice that someone who makes progress on
immigration
someone makes progress on civil rights
someone makes progress on women's rights that's what they want to see
and they haven't seen it yet
so you know you're fighting your district but they still didn't show up to vote
you think it was because of the national atmosphere where
democrats in general throughout the country
felt like they didn't have enough to show of force the is
is that what happened you think
it was a national disaster I won by four points in two thousand eight I went back and checked
to see what happens to all the democrats who won by ten points or less
in the house since two thousand eight
and believe me ten points a lot more than four points what I've found is that of the
twenty four democrats who want
by ten points or less in two thousand eight only one of them won this year
one out of twenty four
an additional forty democrats who lost beyond that forty democrats who won by more than
ten points in two thousand eight
and managed to lose this year
it's simply because of our voters went on strike and we have to win them back by accomplishing
good things for ordinary people
it sounds like opposite of what tip o'neill used to say you know you say that all all
politics is local but in this day and age I don't think that's the case at all
but you know the republicans have nationalize it into your earlier point
John major was in no mood for compromise of any sort on their side
I want to show you a clip here in Iowa
get your reaction
not time for compromise and I can tell you that on
but we will not compromise on our principles that we will not compromise of the will of
the American people it's a simple as that
so of the democrats suckers when they would compromise of these guys his they have no
intention of the top allies in you whatsoever
so what's the game here what why would the democrats play ball with them
I don't know we put more than a hundred republicans amendments into the health care reform bill
in God next to nothing in the way of republican votes
republicans have never said if you do that's why you can see
then we will go along with you and that's the mall the President was hoping to see when
he got elected we haven't seen it once
the only bipartisan accomplishment of one hundred eleven thousand four
it was my joining with doctor ron paul's past the one at the Fed bill
and that has nothing to do with the President or for that matter the democratic or republican
leadership
it was an insurgency from below
well actually that President in the white house what that bill until look like you're
going to lose
so but that that is that pass away at the ballot had a read-back speeches he saw the
republican reaction then they have no interest in working with you guys they ever did
they said no no no for two straight years and that was that
effective strategy for them apparently laterally that harried apparently doesn't agree of let's
see what he said after the election
I have always felt
that morning jog he has to
build consensus
to work out legislation that's not a bad word
to suggest that legislation the art of compromise
so
but to put it simply
you may have read is wrong
in his quest for compromise
I would suggest that Harry Reid reads some of the poems
slouching toward bethlehem by William butler yeats
the irish poet
and you'll see that sometimes under certain circumstances
the center cannot hold
this is one of those times the center cannot hold there is no center left
the the you deliver for the people on your side or you're gone
it's that simple
and it's not enough for one congressman in central Florida
in a purple districts
who won by four percent
to be the one delivered
we all have to do it
we ought to make sure
but the people who trust in us to make their lives better
have something to show for it so the President today said that he's going to actually give
and and %uh
he greeted tax cuts for the rich is that terrible mistake
it's a mistake
%uh it's money that woman do nothing to improve the economy did nothing to improve the economy
the average millionaire got a million dollar tax cut and we wasted seven hundred billion
dollars that way
well the economy was crumbling
you know if you do the same thing over and over and over again you expect the difference
so
you're crazy
might finally congressman race in
will you be back
will say that that's what the people want then i'll be back
all right thanks so much for joining us we appreciate it