{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/newsletters?ContentRecord_id=FABB1499-A717-4877-BF0E-AB2B08A559FC", "Election Brought Hope, Renewal, Repudiation of Obamas Liberal Reign", "2016-11-15", "2016", "2016-11", "Republican", "House", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Printed by the Lexington Herald-Leader \r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\tThe Herald-Leader\u2019s Jamie Lucke paints a dark picture of America at the conclusion of this year\u2019s presidential campaign. She grimly describes our country as \u201ca nation left tarnished and torn.\u201d But when I examine the results of this election, I don\u2019t see that. Instead, I see democracy at work \u2014 and I see a resounding repudiation of the last eight years of failed liberal policies, many of which were imposed on the American people against their will.\r\nHer op-ed also seems to misunderstand our federal government\u2019s system of shared powers. When Congress is controlled by one party and the White House by another, it takes cooperation from both sides to achieve bipartisan accomplishments.\r\nIt\u2019s been done before, to great success. President Ronald Reagan worked with Democratic leaders in Congress to pass bold tax and Social Security reform. And a Republican Congress worked with President Bill Clinton to pass groundbreaking welfare reform.\r\nIf President Obama had been genuinely interested in achieving historic reforms in a bipartisan manner, he had his chance. The president is in a unique position to help bring his party to the table in cooperation. And he\u2019s the only one who can sign what Congress passes.\r\nBut this president took a different course. His signature piece of legislation, Obamacare, was rammed through on a party-line vote (on Christmas Eve, no less). The same goes for other major legislative efforts of the Obama era, like the economic stimulus and Dodd-Frank. Most were done on a partisan basis. It\u2019s no coincidence that all three have failed or proven disastrous.\r\nAfter appeasing his left flank, President Obama abandoned any efforts to cooperate with Republicans. He spent most of his presidency pursuing an ideological agenda that had no chance of passing, and waging a nonstop campaign against Congress. Now, as he prepares to leave office, it\u2019s clear that strategy didn\u2019t work.\r\nThere were a few important bipartisan accomplishments over the last eight years \u2014 but the president didn\u2019t play a major role in brokering them. I know, because I was there, and I did.\r\nVice President Joe Biden and I held productive negotiations on major legislation: In 2010, we reached a deal to extend the Bush tax relief rates. In 2011, we reached an accord on the Budget Control Act, to help restore America\u2019s fiscal sanity and avoid a government default. And in 2012, we successfully steered the nation away from the \u201cfiscal cliff\u201d by preventing a tax increase and calling for more sensible spending cuts.\r\nThe vice president made for an able negotiating partner \u2014 he was more interested in accomplishing something for the good of the country than in ideological purity. I can\u2019t say the same for the current president. He had little interest in reaching across the aisle to work with Republicans.\r\nIt\u2019s well known in Washington that President Obama failed to extend outreach in any significant way to most members of Congress, even many in his own party. As the Obama years conclude, it\u2019s clear that was one of his biggest failings.\r\nSoon we will have a new president. I look forward to Congress working with President-elect Donald Trump to finally achieve significant reforms, including the repeal of Obamacare, tax relief to stimulate economic growth and jobs, and the rollback of a War on Coal that has left many Kentuckians out of work.\r\nAnd President Trump will appoint to the Supreme Court a justice who, like the late Antonin Scalia, recognizes that the judiciary\u2019s role is to interpret the Constitution, not legislate from the bench.\r\nThe election of Donald Trump sends a clear message to the establishment in Washington: it\u2019s no longer business as usual. After eight years of a White House committed to a left-wing ideological agenda, Americans voted for something very different.\r\nThe people of Kentucky certainly voted for change as well \u2014 overwhelmingly so. It\u2019s sad but not surprising that once again, this newspaper is out of step with its readers.\r\nI meet with constituents across the state, and I know they don\u2019t feel the recent election has left America \u201ctarnished and torn.\u201d They believe that much-needed change in Washington will bring hope and renewal, to our state and our nation. And so do I.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/newsletters?ContentRecord_id=FABB1499-A717-4877-BF0E-AB2B08A559FC"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.018508967012167, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}