U.S. Republicans vow to roll back Obama agenda

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – Exu-berant Republicans vowed  yesterday to exercise their new power in Congress to roll back some of U.S. President Barack Obama’s key accomplishments, but a somber Obama said voters wanted both parties to work  harder to find common ground.

“It’s pretty clear the American people want a smaller, less  costly and more accountable government,” Republican John  Boehner, in line to become the next House of Repre-sentatives speaker, told reporters. “Our pledge is to listen to the  American people.”

Voters, anxious about the economy and unhappy with Obama’s  leadership, punished Democrats in an election rout on Tuesday that gave House control to Republicans and weakened the Democratic majority in the Senate.
A chastened Obama called the result “a shellacking” and  told a White House news conference the solutions demanded by frustrated Americans would be hard to find.

“I’m not suggesting this will be easy,” he said. “The  overwhelming message that I hear from the voters is that we want everybody to act responsibly in Washington, we want you to  work harder to arrive at consensus.”
Republicans picked up 60 House seats in the election, knocking Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi from power and putting Republi-cans in charge of House committees. It was the biggest  shift in power since Democrats gained 75 House seats in 1948.

Boehner and Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell said  voters wanted them to roll back the signature initiatives  passed by congressional Democrats in the last two years, like  healthcare and financial regulatory reforms.
But a divided government is more likely to fuel a  legislative stalemate when the new Congress begins in January. Senate Democrats can block House initiatives, and Obama’s  weakened hand will still hold the veto pen.
Top Republicans showed little inclination to compromise.

“We’re determined to stop the agenda Americans have  rejected and to turn the ship around,” McConnell said. “We’ll  work with the administration when they agree with the people  and confront them when they don’t.”

VOTERS DEEPLY WORRIED
Exit polls found voters deeply worried about the economy, with eight in 10 saying it was a chief concern. Nearly  three-quarters believed government did not function properly,  and four in 10 said they supported the conservative Tea Party  movement.

“The people in the heartland, I think it is safe to say,  are fearful. They are angry. And they are feeling very strongly  that the folks in Washington, in both political parties, just  don’t seem to get it,” said Jim Slattery, a former Democratic  representative from Kansas.

The Republican rout extended from coast to coast and  knocked  more than 30 Democratic incumbents out of the House, including Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton, Budget  Committee Chairman John Spratt and Transportation Com-mittee Chairman James Oberstar.

Obama said he felt “sadness” at the loss of so many  Democrats who had taken tough votes to back the healthcare  overhaul, economic stimulus package and other initiatives.

“It’s hard, and I take responsibility for it in a lot of  ways,” he said. “There is also a lot of questioning on my part  in terms of, ‘Could I have done something differently or done something more so that those folks would still be here?’“

Obama said there might be room for agreement with  Republicans on areas like natural gas, energy issues and  reducing “earmarks” — local spending projects funded by  Congress.

“If the president would like to partner in this effort, I  gladly take him up on that offer,” Eric Cantor, the No. 2 House  Republican, said of the earmarks issue.

Investors said they expected Republicans to be more  sympathetic to business concerns. The S&P ended at a six-month  high, up 0.37 percent, yesterday after the Federal Reserve  Board announced plans to aid the economy.
Boehner said the sweeping healthcare overhaul passed by  Democrats in March would ruin the medical system and bankrupt  the country. “That means we have to do everything we can to try to repeal this bill and replace it with common sense reforms to bring down the cost of healthcare,” he said.