GOP Calls On Dems To Move To Center, But Will They Meet Halfway?

Senator-elect Scott Brown's (R-MA) victory in the Massachusetts special election yesterday has elicited a predictable response from Republican leaders.  The main talking point coming out of the GOP is that the election was a referendum on President Obama and health care reform.  As RNC Chairman Michael Steele wrote on his blog, Brown's win "is a clear referendum on the failed agenda now being pursued in Washington, D.C."  

There is ample evidence that this argument is wrong.  For one thing, only 38% of voters said they were motivated by opposition to Obama's policies, according to an exit poll taken by a GOP pollster. For another, Massachusetts already passed a health reform law -- which Brown supported as a state senator -- that is strikingly similar to the Senate plan.  It has resulted in near-universal coverage for Massachusetts residents and remains hugely popular in the state.  In reality, the result last night reflected public angst over the economy, discontent with the political process, and a lack of enthusiasm among progressives, among other local issues. 

Still, the GOP is calling on President Obama to let go of his goals and move further to the center.  Appearing earlier today on MSNBC, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said, "[Obama] still has a chance to recalibrate, move to the middle, and go in a direction that could truly build bipartisan relationships in Congress."

Asked whether Republicans would meet the president halfway, McConnell equivocated.  He responded by blaming Democrats for the polarized political environment before finally saying, "if [Obama] wants to govern in the middle, I think we'll be happy to meet him there." However, McConnell didn't say specifically what it would take to win the GOP's cooperation.   

Watch:

Meanwhile, Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) indicated that House Republicans will only work across the aisle if Democrats are willing to embrace Republican ideas.  In an interview with Greg Sargent, Cantor said of the GOP health care plan, "these are the kinds of things that we can do and produce together in a bipartisan fashion."  

Put another way, all Democrats have to do is start legislating like Republicans would.  Those are the "kinds of things" Republicans will support.  If that's what it's going to take for Republicans to cooperate, they're not going to cooperate at all.