McConnell: 'Early Signs are Not Good' for Obama Learning Lesson from Election

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) acknowledged to reporters today that “the early signs are not good” for President Obama cooperating with the incoming GOP majority.

“I’ve been very disturbed about the way the president has proceeded in the wake of the election, whether it was his intervention on net neutrality, his apparent decision to move ahead on immigration with executive orders, the rather ridiculous agreement with the Chinese under which they basically have to do nothing for the next 16 years while we’re losing jobs in this country as a result of EPA’s overregulation,” McConnell said after the caucus met for leadership elections today.

“I had, maybe naively, hoped the president would look at the results of the election and decide to come to this political center and do some business with us. I still hope he does at some point.”

McConnell argued, though, that Senate Democrats “did get the message” with Friday’s expected vote on the Keystone XL pipeline.

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), facing a Dec. 6 runoff versus Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) to keep her seat, said on the Senate floor today that she didn’t have any hard “indication” President Obama would veto the bill. It’s widely expected, though.

“They got the message on the Keystone pipeline, and I think that’s why you’ve seen the current Democratic majority of the Senate have an epiphany and decide to allow a vote they’ve been blocking for literally years,” McConnell said.

McConnell also commented on the “stupidity” comments of Obamacare architect Jonathan Gruber.

“I think you have all heard the definition of a ‘Washington gaffe,’ when a politician mistakenly tells you what he really thinks. We were subjected during the Obamacare debate to a whole lot of stuff that we all knew was not true, not even close to true,” he said.

“And what this insider is saying confirms that they were spinning tales from beginning to end because they knew they couldn’t tell the truth about Obamacare and have a chance of passing it, even with a Democratic Senate with 60 votes,” McConnell continued.

“So, look, the American people hate, detest and despite Obamacare. Virtually all of us would like to see it pulled out root and branch. We understand that the president obviously is not sympathetic with that point of view. But we’ll be voting on these issues, both the overall Obamacare issue and the various pieces of it, like the individual mandate, the medical device tax, and trying to restore the 40-hour work week.”