Sen McConnell: Obama 'Back Out On The Campaign Trail'

Senator Mitch McConnell spoke to the floor of the Senate Tuesday: “Yesterday, I came to the floor to discuss what is known as the Fiscal Cliff — a mix of automatic tax hikes and defense cuts that are set to hit at the end of the year, jeopardizing our security and our economy. My message was simple: A solution is possible, Republicans have been reasonable, and the President needs to lead. He’s the only one who can get us to a solution. If that’s what he wants, we’ll succeed. So it was with some concern that I read this morning that the President plans to hit the road this week to drum up support for his own personal approach to the short and long-term fiscal challenges we face. In other words, rather than sitting down with lawmakers of both parties and working out an agreement, he’s back out on the campaign trail, presumably with the same old talking points we’re all familiar with.

Look: we already know the President is a very good campaigner. What we don’t know is whether he has the leadership qualities necessary to lead his party to a bipartisan agreement on a big issue likes this. So let me suggest that if the President wants a solution to the challenges of the moment, the people he needs to be talking to are the members of his own party, so he can convince them of the need to act. We’re not going to solve this problem by creating villains and drumming up outrage. We’ll solve this problem by doing the hard work of sitting down and figuring out a solution that involves tough choices on all sides.”