The Norman Transcript

Nation/World

Discussion

November 26, 2012

Less moderates make deals harder in new Congress

The Associated Press Associated Press

WASHINGTON — When the next Congress cranks up in January, there will be more women, many new faces and 11 fewer tea party-backed House Republicans from the class of 2010 who sought a second term.

Overriding those changes, though, is a thinning of pragmatic, centrist veterans. Among those leaving are some of the Senate’s most pragmatic lawmakers, nearly half the House’s centrist Democrats and several moderate House Republicans.

That could leave the parties more polarized even as President Barack Obama and congressional leaders talk up the cooperation needed to tackle problems such as curbing deficits, revamping tax laws and culling savings from Medicare and other popular programs.

“This movement away from the center, at a time when issues have to be resolved from the middle, makes it much more difficult to find solutions to major problems,” said William Hoagland, senior vice president of the Bipartisan Policy Center.

In the Senate, moderate Scott Brown, R-Mass., lost to Democrat Elizabeth Warren, who will be one of the most liberal members. Another GOP moderate, Richard Lugar of Indiana, fell in the primary election. Two others, Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas and Olympia Snowe of Maine, are retiring.

Moderate Democratic senators such as Kent Conrad of North Dakota, Herb Kohl of Wisconsin, Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Jim Webb of Virginia are leaving, as is Democratic-leaning independent Joe Lieberman.

For local news and more, subscribe to The Norman Transcript Smart Edition, or our print edition.

Text Only | Photo Reprints
Nation/World
  • Man fatally shot while questioned in Boston probe

    ORLANDO, Fla. — A Chechen immigrant was shot to death by authorities in central Florida early Wednesday after he turned violent while being questioned about his ties to one of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects, officials said....

    May 23, 2013

  • More tornadoes from global warming? Nobody knows

    A deadly tornado hit suburban Oklahoma City on Monday. A quick look at some basic facts: Q: Is global warming to blame? A: You can’t blame a single weather event on global warming. In any case, scientists just don’t know whether there will ...

    May 22, 2013

  • Tornado season starts late, but starts nonetheless

    TULSA — Deadly tornadoes that have raked communities in Middle America over the past week, including Monday’s massive twister that carved a path of destruction through the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore, belie what had been a relatively ...

    May 21, 2013

  • Israeli seeks interim deal with Palestinians

    JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s senior coalition partner says that reaching a final peace agreement with the Palestinians is unrealistic at the current time and the sides should instead pursue an interim arrangement....

    May 20, 2013

  • Syrian troops push into town

    BEIRUT — Syrian troops pushed into a rebel-held town near the Lebanese border on Sunday, fighting house-to-house and bombing from the air as President Bashar Assad tried to strengthen his grip on a strategic strip of land running from the ...

    May 20, 2013

  • Fate of Los Angeles marijuana shops left to voters

    LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles politicians have struggled for more than five years to regulate medical marijuana, trying to balance the needs of the sick against neighborhood concerns that pot shops attract crime. Voters will head to the polls ...

    May 20, 2013

  • AP CEO calls seizure unconstitutional

    WASHINGTON — The president and chief executive officer of The Associated Press on Sunday called the government’s secret seizure of two months of reporters’ phone records “unconstitutional” and said the news cooperative had not ruled out ...

    May 20, 2013

  • Obama urged to make economy a bigger topic

    WASHINGTON — Five months into President Barack Obama’s second term, allies and former top aides worry that his overarching goal of economic opportunity has been diminished, partly drowned out by controversies seized upon by Republicans in ...

    May 20, 2013

  • Official: Driver in parade crash likely had medical condition

    DAMASCUS, Va. — Authorities believe the driver who plowed into dozens of hikers marching in a Virginia mountain town parade suffered from a medical condition and did not cause the crash intentionally, an emergency official said Sunday. ...

    May 20, 2013

  • Metro-North: Conn. train outage expected for days

    BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — Tens of thousands of commuters are bracing for a difficult trip around southwest Connecticut and to New York City beginning Monday as workers repair the Metro-North commuter rail line crippled by a derailment and crash....

    May 20, 2013