Democrats Pledge Cooperation After Defeat
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats "suffered a disappointing defeat" in Tuesday's congressional elections and will work with Republicans to get things done, a rookie Democratic representative said on Saturday.
However, he criticized President Bush (news - web sites) for underfunding education.
"As hard as humanly possible, Democrats will seek bipartisan achievement to get things done by working with the Republican Congress and this President," Kendrick Meek, a newly elected U.S. representative from Florida, said in the first Democratic radio address since Tuesday's elections.
Beating Democrats in key races, Republicans regained control of the Senate and increased their majority in the House of Representatives.
"On Election Day, Democrats suffered a disappointing defeat," Meek said. "But we ran hard on the issues important to people's lives. We are focused on building a vision for the future and a better country for all Americans."
While pledging to work with Republicans, Meek criticized the president and his brother, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, on their education policies.
"We know that you get what you pay for, and that both Governor Bush and President Bush have been talking about improving public education without putting up the funding to back up their words," Meek said.
Despite re-electing Bush as Florida's governor, Meek said, the state's voters "soundly rejected his education policies and his mishandling of our education system" by approving measures requiring smaller class sizes and universal pre-kindergarten classes.
"These reforms are important nationally, because education is a top priority of Democrats in Congress. That is why we are fighting with President Bush and the Republican House leadership to fully fund President Bush's No Child Left Behind Act," Meek said, referring to legislation revamping the federal role in public schools.
"We Democrats call on the president to put the funding behind his promise. Our children deserve no less," he said.