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Calling for “a dose of humility,” Kind said Democrats must work with Republicans to govern effectively.
With two wars overseas and an
economic crisis, Kind said the challenge is too great for one party to solve.
“One party acting alone usually fails,” said Kind, who easily won a seventh term representing western Wisconsin.
His statement came as Democrats picked up 18 seats Tuesday, strengthening their majority in the House of Representatives.
With four Senate races still undecided, Democrats gained at least another five seats in that chamber, though still short of the 60-seat supermajority needed to stop a filibuster.
“After elections, you try to bury the hatchet and look conciliatory,” said University of Wisconsin-La Crosse political scientist Joe Heim. “Most of the time it’s posturing.”
Topping the agenda for the new Congress will be economic recovery, health care and a strategy for withdrawing troops from Iraq, Kind said.
Kind said crafting a “responsible exit strategy” for Iraq and a bill to provide health care for all American children would be some of the first actions.
The future of Iraq has to be in the hands of Iraqis, he said. Meanwhile the U.S. military is “at the point of breaking” and more troops are needed in Afghanistan.
Walz, a freshman Democrat from southern Minnesota, also easily defended his seat.
He said his focus will be on job creation and a more comprehensive economic recovery plan than the controversial Wall Street bailout passed in October. A highway funding bill could provide jobs while rebuilding crumbling roads and bridges, Walz said.
The last time Democrats controlled the White House and Congress was 1993-94, under President Clinton. Republicans had control for four years under President Bush.
Both Walz and Kind predict President-elect Barack Obama will prove to be more of a centrist than Republicans made him out to be in the campaign.
“Republicans should be on guard, but I don’t think they should buy into the rhetoric,” Walz said. “I think they’ll find Obama is far more moderate than they’ve been told.”
