Senate Democrats have routinely blocked common-sense efforts, the author writes. | JAY WESTCOTT/POLITICO GOP bid to retake Senate looks good

With a little more than a month until the election and the first of the presidential debates this week, campaigns are entering the final phase. But while it might feel like the beginning of the end for those of us engaged in political campaigns, for many voters across the country, this is where they finally start thinking about whom they will vote for. That is why I am confident about our Republican prospects for this November.

Take a look at the fundamentals in this election. Unemployment nationally has been stuck at over 8 percent for 43 consecutive months, our debt has skyrocketed past $16 trillion because of the Democrats’ reckless spending and, as last week’s gross domestic product figures showed, growth remains extremely weak. Added to this, middle-class incomes are lower than they were four years ago, while gas prices, college tuition fees and worker health insurance costs are up. Some politicians seem to forget that these are not just numbers on a page; they represent the difficult times middle-class families in America are experiencing.


The president and the Democratic leadership want to evade responsibility, but there is no place for them to hide. Voters’ everyday lives are simply harder than they were before, and Democrats are directly to blame for that.

The high tax, high spend economy is a Democrat construct, and this has hurt their election chances — even in historically safe Democratic areas. And senators like Jon Tester, Bill Nelson and Sherrod Brown have not stayed true to their 2006 campaign promises to act as bipartisan representatives and put people first. These men, along with their Democratic colleagues and candidates, have continually sided with President Barack Obama and backed his failed policies.

One of the largest stains on the Senate Democrats’ voting record is the $800-plus billion stimulus package that failed to create American jobs or assist the economy in its recovery. While Senate Democrats led their constituencies to believe such a large waste of taxpayer money was crucial to the future of the economy, the results show this was a critical miscalculation. Voters will remember their words of reassurance — and their votes.

Further, Senate Democrats have routinely blocked common-sense efforts such as the Keystone XL pipeline that would create jobs in the short term while helping to grow America’s energy independence in the long term.

Government first, people second — these are your Senate Democratic candidates.

And on top of all that, at a time when we should have been focused on helping our nation’s working-class families, the Democrats implemented a massive tax increase on the American people when they rammed their health care bill into law. “Obamacare” will cost more than $1 trillion and increase the cost of health care by thousands of dollars per family. This devastating measure embodies the mentality of the Senate Democrats — to spend on inefficient government programs while increasing the nation’s federal deficit. “Obamacare” also cuts $716 billion from Medicare while eliminating jobs from the private sector because of the devastating taxes this program places on private medical companies.

Senate Republicans have fought these policies from the beginning and are leading the way with ideas to restore the economic prosperity of the nation. Their goals are clear and defined: Implement measures that will help reduce the deficit and reduce taxes to get the economy back on track.

Republicans continue to gain traction in our race for the Senate majority because we have a plan to solve these issues. The past four years have demonstrated the contrast between the two parties. Republicans have maintained their belief in a fair and effective free-market system. We have worked tirelessly to put a structure in place that fosters growth in the present as well as the future.

Senate Democrats have shown the framework of their party’s ideology over the past four years as well. Outrageous government spending and wide-ranging government regulation have defined the measures they have instituted during their time in the majority. Senate Democrats have abandoned the economic policies that led to American prosperity in the past, causing a massive federal deficit and far too many Americans out of work.

We are constantly reminded that elections are choices, not referendums. I would submit that they are both of those things, and that’s why I am optimistic as we approach this final month.

Sen. John Cornyn of Texas is chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.