Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Friday called for conservatives to put aside their differences with fellow Republicans and unify to fight President Obama’s agenda, specifically the implementation of healthcare reform.
McConnell told the 40th annual Conservative Political Action Conference it is time for the party to stop wallowing in the losses of the 2012 election.
“I’m a little tired of the hand wringing. Conservatives were never meant to be part of the crybaby caucus,” he said. “I know folks have a lot of opinions about what happened in November but seriously how many conferences and lunch panels do we really need to have about it?”
Some speakers at CPAC — notably Texas Gov. Rick Perry — have criticized the party’s last two losing presidential candidates, Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) in 2008 and Mitt Romney in 2012. Perry said Thursday that the party failed to nominate conservative candidates to run against Obama.
A split has also emerged between establishment Republicans such as McCain and Tea Party-backed conservatives such as Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who addressed CPAC on Thursday.
McConnell suggested the infighting is hurting his party, especially as Democrats prepare to extend Obama’s legacy by holding the Senate and winning back the House in 2014.
“The folks who won last year’s election didn’t waste a whole lot of time on a victory lap. They got right back at it. These guys are well-organized, they’re well-financed, they’re ruthless and if you don’t put this election behind us soon, they’re going to eat our lunch again,” McConnell said. “It is time to unite.”
For more on McConnell's speech, click here.
