Sen.-elect Tim Kaine (D-Va.) on Wednesday said he expects the Republican Party to "look in the mirror" and become more open to working with Democrats on finding solutions to averting the impending fiscal cliff and reforming the nation’s immigration laws.
Kaine, who defeated former Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) in a hard-fought race by 51 percent to 49, was asked on NBC’s “Today” how he believed Republicans might work with Democrats in 2013.
"There's so much bad that's going to happen if we go over this fiscal cliff and I think that's going to bring both parties together for a solution that's going to springboard into a bigger picture budget deal," Kaine said the morning after Election Day. "I do think the Republican Party's going to look in the mirror and decide that they need to work hand-in-hand on issues like immigration reform.”
“In the future of the Republican party, they're not going to be able to continue to put such a hard face toward Latino voters and so that's going to provide an opportunity for another significant issue where we can build bridges early in 2013," he said.
President Obama has repeatedly listed immigration reform as something he believes Democrats and Republicans could find agreement on after the presidential election. The president has said avoiding the fiscal cliff would be his top priority after the election and has said he believes he could find support for immigration reform in his second term.
Obama’s victory on Election Night was aided in part by his strong edge among Hispanic voters, who broke for the president 69 percent to 29 for GOP challenger Mitt Romney.
