Reuters: Politics: Obama strategist sees Republican 'reign of terror' in Congress

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Obama strategist sees Republican 'reign of terror' in Congress Apr 23rd 2012, 04:08 Tweet Share this Email Print Related News Romney asks Republicans to circle wagons around his candidacy Fri, Apr 20 2012 Of silver spoons and Greek columns: Obama, Romney clash Wed, Apr 18 2012 Romney gaining on Obama: Reuters/Ipsos poll Mon, Apr 16 2012 Obama calls Romney's immigration stance "troublesome" Sat, Apr 14 2012 In real time, Twitter charges feisty White House campaign Fri, Apr 13 2012 Analysis & Opinion Washington Extra – Going nuclear? Obama camp's latest fund-raising draw? Clooney Related Topics Politics » Barack Obama » Election 2012 » White House Senior Adviser David Axelrod talks in the East Room of the White House in Washington, January 6, 2011. Credit: Reuters/Larry Downing By Bill Trott WASHINGTON | Mon Apr 23, 2012 12:08am EDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans in the U.S. Congress are under a "reign of terror" imposed by the party's conservative wing that also has pushed presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney to the right, President Barack Obama's senior campaign strategist said on Sunday. David Axelrod, in an interview on CNN's "State of the Union" program, cited the Obama administration's plans for immigration reform as an example of Republican intransigence in Congress. The political process in Washington should not be "monolithic opposition to everything the chief executive wants to do as a political strategy," Axelrod said, adding that an "implacable group of Republicans" had blocked any possibility of immigration reform. "I think there are a lot of Republicans in Congress who want to cooperate ... but they're in the thralls of this reign of terror from the far right that has dragged the party to the right," he said. "Governor Romney and the party have gone way off to the right," he added. On NBC's "Meet the Press," Axelrod said that if Obama is re-elected, some Republicans would be more willing to work with him. Axelrod said Romney, the former Massachusetts governor in line to be the Republican challenger to Obama's re-election in the November 6 election, has nothing new to offer voters. "People don't know Mitt Romney very well," he said on CNN. "They see a businessman. They hope he has new ideas. When they find out what his ideas are, slashing taxes at the top for the very wealthy ... they're going to think, 'This is very familiar. We've tried this. This was a big failure.'" Axelrod said Romney's campaign for the Republican nomination had been a negative one, based on attacking his opponents rather than spelling out ideas. "When he does, I think people are going to judge them for what they are, which is backward-looking and a repeat of what got us into this mess in the first place," he added. (Editing by Will Dunham) Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above.

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