From the Associated Press: "When the next Congress cranks up in January, there will be more
women, many new faces and 11 fewer tea party-backed House Republicans
from the class of 2010 who sought a second term. Overriding those
changes, though, is a thinning of pragmatic, centrist veterans in both
parties. Among those leaving are some of the Senate's most pragmatic
lawmakers, nearly half the House's centrist Blue Dog Democrats and
several moderate House Republicans."
The article continues: "That could leave the parties
more polarized even as President Barack Obama and congressional leaders
talk up the cooperation needed to tackle complex, vexing problems such
as curbing deficits, revamping tax laws and culling savings from
Medicare and other costly, popular programs. 'This movement away
from the center, at a time when issues have to be resolved from the
middle, makes it much more difficult to find solutions to major
problems,' said William Hoagland, senior vice president of the
Bipartisan Policy Center, a private group advocating compromise."
New U.S. Congress: Fewer Moderates Make Deals Harder
