Obama: Dems have ‘great chance’ of regaining House majority in 2014

President Obama at a fundraiser in Chicago on Wednesday told Democratic donors the party had a “great chance” of retaking the House in 2014.

Speaking at an event for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) in his hometown, Obama blamed congressional Republicans for holding up his second-term agenda and urged supporters to redouble their efforts to win back the House.

{mosads}“One of the best ways to work around it is to have a Democratic House of Representatives,” Obama said.

“We’ve got a great chance of taking back the House.  And I’m going to be working tirelessly wherever I get the opportunity to make the case to the American people that our ideas are the right ones,” he added.

Obama said he regretted the partisan gridlock in Washington.

“We’ve got a politics that’s stuck right now,” said the president. “And the reason it’s stuck is because people spend more time thinking about the next election than they do thinking about the next generation.”

Obama, though, said he would continue to reach out to GOP lawmakers.

“Any Republican who joins up and says, I agree, those are the right ideas — hey, I’m ready to work,” he said.

The DCCC event was one of two fundraisers Obama held on Wednesday night. Obama donors Bettylu and Paul Saltzman also hosted the president for a reception at their home in Chicago.

Obama has pledged to help Democrats raise money for the 2014 midterms, but the party faces an uphill fight, needing to net 17 seats to retake the House.

The president said sending Democrats to Washington would help break the deadlock in Congress.

“Do not buy into this notion somehow that, oh, these problems are too big or Washington is broken,” Obama said. “Washington is not broken.  It’s broken right now for a particular reason, but it’s not permanently broken.  It can be fixed.”