Hoyer: Bennett defeat shows GOP base uninterested in compromise

“The problem the Republicans have had is their base doesn’t
want them to compromise, their base does not want them to sit down with people
and discuss alternatives that are possible, and the Utah Republican convention
was, I think, stark evidence of that base determination,” Hoyer told reporters
on Tuesday.

Bennett finished third in his party’s nominating convention
over the weekend, and was eliminated from the Republican primary ballot for the
Senate seat he’s held since 1993.

{mosads}He was defeated by two rival Republicans who had much more
support from the insurgent “tea party” movement. Bennett had come under
criticism for working with Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden (Ore.) on a healthcare
bill.

Hoyer noted that while Bennett is a reliable conservative,
he “did have a willingness to sit down and figure out how we could move forward
on pieces of legislation.”

Not only did that cost him his seat in an increasingly
right-charging Republican party, Hoyer said, “I think it is confirmation of my
assertion that basically the Republican party is not interested at all in bipartisanship
or cooperation, which was one of the reasons given by many to oppose Bob
Bennett.”

Hoyer initiated an unsuccessful attempt to negotiate with
House Republicans on a healthcare bill after Republican Whip Eric Cantor
(R-Va.) and others charged that Democrats were ignoring Republican ideas that
could win a majority of support in the House.

“The Republican party now has the narrowest base that I’ve
seen for the Republican party since I’ve been involved in politics, which has
been four decades,” Hoyer said. “I think Utah was a demonstration of the truth
of that assertion. And I think there is sense that those who are willing to sit
down at a table with other people elected by other Americans who may be
Democrats are not doing what the Republican base [wants].”