Duffy credits Republican freshman class as changing the conversation on spending

Political gridlock and bickering was part of the education of Wisconsin freshman Republican Congressman Sean Duffy. He thinks bipartisanship will return, but not in this presidential election year.

The northern Wisconsin Congressman says his first year has been an amazing time that has changed the way he looks at government, “Obviously my eyes are open in the way Congress works. There are a lot of things people won’t agree on because of the philosophy on the right or the left. But there is so much stuff in the middle that we should be agreeing on that we’re not agreeing on. That’s my frustration and that’s the American people’s frustration with Congress.”

Duffy says Congressional gridlock and debt ceiling votes were the low point in his first year. He says the brinksmanship wasn’t the fault of the Republican freshmen under the influence of Tea Party politics, “I guess I wouldn’t say all freshman (Republicans) are Tea Party members. I don’t hold myself out as a Tea Party member. I have a lot of folks who are in the Tea Party who support me. But I think the conversation change has come from the freshman class which is reflective of the American people asking for some controls on spending in Washington.”

Duffy says the struggle for control of Congress and the White House will mean more political posturing and stalemate this year. But he says they’ll get beyond that after November. He says they have to if they’re going to tackle Social Security, Medicare, and the national debt.

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