Midterm results bad news for Obama

(Transcript from SBS World News Radio)

The midterm elections in the United States have produced a result that could have major impact on politics in that country for the remainder of President Barack Obama's presidency.

And it is not good news for the President.

Ron Sutton has the story.

(Click on the audio tab above to hear the full report)

The opposition Republicans have gained control of both houses of Congress in the United States, leaving President Barack Obama weakened for his final two years in office.

The Republicans, already in firm control of the House of Representatives, gained more than the six extra Senate seats needed to win a majority in Congress's upper house.

The man set to be the new Senate leader, Kentucky Republican Mitch McConnell, says the election results are a rejection of the Obama Administration and of big government.

"For too long, this Administration has tried to tell the American people what's good for them and then blame somebody else when their policies didn't work out. Tonight, Kentucky rejected that approach."

Control of both houses of Congress leaves the Republicans in position to block any further plans for President Obama's progressive agenda.

And it could enable Congress to peel back parts of that agenda already put in place.

Senator McConnell indicated the Republicans are unhappy with both domestic and foreign policy.

"Americans have seen that what the current crowd in Washington is offering is making us weaker both at home and abroad. They have had enough. You know, there's an old saying that's often attributed to Winston Churchill that I'm reminded of. Here's what he said about us, about America. He said, 'You know the Americans, they always do the right thing -- after they've tried everything else first.'"

Domestically, the Republicans' prime target would be the healthcare laws known as Obamacare.

The Republican leadership has acknowledged that, realistically, it will not be able to repeal the laws that created the program.

But by controlling both houses, the Republicans could strip away parts of it, even some of the tax provisions within the legislation that make the program financially viable.

Texas senator Ted Cruz, a likely Republican presidential candidate in 2016, has told CNN the party should try to reconcile with Mr Obama but must go hard on Obamacare.

"I think we should stand together. We should use reconciliation. We should pass full repeal. The President will almost surely veto it, but then we should start systematically repealing some of the most burdensome aspects of Obamacare."

On the international front, a Republican Senate is positioned to make Senator John McCain head of the Armed Services Committee.

From there, he could push hard for a more aggressive US response to the self-proclaimed Islamic State, or IS, in Iraq and Syria.

Besides Obamacare and US policy in Iraq and Syria, other key issues in the elections included the economy, the environment and abortion laws.

All 435 House of Representatives seats were up for election, as they are in every US election because of the two-year House terms.

The Senate has staggered, six-year terms, so only one third of those 100 seats are at stake in each election.

Senator Cruz says the Republicans' resounding success in adding seats in both houses in the midterm elections now puts his party at the forefront.

"I think a lot of voters are sceptical of politicians in both parties, and I very much hope that my party can validate and earn the trust that's been placed in us and that we can stand up, listen to the people and come together for positive, pro growth economic legislation."

In this election, the seats at stake included several ripe for Republicans to take, particularly in traditionally conservative states Mr Obama and the Democrats won in 2008.

On the contrary, many seats at stake in the 2016 election appear to favour the Democrats, possibly limiting the Republican hold on the Senate to just the next two years.

The 2016 elections will include a new president, and the Republicans' win in both houses of Congress could provide a twist there, too.

The Republicans may now push to investigate the 2012 attack on the US consulate in Libya, where the US ambassador was killed.

Then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is favoured to become the Democratic presidential candidate in 2016, and the Republicans would like her to face blame for the attack.

But all is not as dire as it appears for the Democrats.

Dating back to the 1950s, Barack Obama is the fifth consecutive two-term US president to have support from neither house of Congress in his last two years.