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WINSTON-SALEM U.S. Sen. Richard Burr said Monday the November election may be the only way to break the partisan logjam in Congress.
Speaking to reporters on the day he filed for re-election, the N.C. Republican blamed most of the gridlock on Democrats, particularly what he called the "dictatorial" style of Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada.
Asked what would end the impasse, he said, "Typically the next election cycle if you see the balance of power shift ... that will be a message to the president and the White House....
"I'm not going to tell you nothing is possible, but my snapshot today doesn't give me the confidence that big things will happen."
Burr's comments came as he formally launched his bid for a second term. At least two other Republicans and four Democrats are running in the May 4 primaries. Secretary of State Elaine Marshall on Monday became the latest Democrat to file.
An Observer/WCNC Poll last week showed opinion split on the state's senior senator, with 46 percent rating his job as good or excellent and 43 percent calling it fair or poor. He still enjoyed double-digit leads over each of the three main Democrats running.
Burr, 54, said he doesn't have "high hopes" for the meeting President Barack Obama is scheduled to have with congressional leaders this week on health care. Burr said the meeting might be "more for theatrics" than substance.
Burr said while he has "never known the president not to be genuine" in his appeal for bi-partisanship, he can't say the same for Democratic leaders.
"The Senate and House leadership have chosen a path of exclusion, not inclusion," he said. "When you deny one side or the other the ability to amend legislation, the message you're sending is it's either" their way or nothing. Burr said the country needs "a little less ideology and ... more solutions."
Democrats have criticized Senate Republicans for threatening filibusters to block legislation. It takes 60 votes to end a filibuster, a number Senate Democrats no longer have since the January election of Republican Scott Brown in Massachusetts.
Norman Ornstein, a Congressional expert at the American Enterprise Institute, told McClatchy Newspapers that "Republicans have ratcheted use of the filibuster up to completely unheard of levels."
"'Obstructionist' is Richard Burr's middle name," said Deirdre Murphy, spokeswoman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. "Time after time, he has toed the party line and voted against important legislation that has helped middle-class families in North Carolina. He joins Republicans in using the filibuster to block even debating an issue."
Burr said one priority is getting federal spending under control.
"I'll be the first to admit that that spending didn't get out of control just with the election of President Obama," he said. But he added that the deficit has ballooned since Obama took office.
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office predicts the national debt will double by 2020, to $15 trillion, while annual interest payments "are poised to skyrocket" to $723 billion.
Burr said he has confidence in the bi-partisan commission Obama named to review federal spending. It's co-chaired by former GOP Sen. Alan Simpson and N.C. Democrat Erskine Bowles, whom Burr defeated in 2004.
"If Erskine Bowles was not heading the commission, I would have no confidence," Burr said. "I feel comfortable that the two individuals heading the commission are not solely focused on tax increases."
