AUDIE CORNISH, Host:
Before a refresher on the highs and lows of the 111th and what it might tell us about the 112th, we're joined by Jay Newton-Small, congressional correspondent for Time Magazine. Hi, Jay.
JAY NEWTON: Hi, Audie.
CORNISH: So let's start with the end, the lame-duck session. Going into it, all we heard about is how nothing was going to get done. But what happened? I mean, lots got done.
NEWTON: You know, it's kind of funny. The Democrats just lost so hugely, and yet they came back in a real force in this lame-duck and said we're not going to let this go. We're going to get as much done as we can, and they did.
CORNISH: And of course, we're talking about the lame-duck as though it was busy, and the rest of the session wasn't. I mean, the regular session actually is one of the busiest in history, right?
NEWTON: And so it's just this enormous amount of legislation that amounts to really an amazing record for Democrats.
CORNISH: The thing is, there were consequences for all that legislation before the lame-duck. I mean, we saw that in - after the elections. I mean, Democrats really took a hit, a lot of people say because they did too much. What are the consequences, then, of cramming even more into a lame-duck?
NEWTON: You have this whole new class of Tea Party members who are going to be sworn in on January 5th, and these guys are not going to be as easy to convince of things like the 9/11 first responders bill, and that's going to be much more difficult.
CORNISH: So Jay, in the end, what did we learn about what kind of bipartisanship we might see in the next Congress?
NEWTON: That's going to be hard to manage the Tea Party interests and also be able to reach out to the other side of the aisle and make a deal.
CORNISH: That's Jay Newton-Small, congressional correspondent for Time Magazine. Jay, thanks for talking with us.
NEWTON: Thanks for having me on, Audie.
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