We can work together and accomplish these things, but the White House and Democratic leaders in Congress first will have to prioritize. It’s time to choose struggling middle-class families and small businesses over the demands of the liberal base. It’s time to get serious.

While Americans have been asking “where are the jobs?” for more than two years, our friends across the aisle have clung for too long to the liberal wish list, including a job-killing health-care law, a “cap-and-trade” national energy tax and an out-of-control spending spree. The November elections represented a wholesale rejection of these policies.

Now we have a real chance to move away from the misplaced priorities of the past two years and work together on common-sense proposals that will build a foundation for the economic rebound we all want.