WASHINGTON -- The nation's Democratic governors have been telling their Republican counterparts to "cheer up" Monday morning, as the states' chief executives head to the White House for a meeting with President Barack Obama.
Democratic governors were wearing buttons labeled "cheer up" during the National Governors Association closing session on Monday and kept them on as they boarded buses for their group meeting at the White House. The buttons come out of Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin's message to Republican governors which he delivered during a press conference following a meeting that Democratic governors had with Obama this weekend.
"We're saying cheer up; we're making progress. We're getting results," Shumlin told The Huffington Post on Monday.
Shumlin and his Democratic colleague, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, said that they are tired of the "doom and gloom" that the Republican presidential candidates have been referencing during the campaign and they wanted Republicans to look at what they term as the Obama administration's accomplishments. This includes the creation of 3.5 million new jobs during Obama's term, they say.
The buttons were created by Shumlin over the weekend and distributed to Democratic governors during a breakfast meeting Monday morning, prior to the National Governors Association's closing session. The Democratic governors could be seen sporting the buttons during the quick session during which the governors adopted new policy statements for the group.
"We're trying to keep the Republican governors happy," Quinn said.
Republican governors at the meeting appeared to be in a good mood, with many seen smiling and engaging in upbeat conversations with their Democratic and Republican colleagues.
CORRECTION: Initially this article stated that the buttons arose out of Gov. Peter Shumlin's message to President Obama during a meeting the Democratic governors had with the president. The article has been updated to reflect that the buttons arose out of Shumlin's message to Republican governors during a press conference following that meeting .