The mass re-election of Republicans in a year like 2012 can have no other rational interpretation than as a mandate for Republicans to oppose tax, regulatory, and government spending increases.
In the run-up to the October presidential election, Wahid, then head of the Nahdlatul Ulama mass Muslim organization (which claims 30 million members), visited Rais at the latter's office at Muhammadiyah (another mass Muslim group).