Glenn Greenwald: Time To Kick The Blue Dog Dems Out

In American politics, exceedingly few positions generate overwhelming agreement across the ideological spectrum. Even propositions that ought to be uncontroversial -- such as whether there is scientific evidence for evolution or whether Saddam Hussein personally planned the 9/11 attacks -- produce sizable portions of the citizenry lined up on each side. One notable exception to this rule is the issue of whether the current U.S. Congress is doing a poor job. That question produces a remarkable consensus that is close to unanimous.

...

If simply voting for more Democrats will achieve nothing in the way of meaningful change, what, if anything, will? At minimum, two steps are required to begin to influence Democratic leaders to change course: 1) Impose a real political price that they must pay when they capitulate to -- or actively embrace -- the right's agenda and ignore the political values of their base, and 2) decrease the power and influence of the conservative "Blue Dog" contingent within the Democratic caucus, who have proved excessively willing to accommodate the excesses of the Bush administration, by selecting their members for defeat and removing them from office. And that means running progressive challengers against them in primaries, or targeting them with critical ads, even if doing so, in isolated cases, risks the loss of a Democratic seat in Congress.

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Comments

[lovethesinner]

Point taken, but... did anyone catch Fritz Hollings on Moyers last week? He made the case that THE PERMANENT CAMPAIGN is what's responsible for the log jam in congress and that without a really FREE PRESS (one that isn't beholden to the corporate overlords) we don't really stand a chance of getting anything done, no matter who you put in office:

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/07252008/watch3.html

His personal story as a senator from South Carolina seems to suggest that even "blue" dogs can learn new tricks: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Hollings

Why is it progressives always want to reform the party right before an election? Is it an unconscious desire to self-destruct?

[bayside]

Amen.....Blue dogs are republicans in every way..The difference between us is ,blue dogs and republicans are self serving , whereas democrats are on the whole are service to others. Big difference..We will never get anything done until they are forced to go with their kind...They have done as much damage to america as republicans..Problem is, .I live in ohio and voted for a guy I didnt know very well but knew he was a dem. so voted for him. Zack was voted in and promptly joined blue dogs. If I had known I wouldnt have voted for him, but I didnt..Thats the problem...

[JimR]

"whereas democrats are on the whole are service to others"

LOL!!!!!

That is by far the funniest thing I've heard all week.

[PumaAnn]

I wonder if the blue dawgs are listening and will decline to help out much in the election? Looks like to me that the split is coming, and they'll end up Republican.

[truthskr]

Yes, Republican-lite, just like PUMA and other Clinton-Era cleaving DLC Democrats. Too conservative, too triangulating to the center, too pandering, too long of way, way too little. In my opinion, if you can't bring yourself to support the Obama/DNC platform, regardless of how you feel about the primary results, then you were never a true Democrat and need to reregister Independent or Republican. The Democratic Party has been trying to straggle the political fence for way too long, and has suffered accordingly at the polls. It's beyond high time to reclaim the Party and return it to the grassroots people who will build it's future, a future based upon progressive values.

Finally, my generation (GenX) and the very large (in number) and very liberal Millenial generation behind us have begun to reclaim the Party with our older, progressive Party members and are finally showing that it is the grassroot voters and not the Party establishment that drives this Party as well as it's direction into the future.

Obama 08

[Buckywunder]

The two most important democratic reforms that need enacting *immediately* if not sooner are public financing of elections and instant runoff voting/ranked choice voting. Then the "Blue Dog" conundrum (can't live with 'em, can't shoot 'em) will work itself out.

With some form of public financing, this will open up the field of candidates to a wider range of people who are not tied to their local and national financial interests who "pay for" the candidate to protect their stake. If elections are paid for by the public, then we will get public servants who will serve the public's interest.

IRV/RCV would allow for a voting process that encourages broader, more positive debate and works against a "spoiler," voting for the "lesser evil" outcome. It would allow you to vote for the most progressive candidate in the most conservative areas as there is no primary to filter out alternatives to the entrenched power, status quo candidates. In theory, at least, there is a real possibility for a populist candidate to break through eventually. If every election cycle you end up having DINO's vs. RINO's, we just end up with whoever can pony up the most cash.

[FogBelter]

This is exactly what I feel in the matter ... once the Dems expand their majorities in the House and Senate they next need to identify, isolate, and work to convert the DINOs, or purge them in upcoming election cycles.

There is no place in the Democratic Party for Republican ideology. Trojan Horse Dems who carry Republican water need to be shown the door.

[OhReallySheSaid]

I fully agree with you. And let's start by kicking the Biggest Blue Dog Out, Barrack Hussein Obama for his flipping to the Republican side of the FISA bill.

[syllepsis]

That's where this line of thinking leads, which is a reductio ad absurdam of the original proposition that it is 'Blue Dogs' who are the problem.
No, the problem is the Democratic party itself.

[AurigaRa]

PURGE

[meanguy]

after the 'purges', will there be re-education camps? funny how the far-left can't help but use socialist terminology

[PumaAnn]

I wasn't going to say it.....:)

[FogBelter]

I'd guess after the Purge they would gravitate towards the Republican Gulag where they belonged in the first place.

[nippersdad]

"And what is it that makes you want to serve George Bush?" Monica Goodling; questionaire on job applications at the Justice Department. You were saying?

[Titonwan]

Democrats are left wing. Everyone else is a mindless lemming. (DINO).

[Marlyn]

Agreed, but my Blue Dog Senator, Dianne Feinstein, doesn't come up for reelection for years, and when she did run, no one (i.e. an unknown housewife whom I voted for) ran against her.

[repearwo]

There is a simple fact, people do not come in two flavors politically. It is not only Democrat and Republican in the real world. We created this artificial dichotomy and now we believe it is real. The best you can hope for is the standard Bell Curve distribution of ideas that over time modulates back and forth. If you get a candidate that agrees with you between 55and 70% of the time that is pretty darn good, vote for him. That means that if your party in congress has 55% to 65% in congress you are doing real good.

Successful partys of the past were partys that put together coalitions. Dump the Blue Dogs at your own peril. They are not just a cog on your wheel they represent people, people who like what they do. You want to get rid of the Blue Dog, do the work, get out and educate the people to think the way you do, then they will elect people like you.

Glenn I am very disappointed in you. You are educated. Did you skip the history classes.

[DesertLight]

I can't even believe this. These are the people they used to win back the house in the 06 election. Now give them das boot?

Unreal!

[PumaAnn]

That big tent is just too small for the New Democratic Party, eh?

[DesertLight]

You mean the one that keeps shuffling it's feet further to left every day?

[JohnFromCensornati]

Not unreal as you well know.
The GOP still controls the congress.

[JimR]

That's because the Democratic... for lack of a better word—"leadership" is composed of clueless, spineless weasels.

[DesertLight]

1) Impose a real political price that they must pay when they capitulate to -

Interpretation: You put party before principle or you are out pal.

What do you call that?

[UkieOlie]

It's not party before principla, it's the opposite. Why do they call themselves Democrats?

[meanguy]

sure it is...that's EXACTLY what it is...jfk, truman, and lbj would not be welcome by the 'progressives'...they'd be called 'neo-cons' and 'rethug lite'

[OhioJan]

Great article, Glenn!

I say we start with Pelosi & Reid, then work our way down the corrupt ranks from there!!! But, we really need to keep Kucinich & Feingold in place...They seem to be 2 of the very few who truly look out for the American Citizen/Voter!!!!!!!

[AurigaRa]

Amen Jan, amen

[Titonwan]

Right on! :) Good to see a few bonafide Core Democrats, you know the "left wing of the left wing". These dillys think there's positions of left for Democrats. Democrats are left wing- period.

[PumaAnn]

So much for the 50-state strategy and turning red states blue, eh?

[RedDogBear]

"So much for the 50-state strategy and turning red states blue, eh?" Actually, there isn't a contradiction between getting rid of blue dogs and the 50 state strategy. The problem with democrats ever since Ronald Reagan is that they haven't stood for anything except not being as bad as republicans. What most democrats want now is not just being "not as bad" as the republicans but actually standing for something different: universal health care, resisting wars such as Iraq and Vietnam not because they are hard to win but because they are morally wrong, investing money in this country to create new jobs for a green economy and infrastructure rather than spending billions on a military to maintain an empire. The fact of the matter is that these issues are really in the best interests of 95% of our citizens. The republicans have brainwashed much of the country into voting against their interests, we need to change that and not just in California and New York but everywhere.

[truthskr]

If the DNC wants to turn purple states such as mine (CO) blue, it is the young Democrats, the liberal, grassroot, progressive members of the Party, that they will need to turn out to make this happen - this is the energized, mobilized portion of the Party that the Party needs to embrace if it wishes to grow the Party and retain any relevance as the Blue Dogs age out. Having Obama as our nominee should bode well here since CO went 2/3 to Obama on Super Tuesday.

If the Blue Dogs, DLCers, etc, were such powerful groups in the red and purple states, those states wouldn't still be red or purple. It will take the new blood of the Democratic Party to finally flip these states blue. If this means that the Blue Dogs have to swallow their pride, or support more liberal candidates such as Obama, so be it. They don't own the Party.

[bluecash]

So much for standing-up for democratic values, eh? Unite for change or betray your beliefs out of spite that your candidate lost. You must know how it feels to be a DINO!