Battling the Blue Dogs

There is a debate going on in Washington right now as to whether or not the so-called Blue Dog Democrats are holding up critically important issues that face our nation. Nearly 50 million Americans live without health insurance coverage. Climate change is real and affecting our lives every day. Civil rights for millions of LGBT Americans may make no progress in this Democratic-controlled Congress because of opposition by some Blue Dogs.

I've spent the last 22 years of my life working to help elect Democrats to federal and state offices. With very large Democratic majorities in the House and Senate, along with a Democratic president, now is the time to make good on the promises Democrats have made to the American people.

We've talked about health care reform and covering the uninsured for several decades. We profess to be the party to support a strong environment. We go to labor unions for their support during campaigns, but don't do enough to help the average American workers they represent.

Politicians are elected to help improve people's lives, make tough decisions regardless of political consequences and ensure that our Constitutional rights are protected. Instead, too many in both parties are more concerned about their re-election than making real progress. Blue Dogs view themselves as centrists. I look at the term centrist and think of politicians who are afraid to take positions on issues that might cause heartburn with swing voters. That's about their re-election and nothing more.

Blue Dog Democrats tend to be Democrats who win election in states or districts that aren't heavily Democratic. Does that mean they shouldn't fight to ensure that all Americans have good health care? Does it mean they should shy away from making bold decisions to curb the devastating effects of climate change? To me, it doesn't matter if you represent a state or district that mines coal or has several coal burning plants. This is a national and international issue, and while you represent a particular jurisdiction, Congress as a whole has a responsibility to protect all of us.

Those who stand in the way of reforming health care, passing meaningful climate legislation, protecting the rights of workers and making progress so that all Americans have equal rights -- it is you who also need to take responsibility for the problems that won't be fixed.

I recently heard one Blue Dog ask "what do we have to do to get the Democrats off our back?" Seems pretty easy: Start acting like Democrats. Your Blue Dog label is a shield you hide behind, not a place where leadership is shown.

Comments

[BoyInBOYCOTT]

Kaine running the DNC, and Reid running the Senate is an embarrasment to Progressives .
Two milque toast mushy centists who can't do ANYTHING worth while.

[GeorgeP922]

Last night on Rachel Kaine barely answered her question.
Rachel: How does the DNC plan to handle 1 million a day spent on ads against Obama's health plan the whole month of August?

Kaine: The polling says the people are with us so it really doesn't matter.

Ok I am paraphrasing but you get the point.
The answer should have been: "This is America's future we are talking about, in that same month of August 40K Americans will lose coverage and we plan on spending 2 million a day informing the people and sending out Obama to 5 town halls a week.
Me and 5 other top Democratic leaders will hold various townhalls every day the month of August".
Folks as evidence yesterday we are losing the PR battle in this fight.

Mr Hildebrand, I honor your service to this administration and our country, but you all got to not fight harder but just fight.

America depends on it, and to be honest politicaly your boss and your job and our party depend on it.
We fail this, how can the American people every trust to elect us again?

[toggan]

You stated: "I recently heard one Blue Dog ask "what do we have to do to get the Democrats off our back?"

It would seem the Blue Dogs really do not consider themselves real Democrats. Who are they really?

[hollybork]

This is a turning point in the life of our democracy, and nothing less than a major seachange is in the offing. Healthcare reform will pass, and if it lacks a public option, the welfare of millions will be sacrificed at the altar of corporate greed. What has become a fundamental right in other industrialized nations will be jettisoned for corporate welfare and enhanced insurance company profits because our Congress has been bought and paid for. We will lose national healthcare for the next 30 years if the Blue Dogs, lobbyists and corporate apologists gain the upper hand.

It is neither a question of republicans nor democrats. It is a question of whether this democratically elected congress is able to see what the public interest is, and do what is necessary to protect it. I have my doubts.

[expired]

Check this out!!!

For Public Option Rally in DC

http://www.democrats.com/node/19877

[GeorgeP922]

Why always on weekdays?

Two reasons they rallies screw up, First you all SHOULD have done it on July 4th.
Beleive me the tourists would have joined in.

Second, you suckers never get any media coverage.

I was at the Jan 19 2007 AntiWar protest in DC where we had over 150K people there and the news covered it for 2 seconds.

Marches are pointless unless the media and the people notice.

[den1953]

All senators and congressman that don't want to help the people to get health reform should all be subject to a petition to take there health care away from them they don't deserve there insurance either at our cost!

[expired]

Thank you for showing your support for a public health insurance
option and reform for America's health care system.

Now, please urge your friends and family to sign the petition as
well by giving them this link or forwarding them the message
below:

http://ga3.org/campaign/healthpetition?source=hc_ty

Thank you for supporting this important effort.

Sincerely,

Dick Durbin
Patrick Leahy
Chuck Schumer

[johnashman]

If those three are for it, then I *know* I'm against it!

[Theo]

It is about elections, but it's not about "swing voters".

70% of Americans polled support universal health care coverage of some kind.
72% support the public option that Blue Dogs find so "controversial".

If effective health care reform is passed that guarantees coverage for all Americans, including a public option, is passed it will be immediately and intensely popular. It would help the Blue Dogs re-election chances considerably.

So why do they oppose it?

They think they need the money from the health insurance lobby more.

This isn't a failure of democracy and it isn't the fault of swing voters; the voters know what they want.

This is simply a triumph of money over democracy. The Blue Dogs have been bought, plain and simple.

[GeorgeP922]

It doesn't help when Rahm and Sebelius pander to the Blue Dogs governing coalition the DLC:
http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=255030&kaid=85&subid=108

It also doesn't help that Rahm and Sebelius refused to address the party base by not accepting interviews on any of MSNBC's liberal shows and by also not attending Americas Future Now Conference (hosted by Borsage) or NetRoots Nation 2009 (hosted by Daily Kos).

To me this is flummoxing, how do you expect to pass health care if the base is completely and absolutely on their own?
Is the DNC in on this at all?

Again I am confused, politically speaking if we fail this it will be a death blow not to just Obama but to the whole party.

Again, I expect this to be censored, but for the sake of our country I hope it is not.

[Theo]

Rahm, the Blue Dogs and the DLC probably want Obama to fail. If he succeeds in passing any kind of meaningful reform the people would just want more. That would threaten the Status Quo those groups are dedicated to upholding.

[GeorgeP922]

I personally think that Obama thought hiring Rahm as COS would flip his loyalty and obligate him to crush and get in line the blue dogs like Ross and Boren he got elected.

Unfortunatly, as was seen in his mission to discredit Dean and the entire party base Obama's calculation failed.

Like I said, Rahm addressed the DLC, he has not addressed any other progressive group or conference.

Netroots Nation is around the corner, there is no reason why the Chief of Staff of the President our base got nominated then elected would not want to address us and maybe, just maybe thank us.

[GeorgeP922]

Sir, it is time to drop the term Centrist, Moderate, Conservative, and Weak to describe these 2nd rate politicians we allow into our caucus.

They are simply nothing more than Corporatists.

Notice I did not call them Corporatist Democrats, just Corporatists.

If your boss got smart he would realize that the GOP could EASILY attack us in 2010 and 2012 as being in the pocket of big business.

Of course they would be lying as they are all 100% Corporatists too, but since when did the truth or hypocrisy matter one iota to them.

Sir it is only 6 months in and these Corporatists seem bent on derailing Obama.

Don't forget either, the DLC (ahem Rahm) NEVER I MEAN NEVER let go of a grudge.

Let us not let 1994 happen again.

[Jer1957]

Barack Obama, in his own mind, at least, is the second coming.

His unseemly closeness to Wall Street--and its everlasting bailouts--makes me wonder.

Why does his health-care reform seem like an HMO-On-Steroids. And who are the big Wall St. share-holders in HMO stock?

[theaetetus]

blue dogs are greedy wing of dems, beholden to corporate interests, but obama surely misjudged americas willingness to trust the govt with healthcare reform. im for single payer but abandoning the public option is just unacceptable.
seems like congress in more concerned with going on vacation then making progress on healthcare.

[Theo]

Are you suggesting he is under-estimating "americas willingness to trust the govt with healthcare reform" or over-estimating it?

[johnashman]

How are blue dogs more greedy than the other members of congress? I don't think there's ANY proof of that at all. If anything, they're more fiscally conservative and more pragmatic. Can you show some proof of this?

[frankwatson]

God Bless the Blue Dogs! They might just rescue America before the Obama destroys what's left.

[roncraw]

The only thing the Blue dogs want to rescue are the insur. co.,Who pay lobbiest millions,pay ceo ten of millions,vice ceos millions and must keep investers happy by raising rates to increase profits.Gov plan has none of these cost. Kristol who help kill Hillary care said of comedy central that the Gov run V.A. health was tops.

[Jer1957]

I eagerly await any evidence that Pres. Obama is actually 'progressive.'

So far, I see an expansion of the Bush-Paulson blank-check bailouts to Wall St.

And an effort to subsidize HMO insurance cartels (universal insurance coverage not universal medical care,), cut Medicare/Medicaid, and ration care to the old and the poor. In some dishonest circles that is called 'health-care reform.'

So far, in the real world, Obama is Bush's third term. This Dem is disgusted.

[Theo]

Obama didn't run as a progressive, he ran as "post-partisan" and "pragmatic". So far his administration is proceeding largely as I expected.

[johnashman]

Well, if you mean by that , 60s/70s conventional old-school liberalism, that is true. As in Johnson/Carter. A lot of people had hopes that he'd be like Bill Clinton without the scandals, but his policies were, far from progressive, they were straight out of Jimmy Carter's playbook.

His administration is proceeding largely as I expected as well. Unfortunately.

[johnashman]

More like Jimmy Carter's second, but I know what you mean.......

[Halsey]

Blue dogs...insult to dogs....Bacchus (spelling intentional..man never had a job NOT as a Senator..and waited and waited like a coyote for HIS power to come to him) and...Evan Bayh (Birch..spinning in his grave)...these men are shameless...they are not democrats (progressive and compassionate like MY Henry Waxman..a Congressman) NOR..do they have the courage that the nutso far right has in just coming out and hating humanity..at least you know where they stand. Yes..some day Bacchus will retire...to a $5,000,000 lobbyist postion...like his former chief of staff work is a health care lobbyist.

What do to...I've not a clue...I'd say term limits..by my gawd amerika....we HAVE a choice...do NOT re-elect hyenas at the gate..period...Poor Obama probably (naively) thought the demo's would side with him...oops..he forgot K street and Wall Street....and the incest therein.

Were I Obama...I'd be in front of the full house..and shamelessly parade out un or underinsured...with near terminal illness (children included)..I'd POINT to Max and say...YOU PICK the one that will die for lack of insurance...right here...right now. I mean it...that is what I would do!....screw the press...these are desperate times calling for Obama to take OFF the Rose Glasses...AND the kid gloves..and kick some serious booty...

[johnashman]

The problem here is that there are a lot of corporate interests FOR ObamaCare™ so that is what scares me. If the insurance industry were furious, if the pharms were furious, if the hospital corps were furious, if the lawyers were furious and the doctors were happy, THAT would be a good bill.

[dwright]

the minute you use the word ObamaCare - you lose my respect

[dwright]

I don't think Obama is naive at all. I am sure he is pulling as many strings as possible behind the scenes.

[Theo]

and that's what makes him naive. He thinks he can effect meaningful reform by pulling strings behind the scenes. He needs to publicly brow beat the Blue Dogs into submission if he wants to get anything done. He needs to pick one of them and shame and humiliate him pulicly as an example to the others. These people aren't going to listen to reason, so he should stop pretending he can reason with them behind closed doors. Now is the time to make them targets of public outrage.

[knowwhatimsayin]

My observation is that the Blue Dogs are essentially operating as the opposition party in the health care reform debate in the absence of the Republicans who have decided to stand on the sidelines with their arms crossed and saying they won't play. I wonder if we are seeing the beginning of a third party made up of conservative Democrats and perhaps the few remaining moderate Republicans into a opposition party that nonetheless is semi-sane and willing to work with their opponents. That would reduce the remaining Republicans to a small regional party of disaffected southerners, racists, old white guys, and anti-tax teabag types.

[Theo]

If Blue Dogs broke off to form a third party they'd never get elected. You take someone with their records of supporting failed conservative policies and voting with President Bush and drop them in a district willing to elect a democrat and they would lose without that 'D' next to their names giving them immunity from the consequences of their records.

None of the Blue Dogs in congress today would be there if they hadn't been members of the Democratic party. They would have been voted out in '06 or '08.

[hollybork]

Yes, that could be what we see. A splitting of the democratic party. Oh boy, what a mess.