Blue Dog Blues

By Jerry Shenk

In July, 2009, before the watershed health care vote, the Blue Dog coalition consisted of fifty-two Democratic members of the United States House. Formed in 1995, the Blue Dogs self-identify as fiscal conservatives representing "the center of the House of Representatives." Nonsense -- and self-serving nonsense, at that. Above all, the Blue Dog label is a money-raising scam. Because they have successfully branded themselves as center swing votes in the House, Blue Dogs typically do far better at raising campaign funds from interests having business before Congress than do other non-leadership, non-appropriator Democrats. Blue Dogs "are more keenly attuned than their colleagues to that force of universal goodness, the profit motive." All but ten of the Blue Dogs voted for the failed stimulus bill; only fourteen voted against President Obama's 2010 budget, which foresaw trillion dollar plus deficits for a decade or more; more than half of the Blue Dogs voted for the health care bill -- and more than half were sent home following the 2010 general election, relegating.... (Read Full Article)