Posted on 11/10/2006 1:08:07 AM PST by paudio
The conservative Democrats, or new Democrats as they are sometimes called, were disproportionately represented in the most highly contested races against Republicans, and are likely to form a substantial bloc within the new members.
Heath Shuler, a former American football celebrity who now holds a House of Representatives' seat for North Carolina, is representative of the group. He has an evangelical Christian background and is on the right of the argument on many social issues such as abortion.
Democratic party leaders deny that they had an official strategy to plant right-wing candidates in vulnerable Republican seats as a way of winning over voters. But Rahm Emanuel, the chairman of the campaign to win back the House of Representatives, has said that when they searched for candidates with the best hopes of winning, they ended up with several with a moderate approach. "As a group, they are moderate in temperament and reformers in spirit," he said.
That is not the experience of Mr Shuler, who told local newspapers that he had been reluctant to stand for election but was strong-armed into it by Mr Emanuel. "Rahm was tougher than any of the college coaches who were calling me when I was in high school. None of [the coaches] could hold a candle to Rahm Emanuel as a recruiter," he said.
The number of conservative Democrats among the 28 who wrestled house seats from Republican incumbents has yet to emerge, but with 27 of the 40 candidates in the most contested seats falling into this category, the figure could be substantial. They will join an already sizeable caucus within the Democrats in Congress who are on the right of the party and will be encouraged to line up formally with the two existing sub-groups: the New Democrats and the Blue Dog Coalition.
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
Any pro-life limited-government legislator is fine by me.
I consider my self GOP exclusively due to the pro-life plank in the platform.
If that were ever removed, I would consider myself an independent.
I am Catholic, Pro-life, Conservative and Republican, in that order.
Hat tip to Mike Pence, whose trademark slogan on his radio show was:
"I am Christian, Conservative and Republican, in that order".
The "new" democrats basically use fraud to get elected. They run and win as GOP lite, but when they get to DC they are beholden to pelosi and emmanuael and will vote their radical leftist line.
If you actually beleive these "new" dems are the italicized above, may I suggest that you visit your local used car lot. You seem to enjoy the experience of being suckered.
If so, they'll have no choice but to listen to Nancy Pelosi or else their campaign funds for 2008 would be cut.
Many of them are from Republican districts. I don't think they will move to the left right away, at least not in the first two year. If they do, they will say goodbye to their offices in 2008.
Then they probably can switch party...
I have little hope that these new guys will vote in accord with the values they claime dot hold. But it is possible.
Hell, we can't even count on many Republicans to vote in accord with the values outlined in the GOP platform!
I have little hope that these new guys will vote in accord with the values they claimed to hold. But it is possible.
Hell, we can't even count on many Republicans to vote in accord with the values outlined in the GOP platform!
Some will have to move left, no matter what, to push through the radical left agenda of pelosi and the radical leftist chairmen of the house committees.
pelosi and emannueal are probably right now figuring out a voting matrix for these new "dems", so that some can be "protected", but still to get to the magic number of 218, some of these new democrats will have to vote for the radical agenda pelosi wishes to ram down the throat of the country.
It's all smoke and mirrors, but what else to expect from the democrats.
...and not much power.
First of all, the "solid Dem conservatives" are virtually nonexistent. Go to the American Conservative Union's congressional ratings. You have to go to "Louisiana" (on the House Side) to find a Democrat who cracks a "lifetime" fifty percent. Living in the KC area, I'm familiar with two alleged "moderate to conservative" Democrats (Ike Skelton in Missouri, and Dennis Moore in Kansas) who don't hit a fifty percent rating. How is that possible? Because of the very "procedural votes" (and the committee votes) that you mention. The "moderate and conservative" Dems can move a bill to the floor without "officially" voting for it when the bill comes before the entire House for the proverbial "up or down" vote. Only rarely are the "CINO" and "MINO" Dems asked to vote in favor of liberal legislation, and even then only as many votes as may be needed are asked for. Frankly, when you look at the ACU ratings you realize that a "moderate" or "conservative" Democrat is a closeted Liberal.
Will you still like Shuler when he votes the pelosi line.
That depends upon how many there are. If there are enough of them, then Pelosi will have to listen to them or she will no longer be speaker.
There are enough of them(new dems) and they will vote for Pelosi.
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