Posted on 11/18/2008 6:01:29 PM PST by Free ThinkerNY
The left may still be crowing about its resounding Election Day victory, but it’s the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrats who are emerging as a significant force in the upcoming Congress.
The influential Blue Dog coalition of House Democrats saw their ranks increase on Election Day, and they’re likely to gain even greater power on Capitol Hill with an ally in the White House.
Just a few days after his victory, President-elect Barack Obama tapped his chief economic adviser, Jason Furman, to consult regularly with the Blue Dog leadership on economic issues.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, meanwhile, acknowledged the new power of centrists when she said, a few days after her party gained at least 20 House seats, that “the country must be governed from the middle.”
Blue Dogs, for their part, say they’ll hold Obama’s feet to the fire.
“President-elect Obama has consistently talked about restoring fiscal responsibility to government," noted Rep. Mike Ross, an Arkansas Democrat and co-chairman of the Blue Dog Democrats, who will number 51 or 52 seats in the 111th Congress (depending on one unresolved race in Louisiana).
That’s up from 49 this year and equals roughly one-fifth of the Democratic House membership. Four of the 10 candidates the Blue Dogs endorsed this year won. While southern Democrats still dominate the group, Blue Dogs expanded their reach in Blue States this year, winning a new seat in Maryland and holding seven seats in California and three in New York.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsmax.com ...
We’re ALL Communists now!
They just might save us. Remember, it was a Democrat from Oklahoma who stopped the Clinton BTU tax.
The question is, what will they use their clout for? They haven’t done anything worthwhile since the early 1980’s, as far as I can tell.
I hope these “Blue Dogs” prevent any gun control. If it is to be stopped in the House, we will need many of their votes. I’m sure the NRA has already had ‘discussions’ with many of them.
“Blue Dogs, for their part, say they’ll hold Obama’s feet to the fire”
and will vote exactly the way Nancy tells them to.
This is what we are reduced to now?
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/k6KUDv1wzraWhwlBt1
If they were actually fiscally conservative they would switch parties en masse, Bushes wild spending gives them cover for now to remain democrats.
If Obama over reaches and acts on his communist tendencies perhaps we will see another re-aligning of parties like in 1994.
What percentage of people who actually understand what’s going on agree with the policies of Reid, Pelosi, and Obama? If people knew what they were voting for I would think the number would be quite small, the population is not nearly as radical as the leaders in the Dem party.
It falls on us to educate the masses, the Pravda isn’t going to do it, and RINO’s can either join the communists or ride with the CONSERVATIVE Republican Party, the democrats have no room for you unless you’re off the reservation.
In our position , we will need all the Blue Dogs we can get . They might be the key to helping us on many issues until we can win the House back .
Which is what I believe they did the last congress. I don't think they had any major impact on any legislation.
This is just more BS coming from the media to make the Democrats sound more inclusive.
Don’t worry - within six months, these guys will all be hammered back in to line.
With Reid and Pelosi the Blue Dogs will soon come to heel.
The Blue Dog Dems could wield incredible power if they got organized.
“Blue Dog Democrats Wield Newfound Clout”
Whatever “clout” they _think_ they may wield will DISAPPEAR the moment they take a position against Obama. The left will point fingers and scream that they are _RACISTS_ for opposing him, and they run and hide like scalded dogs with their tails tucked between their legs.
And that’ll be the last we hear from them....
- John
It IS what we are reduced to! Issues like Gun Control, Obama’s 90 day wonder civil defense camps, Obama’s Civilian National Security Force and a host of other repugnant policies may hinge on the courage of a handful of blue dog Democrats. It’s downright scary.
The NRA foolishly FUNDS those bastards, they BETTER oppose gun control.
I think Reid and Pelosi just need the Blue Dogs at election time. The rest of the time, they keep their mouths shut and get in line. The Blue Dogs are nothing more than political “beards” to cover up the extreme left policies of todays Democrat party. Those voters who vote for the Blue Dogs must think that JFK is still in office. The Democrats have not been a moderate party since those days.
The Dem leaders turn to the Blue Dogs as a last resort. First they go the the liberal rinos to give them political cover. Only then do they turn to the Blue Dogs - who come from the more conservative areas. They turn to the Blue Dogs last of all because they prefer to pass their liberal laws without the Blue Dogs who are more likely to be voted out if they do anything too extreme and liberal.
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