Posted on 11/05/2009 2:20:52 AM PST by markomalley
Blue Dog Democrats face a dilemma this weekend: Should they oppose legislation they believe is flawed, or move the bill out of the House in the hopes of it changing in conference?
That core question was on the minds of many of the 52 fiscally conservative Democrats after a meeting Tuesday with Douglas Elmendorf, the director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), to get an in-person explanation of the differences between the House and Senate healthcare bills.
The number of Blue Dogs leaning toward or committed to “no” votes could be in the 30s, according to members, although Blue Dog leaders stress that they’ve done no whip count. But perhaps just as many have strong preferences for the healthcare bill approved by the Senate Finance Committee.
Many Blue Dogs acknowledge Tuesday’s well-attended meeting with Elmendorf may not have changed many minds one way or another.
“I think these discussions are in the context of people trying to get to ‘yes’ or trying to support their ‘no,’ ” explained Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-N.D.), who is a committed “yes.”
What many Blue Dogs in attendance took away from the meeting was a reaffirmation that the House bill fails to rein in federal healthcare spending over the long run, while the Senate bill manages to do so.
(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...
Having said that, the only way they got elected is by appealing to that constituency.
Therefore, I would ask that you look through the following list, to see if any of these are yours. If so, call and, if possible, visit their local district offices. You can find their office numbers both in DC and in their district in the Congressional Directory. If you don't have one in your district, pick out two or three and make the phone calls to their DC offices and district offices. Let his/her staffers know that you are officially adopting him or her as your "blue dog of interest" for campaign donations and political activity in 2010.
In either case, I would recommend that you say the following (in your own words, of course): "It would be a darned shame if Representative ______ were too closely identified as being an enabler of Nancy Pelosi's radical agenda in third party campaign ads next year. Might not go over too well with the good people of his/her district. Of course if he/she votes against this horrible health care destruction bill, to include any and all procedural votes remaining to help it along the way, it might be a lot more difficult to do so."
The Blue Dogs are as follows:
Blue Dog Leadership Team
Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (SD), Blue Dog Co-Chair for Administration
Rep. Baron Hill (IN-09), Blue Dog Co-Chair for Policy
Rep. Charlie Melancon (LA-03), Blue Dog Co-Chair for Communications
Rep. Heath Shuler (NC-11), Blue Dog WhipBlue Dog Members
Altmire, Jason (PA-04)
Arcuri, Mike (NY-24)
Baca, Joe (CA-43)
Barrow, John (GA-12)
Berry, Marion (AR-01)
Bishop, Sanford (GA-02)
Boren, Dan (OK-02)
Boswell, Leonard (IA-03)
Boyd, Allen (FL-02)
Bright, Bobby (AL-02)
Cardoza, Dennis (CA-18)
Carney, Christopher (PA-10)
Chandler, Ben (KY-06)
Childers, Travis (MS-01)
Cooper, Jim (TN-05)
Costa, Jim (CA-20)
Cuellar, Henry (TX-28)
Dahlkemper, Kathy (PA-03)
Davis, Lincoln (TN-04)
Donnelly, Joe (IN-02)
Ellsworth, Brad (IN-08)
Giffords, Gabrielle (AZ-08)
Gordon, Bart (TN-06)
Griffith, Parker (AL-05)
Harman, Jane (CA-36)
Herseth Sandlin, Stephanie (SD)
Hill, Baron (IN-09)
Holden, Tim (PA-17)
Kratovil, Jr., Frank (MD-01)
McIntyre, Mike (NC-07)
Marshall, Jim (GA-08)
Matheson, Jim (UT-02)
Melancon, Charlie (LA-03)
Michaud, Mike (ME-02)
Minnick, Walt (ID-01)
Mitchell, Harry (AZ-05)
Moore, Dennis (KS-03)
Murphy, Patrick (PA-08)
Nye, Glenn (VA-02)
Peterson, Collin (MN-07)
Pomeroy, Earl (ND)
Ross, Mike (AR-04)
Salazar, John (CO-03)
Sanchez, Loretta (CA-47)
Schiff, Adam (CA-29)
Scott, David (GA-13)
Shuler, Heath (NC-11)
Space, Zack (OH-18)
Tanner, John (TN-08)
Taylor, Gene (MS-04)
Thompson, Mike (CA-01)
Wilson, Charles (OH-06)
Re your list of “Blue Dog” Dims. How times have changed. There’s only one Texan in the group. Texas was ran by Conservative Democrats for over 100 years following the WBTS. Now there’s only one in the third largest state House Delegation.
ping
“Blue Dog Democrats face a dilemma this weekend: Should they oppose legislation they believe is flawed, or move the bill out of the House in the hopes of it changing in conference?”
No one is going to buy this line of BS come election day. You either man up and vote this thing down or look for another profession come next November.
My local newspaper has an article about Bart Gordon’s position. He says he is going to vote “no” because of the cost. He changed his mind several times last summer. Maybe seeing VA and NJ turn red has him seeing things in a new light.
That's why you should call...whether or not you live in the district. Make sure they know that there are people who are watching and will work against them.
I would love to start up some 527 ads in their district starting now...'Please call (202) ___ _____ and tell Congressman _____ to stop enabling Speaker Pelosi's radical agenda."
“No one is going to buy this line of BS come election day. You either man up and vote this thing down or look for another profession come next November.”
Absolutely Correct... allowing any politician to fuzzy up the issue - wrap it in cost projections is a Cop Out... not to be allowed.
Americans do not want this Nationalized Health Care - Socialized Medicine - even if it should somehow cost less money.
Bottom line as we all know - this awful bill is not about Health Care - it is about Control — moving the nation to Socialism - controlling every aspect of out lives as everything gets tied to a health care issue.
Included in the "sweeteners" will be jobs in the Obama administration starting 1/1/2011.
Thank you for the list of Blue Dog Dems and especially their leadership. I'll ping my huge list here ASAP.
We all MUST call as many of them as possible and remind them that if they vote for PelosiCare, we will actively work to defeat them in 2010.
Tell 'em to take note of the political earthquake which took place on Tuesday, November 3rd, especially in New Jersey and Virginia.
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