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After 12 Senate Democrats voted to block an amendment that would have rewritten the bankruptcy laws to allow judges to renegotiate mortgages with banks, Rep. Barney Frank went off, and called for those who side with the moneyed interests to be kicked out of the party. Here is Barney Frank on Bill Mahr: (VIDEO AT LINK) Host Bill Mahr stated that Wall St. calls the shots in the Democratic Party, “Let’s be honest, the Democratic party, starting in the 90’s, also became the party of business and Wall Street. So what we really need is another party that’s the progressive...

Key Democratic leaders were performing major surgery yesterday on President Obama's first budget plan in an effort to bring skyrocketing annual deficits under control, while preserving the option of enacting some of the president's most significant and costly domestic priorities. In the budget blueprints they are scheduled to formally unveil today, Democrats in the House and Senate said they plan to cut hundreds of billions of dollars from Obama's spending request over the next five years. They also are scrapping Obama's plan to devote more cash to the financial sector bailout. And they are restoring some of the money-saving budget...

Dear MoveOn member, President Obama only needs 50 votes in the Senate to pass his visionary, progressive budget. There are 58 Democrats and Independents in the Senate, so it should be gliding through no problem, right? Wrong. While most Democrats are supporting the president's agenda, some are wavering. They're backing away from key reforms—like making polluters pay to address global warming1 and rolling back the Bush tax cuts for the richest Americans.2 They're even asking for compromises on major health care reform.3 They've been getting tons and tons of pressure from lobbyists for the big corporate interests—and key Democrats may...

Dear MoveOn member, President Obama only needs 50 votes in the Senate to pass his visionary, progressive budget. There are 58 Democrats and Independents in the Senate, so it should be gliding through no problem, right? Wrong. While most Democrats are supporting the president's agenda, some are wavering. They're backing away from key reforms—like making polluters pay to address global warming1 and rolling back the Bush tax cuts for the richest Americans.2 They're even asking for compromises on major health care reform.3 They've been getting tons and tons of pressure from lobbyists for the big corporate interests—and key Democrats may...

President Obama was huddled in talks yesterday with congressional Democrats over proposals that would pare his $3.6 trillion budget, raising question marks over how he would fund promises on healthcare, climate change and tax cuts. Although the President was braced for ferocious opposition from Republicans, who warn that his spending plans will bankrupt America, he also faces growing hostility from a group of fiscally conservative Democrats alarmed by forecasts of a $9.3 trillion (£6.3 trillion) deficit over ten years. Kent Conrad, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, outlined a spending plan on Tuesday that would eventually cut annual deficits by...

Barack Obama's pledges in peril as Blue Dogs take a bite at budget Tom Baldwin in Washington President Obama was huddled in talks yesterday with congressional Democrats over proposals that would pare his $3.6 trillion budget, raising question marks over how he would fund promises on healthcare, climate change and tax cuts. Although the President was braced for ferocious opposition from Republicans, who warn that his spending plans will bankrupt America, he also faces growing hostility from a group of fiscally conservative Democrats alarmed by forecasts of a $9.3 trillion (£6.3 trillion) deficit over ten years. Kent Conrad, chairman of...

If they gave out Olympic medals for fiscal irresponsibility, President Bush would take the gold, silver and bronze. -- North Dakota Sen. Kent Conrad, July 2008, commenting on a projected 2009 deficit of $482 billion. I would describe it as a good beginning. -- Sen. Conrad, February 2009, commenting on President Barack Obama's 2010 budget.Projected deficit: $1.75 trillion. If you thought being a spend-happy president in the middle of a recession was hard, consider that it could always be worse. You could, instead, be one of Congress's self-acclaimed deficit hawks. Spare a special thought for Mr. Conrad, head of the...

Moderate senators from Barack Obama's Democratic Party are forming a bloc to argue against his high spending plans to revive the economy, as the administration is increasingly forced on the defensive. As senior members of his economic team have been grilled by Congressional committees about the $3.6 trillion (£2.5 trillion) budget unveiled last week, a meeting of 14 Democrats was convened by Evan Bayh, senator for Indiana, to discuss how the president be might reined in. "I do think that before we raise revenue, we first should look to see if there are ways we can cut back on spending,"...

Democrats may be running the House, but the National Rifle Association (NRA) can still stop a bill in its tracks. House Democratic leaders on Tuesday pulled legislation from the floor that seemingly had nothing to do with guns because the NRA disliked it. The bill in question would give the District of Columbia a voting member of Congress. The gun-rights lobby prefers a Senate version, which includes language amending the District’s gun policies, and some suggest the NRA could make life difficult for conservative Democrats if that language is not included in the House version. There was no official call...

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama's proposal to limit itemized tax deductions for high earners is running into opposition from key Democrats in Congress who worry that charities and the housing market would be hurt. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus questioned Wednesday whether the proposal was viable, a day after his House counterpart also expressed reservations. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said tax increases on families making more than $250,000 a year are necessary to make a down payment on health care reform and to limit future budget deficits. But, he said, he was willing to work with lawmakers on proposals...

A quiet revolt appears to be brewing in the U.S. House of Representatives that could slow some of President Obama’s fast-moving priorities. It appears that support for the Democratic majority’s progressive agenda is increasingly not assured as evidenced by 49 Democrats who appear to be defecting from the party line based on recent votes in the House. The 49 Democrats are from congressional districts that backed Republican Senator John McCain’s 2008 presidential race. The defections could cause significant heartburn for Democratic leaders charged with ushering through Obama’s three biggest priorities: a healthcare overhaul, a cap and trade system to curb...

Who are the real Blue Dogs? The question irks leaders of the fiscally conservative coalition of House Democrats, which made solid gains in 2008 and now includes 49 members. Every one of them is sincerely committed to reducing the federal deficit, they say. Of the 49, however, only six of them voted against President Obama’s $789 billion economic stimulus package despite their stated, laser-like focus on balancing the budget. Obama’s plan, by his own acknowledgement, will increase the deficit in the short term by roughly $200 billion. (Another five Blue Dogs who had opposed Obama’s original plan switched to “yes”...

WASHINGTON -- The House's Blue Dog Democrats like to pretend they are the deficit tigers of Congress, determined to stop runaway spending and stamp out waste, fraud and abuse. But when push came to shove, as it did in the pork-crammed $800 billion economic-stimulus bill, most of these tigers mewed like pussycats, voting in lock step with Nancy Pelosi and Barney Frank for a bill they had not read. One by one, they inserted their voting cards into the slot in front of their seats and charged the stimulus money to the taxpayers. The first payment will be due April...

The handful of the House's Blue Dog Democrats who switched their votes from "no" to "yes" on the huge economic stimulus are working overtime this week in their conservative-leaning districts to explain the change of heart. None more so than freshman Rep. Frank Kratovil Jr., whose reversal on President Obama's $787 billion bill secured him a top spot on the Republican Party's list of vulnerable Democrats targeted for defeat in 2010. Fending off criticism that the Democrat-led Congress loaded the bill with unnecessary spending, Mr. Kratovil will be out every day of this week's holiday break touring his sprawling Maryland...

Rahm Emanuel may have moved his office down Pennsylvania Avenue, but to stand in the hallways of the Capitol lately, it seems he never left. And if anyone’s fingerprints are on the nearly $800 billion economic stimulus package being sorted out in Congress this week, they belong to Emanuel, the former Illinois House member who is now the White House chief of staff. There he was on the morning before the House stimulus vote, bringing Blue Dogs back into the fold as he huddled with their leaders in House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer’s (D-Md.) hideaway off the House floor. That...

Senators negotiating a final compromise economic stimulus package said the House of Representatives and Senate agreed Wednesday on a $789.5 billion package that scales back tax breaks for new car and home buyers while restoring some cuts in state education aid and health care. But after the announcement, a joint conference committee meeting scheduled for 3 p.m. was postponed after House Democrats did not show up.

Democratic Rep. Jim Cooper (Tenn.) vented to Air America about the way Speaker Nancy Pelosi was treating members who wanted to do things like read the bills being voted on. It wasn't pretty. Cooper, one of the 11 Democrats to vote against the House version of the stimulus bill, said he landed in hot water with Pelosi because he cared what was in the bill. "I got in terrible trouble with our leadership because they don’t care what’s in the bill, they just want it pass and they want it to be unanimous," he said. "They don’t mind the partisan...

When the House of Representatives passed the $1.2 trillion stimulus package last Thursday, Radio Free Europe reported the vote fell "straight down party lines." As with everything the mainstream media report, this is false. House Republicans were joined by 11 Democrats, ten of whom belong to the Blue Dog Coalition, the party's self-described fiscal conservatives. The Blue Dogs' stock has soared in recent years, as this Congress greets 51 Blue Dog Democrats, up from 46 in the 110th. The coalition has added 15 new members since 2006. However, these dogs may have been best described by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's...

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...

At the very end of September 2006, after a nationwide speaking campaign by President George W. Bush, The Hotline poll reported the generic ballot for Congress was even at 40% for each party. At the same time Gallup was saying the Democrats had an insignificant two point generic lead making it a virtual tie. The history of generic polling shows that Republicans always under poll. Most political observers agree that anything better than –4 for Republicans is considered a good sign for the GOP. In the weeks and days leading up to that final September generic poll, many people were...