Free Republic

The MSM basically defines the Blue Dogs as conservative Democrats. As you might expect from the MSM, that is a very misleading definition. A better definition is this: Blue Dogs are Democrats who represent conservative leaning congressional districts. Blue Dogs talk conservative at home and vote liberal in DC. It is true that the BDs are helping to shape legislation, some say by moderating it and watering it down BHO's aggressive domestic policy agenda. The BDs can and do withhold their votes until they get the concessions they want. They are currently hard at work feathering their own nests and...

They have a super majority in Congress and a filibuster proof Senate but they couldn’t deliver Health Care Reform for their Democrat President why? Well they can’t blame Bush or Republicans. And if this Congress and President wanted to do something as outlandish as void out the Constitution of the United States of America they could do it and Republicans couldn’t do a dang thing about it because Republicans don’t have the numbers in Congress to stop them. (see video)

Liberals gag over health deal By: Glenn Thrush July 29, 2009 08:20 PM EST House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spent half of Wednesday finalizing a deal with the Blue Dogs — and the other half quelling a brewing rebellion among progressives who think conservatives have hijacked health care reform. Liberals, Hispanics and African-American members — Pelosi’s most loyal base of support — are feeling betrayed after House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) reached an agreement with four of seven Blue Dogs on his committee who had been bottling up the bill over concerns about cost. The compromise, which...

HOUSE Democrats are playing a game of Whack-a-Mole as they try to devise a health-reform bill to reengineer one-sixth of our economy, but the latest "agreement" announced Wednesday makes no progress in repairing the deeply flawed legislation. Dissident "Blue Dog" Democrats on the key House Energy and Commerce Committee had been holding the bill hostage to a list of a dozen demands, saying it costs too much and fails to address systemic problems in the nation's ailing health-care sector. But yesterday, after days of negotiations with congressional and White House leaders, a spokesman for the group, Rep. Mike Ross (D-Ark.),...

For Immediate Release Contact: Kristen Hawn (202) 226-9782 July 29, 2009 Blue Dog Statement on Health Care Reform Legislation in the House Washington, DC - Today, Representative Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, Blue Dog Co-Chair for Administration, issued the following statement regarding the continued development of health care reform legislation in the House. “The Blue Dogs have been successful in ensuring the House will have time to assess the committee products on health care reform, both in the House and the Senate, as there will be no vote on the House floor before August. “Blue Dogs believe fundamental reform of our health...

A House leadership deal with Blue Dogs and an aggressive marketing push by Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) shifted the healthcare debate sharply toward centrist positions Wednesday, sparking threats of rebellion from the left. The day’s events left the Senate Finance Committee’s emergent bill as the most viable vehicle on Capitol Hill, but also made clear that House Democrats are still riven by bitter disagreements. Democrats postponed a floor vote until after the August recess, meeting a top demand of centrist Blue Dogs. The Blue Dogs’ deal, which cut $100 billion from the healthcare reform price tag, was instantly denounced by...

After days of intensive negotiations, a group of key moderate Democrats on Wednesday announced that they reached a health care reform deal with the White House and congressional leaders. The compromise would cut the cost of the $1 trillion-plus package by $100 billion, according to one member of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition. The deal would also ensure that the proposed government-run insurance program would not be forced on anyone. "We have reached an agreement that will allow health care reform to move forward," said Rep. Mike Ross, D-Ark. Seven Blue Dogs had held up passage of the bill...

So far, we know a lot less about the reported compromise between Blue Dogs and the Dem leadership on health care bill in the Energy Committee. We know that the Blue Dogs on this committee have announced that a deal has been cut. We know that under this deal the price tag of the bill will get cut by $100 billion over the next ten years. We know that there will be more emphasis on hospitals in rural areas. We also know that companies with payrolls of $500,000 and less will be exempt from being mandated to provide insurance. There...

The Energy and Commerce Committee will resume its markup of healthcare legislation Wednesday afternoon under a deal between Blue Dogs and House leaders, but there will be no floor vote on the legislation before August. Delaying a vote until August was a key demand of the Blue Dogs, along with reducing the cost of the bill by $100 billion and allowing states to create health "co-ops" that would compete with the government-run "public option" and private insurers.

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN, R-ARIZ.: You would think so. But I also would be a little careful about the Blue Dogs. Traditionally and historically they bark but they don't bite. And in the case of other bills such as climate change, the speaker peels off enough of them in order to win and gives the other ones a free pass so I'm not confident that the Blue Dogs will hold fast. In fact, I think it's very likely they cave. . . . . . Our message is, we Republicans want reform. We're for it but we also don't want to...

The Energy and Commerce Committee will resume its markup of healthcare legislation Wednesday afternoon under a deal between Blue Dogs and House leaders, but there will be no floor vote on the legislation before August. Delaying a vote until August was a key demand of the Blue Dogs, along with reducing the cost of the bill by $100 billion and allowing states to create health "co-ops" that would compete with the government-run "public option" and private insurers.

A group of fiscally conservative House Democrats announced Wednesday they reached a deal with the chamber's Democratic leaders on a health care reform bill. Rep. Mike Ross of Arkansas, speaking for the Blue Dog Democrats, said the agreement calls for the House Energy and Commerce Committee to begin debating the bill later Wednesday, but for no vote by the full House until after the upcoming August recess. Ross and the Blue Dogs had threatened to derail the bill in the Energy and Commerce Committee because of concerns that it costs too much and failed to address systemic problems in the...

Democrats will meet in committee in one hour to begin marking up healthcare legislation. They’ve cut a deal with the Blue Dog Democrats. Go here and get the number for your Congressman. Call now.Tell him to oppose H.R. 3200.

Waxman confirms: No healthcare vote before recess By Jared Allen Posted: 07/29/09 12:43 PM [ET] House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) on Wednesday confirmed that the chamber will break for the August recess without voting on a healthcare bill. Emerging from a leadership meeting, Waxman said it is his expectation that the House will adjourn on Friday without considering long-stalled healthcare legislation. But he said he will resume his markup of the bill at 4 p.m. Wednesday, even though a week’s worth of discussions with seven Blue Dogs on his committee has not yielded an agreement. “We...

Just in....compromise, but no vote.

No link yet but Fox News just flashed that the Blue Dog Dems have struck a deal on HR 3200 -- the Health Care Bill. Pelosi's trying to get this done before recess this week. NOW is the time to call your reps -- esp if yours is one of the Blu Dogs.

The Blue Dogs and House leaders have struck a deal to guarantee that the House will not vote on a healthcare bill before August, a leading Blue Dog said on Wednesday. In exchange for putting off a floor vote until after Labor Day, the Energy and Commerce Committee may be allowed to continue its markup of the healthcare bill this week even if an agreement has not been reached between Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and seven Energy and Commerce Committee Blue Dogs over the content of the bill. Asked if House leaders had told Democrats that there will be...

The White House may only have one of its top officials to blame for its difficulty in passing healthcare, one liberal California Democrat asserted Tuesday. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) blamed now-White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel's work as head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), during which he worked to recruit many centrist candidates, resulting in landslide Democratic victories, for difficulties facing House leaders trying to pass reform legislation. "That may be difficult for Rahm Emanuel, because remember, he recruited most of them," Waters said during an interview on MSNBC when asked if the White House could lean...

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) is angry that the conservative Blue Dogs are dominating health care negotiations, and she’s blaming their breeder — Rahm Emanuel. Waters, former chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, told MSNBC that the Dogs have proved so powerful because Emanuel, the former DCCC head, and others promised to allow them to vote however they want on any issue. Could they be brought to heel? She was asked late Tuesday. “That’s going to be difficult for Rahm Emanuel because, don’t forget, he recruited them,” she said. “When he was in Congress, in the leadership, Rahm Emanuel recruited more...

Liberal frustration started to boil over in the House on Tuesday as negotiations over healthcare reform with centrist Blue Dog Democrats dragged into a second week. The delay prompted Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) to lash out at the Blue Dogs as hypocritical and even hint that more liberal Democrats might challenge them in primaries. “On the one hand they don’t want to spend money, but on the other hand they want to spend money when it benefits them or their district,” Waters said on MSNBC, referring to Blue Dogs’ demand to increase Medicare reimbursements for rural physicians. Seven Blue Dogs...