Free Republic

Here they are, boys and girls. The four "moderate-conservative" House Dems on Henry Waxman's Energy and Commerce Committee who had their choker chains pulled by Nancy Pelosi and the rest of the lefty leadership in the lower chamber and ended up voting to approve a version of Obamacare that promises higher costs, lower quality and restricted access: Mike Ross (Arkansas), 4th District (202) 454-5262 Baron Hill (Indiana), 9th District (202) 285-0966 Zack Space (Ohio), 18th District (202) 347-3042 Bart Gordon (Tennessee), 6th District 1-800-444-BART I did some checking, and one of the reasons why a few of the above probably...

Congress: In exchange for a vague promise of cuts in the cost of health care "reform," a few fiscally conservative Democrats agree to release the bill to a September floor vote. Have the pit bulls become Chihuahuas?Apparently even a Blue Dog Democrat will stop growling if you toss him a big enough bone. Four of the seven who helped keep the House bill bottled up in the Energy and Commerce Committee — Mike Ross of Arkansas, Baron Hill of Indiana, Zack Space of Ohio and Bart Gordon of Tennessee — agreed to vote the bill out of committee in exchange...

Rep. Mike Ross's phone won't stop ringing. Conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh has fans calling to thank the Democrat for stalling health care reform. Angry liberals -- some prompted by MSNBC's Ed Schultz -- call to berate him for the same reason. So how did an Arkansas pharmacy owner become a major power broker? He's a member of a rare breed -- a "Blue Dog" Democrat. "We're a group of conservative, common-sense Democrats that feel like we have been choked blue by the extremes of both parties," Ross, D-Ark., chairman of the Blue Dog Coalition's Health Care Task Force, told ABC...

Hours after calling their chairman a liar, Blue Dogs on the Energy and Commerce Committee stood by that chairman’s side and announced together that the once-collapsed healthcare negotiations are back on track. “The chairman and I would like to retract some of the things that we said earlier today,” Rep. Mike Ross (D-Ark.), the chairman of the Blue Dog healthcare task force said while standing beside Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) after the two emerged from an emergency meeting of the Democrats on the committee. “Our group of seven has always believed that we want to be a constructive part of...

Cap and Trade has stalled in the Senate, and limped out of the House by only a seven-vote margin. Universal Healthcare may not even make it out of committee in Congress. The stimulus package was held up for days, and cut by billions of dollars thanks to moderate Republicans and Democrats. On this information alone, one could say that the Republicans have been doing a good job at stalling the Obama agenda…except for the fact that it’s Conservative Democrats – otherwise known as Blue Dogs– that have been stopping, or at the very least delaying, the President’s agenda. It is...

Rep. Ross: 'Blue Dogs' Can't Back Health Care BillsListen Now [5 min 28 sec] All Things Considered, July 18, 2009 · As President Obama's health plan hits resistance in Congress, the key may be the "Blue Dog" Democrats in the House. Guy Raz speaks with one of the leading Blue Dogs, Rep. Mike Ross of Arkansas, about his recent statement: "We cannot support the current bill." Ross said the Blue Dogs' health care task force would need to see more protections for small businesses and rural health care providers before he could sign on.

Arkansas blue dogs: No timetable for health care reform legislationBy John Lyon / Arkansas News Bureau Thursday, July 16, 2009 12:22 PM CDT LITTLE ROCK — Two members of Arkansas’ congressional delegation who helped put the breaks on legislation to reform the nation’s health care system said Friday they don’t believe the reform effort should follow a timetable. U.S. Reps. Mike Ross, D-Prescott, and Marion Berry, D-Gillett, were among 40 members of the Blue Dog Coalition of centrist Democrats who wrote to Democrat Party leaders Thursday demanding changes in health care legislation the leadership was drafting. Party leaders had said...

Centrist Democrats are threatening to oppose their party’s healthcare legislation unless House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) accepts changes that make the bill more to their liking. Seven Blue Dogs on the House Energy and Commerce Committee have banded together to draft amendments that they’ll co-sponsor in the committee markup, which starts Thursday. Rep. Mike Ross (D-Ark.), the Blue Dogs’ point man on healthcare, says if those changes aren’t accepted, they’ll vote down the bill. “We cannot support the current bill,” Ross said. “Last time I checked, it took seven Democrats to stop a bill in Energy and Commerce.” Ross knows...

By Martin Vaughan, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- U.S. Rep. Mike Ross, D-Ark., a leader of fiscally conservative House Democrats, said Wednesday a House plan to overhaul the U.S. health-care system is losing support and will be stuck in committee without changes. "Last time I checked, it takes seven Democrats to stop a bill in the Energy and Commerce Committee," Ross told reporters after a House vote. "We had seven against it last Friday; we have 10 today."

Blue Dog: 'No way' House bill could pass By: Patrick O'Connor July 16, 2009 01:58 PM EST Arkansas Rep. Mike Ross, a key negotiator on health care for moderate Blue Dog Democrats, has warned that "there's no way they can pass the current bill on the House floor. Not even close." Ross doesn't believe the bill unveiled Tuesday comes close to curtailing the ever-escalating costs of health care spending, particularly for Medicare. The conservative Arkansas Democrat also objects to the surtaxes included in the bill, saying, "I don't like the idea of raising taxes in the worst economic crisis since...

WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- U.S. Rep. Mike Ross, D-Ark., a leader of fiscally conservative House Democrats, said Wednesday a House plan to overhaul the U.S. health-care system is losing support and will be stuck in committee without changes. "Last time I checked, it takes seven Democrats to stop a bill in the Energy and Commerce Committee," Ross told reporters after a House vote. "We had seven against it last Friday; we have 10 today." Three House committees are slated to begin considering the $1 trillion-plus bill this week, but the Energy and Commerce looms as the biggest challenge. That's because it...

WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- U.S. Rep. Mike Ross, D-Ark., a leader of fiscally conservative House Democrats, said Wednesday a House plan to overhaul the U.S. health-care system is losing support and will be stuck in committee without changes. "Last time I checked, it takes seven Democrats to stop a bill in the Energy and Commerce Committee," Ross told reporters after a House vote. "We had seven against it last Friday; we have 10 today." Three House committees are slated to begin considering the $1 trillion-plus bill this week, but the Energy and Commerce looms as the biggest challenge. That's because it...

A plan introduced Thursday by U.S. Rep. Mike Ross to encourage alternative and renewable energy relies on oil drilling in Arctic wildlife lands and the Gulf of Mexico to meet its goals. Ross' bill, the "American-Made Energy Act of 2008," also would create tax credits to build new nuclear power plants throughout the United States, with an aim of having 40 percent of the nation's power come from nuclear sources.

Former congressman Jay Dickey wasn't happy with the coverage he was getting from an Arkansas newspaper in the race to reclaim his old House seat. More...