Blue Dogs... Peeing Where They Sleep

Since many of them will be headed for far more remunerative jobs sponsored by the Big Money operators they've bolstered over the years, the Blue Dogs on the verge of losing their seats in 3 weeks-- reactionary Tennessee congressman Jim Cooper predicts as many as 27, although, alas, that's too good to be true-- senior members of the right-wing Democratic caucus don't seem overly frazzled by the tsunami headed their way. Desperate freshmen like Bobby Bright, who haven't earned their bones-- or enough bones-- with Big Business yet are the only ones freaking out. You saw his despicable ad last week, bragging that he's voted with Boehner 80% of the time; this week he has a new one (up top) indicating he won't be voting for Nancy Pelosi to be Speaker if he's reelected. Bright says he's heard his constituents and they want a conservative running the House. Is that so? No Democrat could possibly win in AL-2 without landslide wins in Lowndes, Bullock, Barbour and Butler counties where Blue America will be making sure voters are part of the conversation as well as Bright's allies in the elite country club set of suburban Montgomery.

Meanwhile, though, the Blue Dogs are marking territory and fighting over who will lead the smaller, weaker, more ridiculous caucus, especially with sleazy South Dakota credit card company shill/Blue Dog chair Stephanie Herseth Sandlin likely headed for a job on K Street next year and with senior pack member John Tanner retiring voluntarily. CQPolitics speculated yesterday that the one Democrat who cosponsored George Bush's attempt to dismantle Social Security, arch-reactionary Allen Boyd of Florida will be the new Tanner. He's close to Steny Hoyer and embodies everything that's wrong with the Blue Dogs, although two other mangy slimeballs who vote as frequently with the GOP as Boyd-- Jim Matheson of Utah and Heath Shuler of North Carolina-- are also looking to move up the depleted ranks.

While Boyd has been quietly notifying Members of his desire to lead the group next year, he already has the support of Blue Dog alumni such as former Rep. Jim Turner (D-Texas).

“Certainly Allen’s been a leader for years, a very strong leader in that group,” said Turner, a co-founder of the caucus.

With his departure, Tanner is vacating his post as chief deputy whip of the Democratic Caucus, and Boyd may be angling for that spot in the 112th Congress, assuming he is re-elected.

“I know the Blue Dogs will lay a claim to that spot,” said a lobbyist with ties to the group.

But the lobbyist said many prominent Blue Dogs, including Boyd and Shuler, are preoccupied with their races rather than climbing the ladder.

“A lot of the people who are rising leaders in the caucus are really having to focus on their re-elections,” the lobbyist said.

“There is some pre-baked bread already when it comes to the vision of who the leadership ought to be,” a second lobbyist with Blue Dog ties said. “There are a variation of slates ... but depending on who wins and loses, the bigger question there is, does the establishment within the Blue Dogs prevail in putting forth their chosen leaders, or does somebody like Jim Cooper or [Rep.] Lincoln Davis [D-Tenn.] rise up?”

Former Blue Dogs who have moved on to lobbying are powerful voices within the slimy caucus, which is largely dependent on lobbyist money for its existence. The lobbyists will make the final decision of which Blue Dog gets the leadership slot as Chief Deputy Whip. Meanwhile, the lobbyists and brainless Villagers who take them seriously are spreading their poison that a smaller Democratic House Caucus-- with far fewer of the Blue Dogs who have destroyed the mission of the Democratic Party and helped bring about its downfall-- will be more influential!

[D]eep losses for the Democratic Party could have a silver lining for the coalition’s clout. In a narrow Democratic majority, leadership will have to pay far more attention to Blue Dog concerns than it did in this Congress.

“Even if there is a Republican majority, they are going to be hurting for votes, and depending on the issue, Blue Dogs can be providing key votes,” Cooper said. “The role that Blue Dogs can play is honest broker.”

There are other advantages to a smaller pack, Cooper said. “We probably will be more disciplined and more cohesive in the next Congress. With a smaller group, that’s easier to achieve.”

Rep. Dennis Cardoza, who is the Blue Dog liaison to leadership, also predicted the group’s influence will rise.

“America is craving an honest middle ground with folks who fight for America above everything else, and that’s what the Blue Dogs stand for,” the California Democrat said.

The Blue Dogs worked with the Republican majority on a number of issues in the 1990s, including plans to balance the budget.

Republicans may be eyeing Blue Dogs to switch parties, but Cooper said he thinks that is unlikely.

“You usually get the worst of both worlds with party switchers, and Parker Griffith is the best example of that,” he said, referring to the Alabama Republican who lost his primary this year after he switched parties. “The new party doesn’t trust you, and the old party is particularly angry.”

Democrats can't even fully attack the U.S. Chamber for financing the Republican Party with foreign money because some of that Chinese and Russian and Arab dough is going to Blue Dogs as well as Republicans. The Chamber has endorsed aisle-crossing Blue Dogs Frank Kratovil (MD), Glenn Nye (VA), Travis Childers (MS), Jim Marshall (GA) and Bobby Bright (AL) and they're as guilty of treason-- allowing foreign money to finance our elections-- as are Boehner and the rest of the GOP. But, after all, isn't that one of the primary functions of Blue Dogs... muddying the water? And this morning one of them, reactionary, anti-family corporate whore Jim Marshall proudly declared that he will not vote for Nancy Pelosi as Speaker. His GOP opponent slammed him well: “After taking $46,000 from Nancy Pelosi, voting four times to put her in charge, supporting her agenda nearly 90 percent of the time and backing her Wall Street bailout and failed stimulus, the election-eve conversion Jim Marshall’s making on his political deathbed doesn’t exactly merit a ‘Profile in Courage’ award." Too bad he's wrong about that 90% of the time figure. In truth, Marshall has been one of the Democrats most likely to suck John Boehner's toes and his ProgressivePunch score was a dismal 32.52 in the past two years, one of the most reprehensible of any Blue Dog in Congress.