Blue Dog Coalition, Basically An Unloved Adjunct Of The House GOP Leadership, Sinks To Lowest Levels Ever

Boehner consults Schrader

Reactionary Democrat Kurt Shrader (OR), took over as chairman of the Blue Dogs after John Barrow was defeated in his reelection bid, trounced 90,987 (54.8) to 75,123 (45.2), which was marked by Democratic voters just not bothering to come out to vote for the ultra-right-wing Barrow. Schrader, who has so far this session voted with the GOP on every single crucial roll call-- he's one of 15 Democrats with a ZERO 2015 score so far-- sports a lifetime ProgressivePunch crucial vote score of 61.32, especially poor for a congressman representing a Willamette Valley district Obama won both times and where outspoken progressive Jeff Merkley just cleaned up.

In an interview, Shrader just did with a local newspaper, he seems to admit he contemplated voting for Boehner as Speaker if Republican extremists looked like they would oust him.

Last week, Speaker John Boehner made a point of sounding conciliatory, and the question of whether he might at some point need Democrats hung open. A record 25 Republicans voted against Boehner as insufficiently conservative-- although there are now so many Republicans in the House that he was elected anyway-- and Republicans actually lost one of the session's first House votes, coming up short of the two-thirds needed.

And by Schrader's count, the 14 Blue Dogs can be bolstered by the 40-member New Democrat caucus. The group, says Schrader, is "a balance to the Elizabeth Warrens of the world," referring to the Massachusetts senator who's become the idol of the other end of the party. In the House, it's "a way to show we're not all like Nancy (Pelosi, the minority leader)."

On week one of the new session, Schrader voted with Boehner-- and against Pelosi-- on the Keystone XL Pipeline and on the Republican plan to put taxpayers back on the hook for Wall Street's gambling addiction. Schrader calls that being a "moderate." These are the Blue Dogs still left in Congress, including the two right-wing Democrats who were just elected in November and joined the caucus. They lost 7 Members either defeated like Nick Rahall, Ron Barber, Pete Gallego and John Barrow or forced to retire rather than face certain defeat, like Jim Matheson and Mike McIntyre. Congress and the Democratic Party are better off without them. This is all that's left:

• Brad Ashford- (NE)- voted for Keystone XL
• Sanford Bishop (GA)- voted for Keystone XL
• Cheri Bustos (IL)- voted for Keystone XL
• Jim Cooper (TN)- voted for Keystone XL
• Jim Costa (CA)- voted for Keystone XL
• Henry Cuellar (TX)- voted for Keystone XL
• Gwen Graham (FL)- voted for Keystone XL
• Dan Lipinksi (IL)- voted for Keystone XL
• Collin Peterson (MN)- voted for Keystone XL
• Loretta Sanchez (CA)
• Kurt Schrader (OR)- voted for Keystone XL
• David Scott (GA)- voted for Keystone XL
• Kyrsten Sinema (AZ)
• Mike Thompson (CA)

We need to work to defeat these people, particularly the 14 in the "Both" column