Blue Dogs

The pictures here might be accurate representations of "Blue Dog" (aka Pelosi Poodle) Mike Ross. The Arkansas Democrat achieved the "little feat" of appearing to oppose a health care bill that he helped write!

Most interesting was Ross's use of an excuse that I'd anticipated but which, especially in his case, makes no sense. He pleaded that he had yet to endorse any particular bill; that there was no final bill yet; that he would still make up his mind as to whether he would support the final bill. According to one person in attendance, Ross also pleaded repeatedly that he was just one out of 535 members of Congress, and therefore could do little on his own. The problem is, there is a final bill in the House, HR 3200. And Ross's was one of the key votes that moved it to the House floor from the House Energy and Commerce Committee prior to the August recess. Ross, as a de facto leader of a group of seven moderate Democrats on the committee, was uniquely positioned among the 535 to change HR 3200. And yet he did vote for it in its current form on July 31 

I do give Ross this much credit. At least he showed his face back in his district to try and spin people, unlike these worthless cowards. You know, guys, once upon a time you could play moderate or conservative when you shlepped around your home district and then go back to DC and play errand boy for liberal party bosses.  Technology's made that trick a bit harder to pull off. Especially since we know that the whole bill is just a trojan horse to get "single payer". The question Arkansas voters ought to ask themselves is if Mike Ross can't defend the very bill he voted for to get it out of the Energy and Commerce Committee, what use is he to anyone in Washington?  At least this guy  isn't playing "Dixie Chicken"; which all Mr. Ross is doing about now.    You could still vote against it after you voted for it, Mike.  It's been tried before.

We've learned a few things over the last few weeks. One thing is that our opponents are really a bunch of animals

Consider the so-called "Blue Dogs". They loudly purport to be moderate, fiscally responsible Democrats. because that's what their district wants to hear. But we've found that on the Obamacare bill and on Cap & Tax, just enough Blue Dogs voted with the liberals to assure passage.

John Fund said this years ago before they joined the majority, but these folks aren't "Blue Dogs". They are Pelosi's Poodles 

This is what a "Blue Dog" really looks like

They are perfectly trained to fetch , heel and roll over for their masters Nancy Pelosi and Henry Waxman. Meanwhile they are also well trained to go back to their districts and beg for support by jumping through hoops pretending to be moderates or conservatives.

We'll see how Zack Space, Mike Ross, Bart Gordon & co. fare trying to explain they aren't just the door openers to Barney Frank's government medical monopoly.

But now members of the House aren't being dogs at all. At least a dog comes when he is called. 

Now  they are nothing but a bunch of  scaredy cats.

Long Island Democrat Congressman Tim Bishop is not alone---running away from the voters he claims to represent instead of defending his record.

“I had felt they would be pointless,” Rep. Tim Bishop (D-N.Y.) told POLITICO, referring to his recent decision to suspend the events in his Long Island district. “There is no point in meeting with my constituents and [to] listen to them and have them listen to you if what is basically an unruly mob prevents you from having an intelligent conversation.”

In Bishop’s case, his decision came on the heels of a June 22 event he held in Setauket, N.Y., in which protesters dominated the meeting by shouting criticisms at the congressman for his positions on energy policy, health care and the bailout of the auto industry.

Within an hour of the disruption, police were called in to escort the 59-year-old Democrat — who has held more than 100 town hall meetings since he was elected in 2002 — to his car safely.

Hmm, Tim. I suppose if they don't agree with you then they are an "unruly mob"  

Evidently this is what a lot of "town meetings" are looking like--not the pro-government expansion pep rallies incumbent politicians and their special interest allies like to see.

Hey, if you want to pass bills you haven't read and spend money the country doesn't have you might actually find the public has an opinion about this. 

Maybe our members of the House might want to dust off their copy of the Constitution. Seems they are little unclear about the "redress of grievances" concept.

This August, it is incumbent on all Americans to make clear this is a Republic answerable to the voters, not an imperial government answerable to D.C. power brokers.  And if our elected "representatives" want to hide, well that says more than millions of dollars in slick TV ads, now doesn't it.   

If you can't defend what you are doing in Washington to the people in your district, quit.  

The Blue Dogs are lapdogs. When they had the chance to do the right thing, they simply became towel boys again for Henry Waxman

This amendment was considered as part of the Obamacare bill  

Notwithstanding any other provision of law,

 

no unauthorized aliens shall be eligible for any item

 

or service furnished under this title.

  It was rejected by ONE vote. Looks like an awful lot of Blue Dogs must've got castrated. Let's see how the folks in Bart Gordon's district, Zack Space's district and Bart Stupak's district like these apples Oh and Virginia's Rick Boucher was absent. Maybe the voters of VA 9 can make that a permanent situation in 2010.  

Powerline tonight had the latest of a multitude of blog posts all to the effect that the Barack Obama health care plan is focused on the concept of telling senior citizens to drop dead. The Powerline post cites the Wall Street Journal article authored by former NY LT. Gov Betsy McCaughey,(who is a better policy wonk than political candidate) 

McCaughey argues persuasively that the legislation currently being pushed in Congress would "reduce access to care, pressure the elderly to end their lives prematurely, and doom baby boomers to painful later years

RedState has also opined furiously on the "end of life" provisions in the various Obamacare proposals.

Hello, why is anyone surprised?  This is exactly how a bunch of Cook County political hacks operate.

The point is Barack Obama is President in spite of America's seniors. Therefore, politically, he owes them nothing.

51% of voters 60 and over voted for John McCain....the least supportive age group in America for Barack Obama....and for House Democrats

and, guess what, seniors weren't always a GOP base group---the last Democrat elected President, Bill Clinton, found they were his best voter group in 1992.  

So, guess what. Seniors demand a lot of medical services and deliver few Democratic votes---especially seniors in rural areas and Red States...so ...hmmm...let's look to cut their stuff first.

Now  we know some other groups were more supportive of the Obama election. And how are they liable to fare?

The President tells Katie Couric his plan won't cover illegal immigrants.   Other observers beg to differ.

The plan includes some provisions aimed at "diversity." Evidently the import of the Ricci v. DeStefano decision is lost on Capitol Hill policy wonks.

And we know that taxpayer funded abortion will be the law in all 50 states if Obamacare passes.

So we know that the folks promoting various groups of color and the abortion lobby will get what they want out of the Obama bill. And why not.  The exit polls show that the black, brown and pro-choice all voted for Obama. Putting their stuff in the bill is the Chicago way.

It appears that the "Blue Dog" Democrats have figured out their constituents are going to be on the short end of this stick.  Perhaps they understand the dynamics of their districts a little better than city dweller Nate Silver does.

(Note to Nate: I actually worked for a swing district Congressman. The last thing we ever wanted was to have the President raise controversial issues that would incite the opposition base in our district. This is what you learn actually doing two-party politics)

As for the Blue Dogs, They are probably afraid to have outbursts like this following them around their districts next autumm.  See the Blue Dogs are like the Obama camp. They both want to reward their supporters at the expense of everyone else.

The problem the Obama brain trust now faces is the same people who voted for McCain keep the Blue Dogs in office.  Forgot that little detail, eh guys? 

But, once again. If you begin with the premise that Barack Obama and his allies only want to run the government for the benefit of their political supporters, it makes figuring out the details of their policies, much, much. easier. 

Bill Smith, ARRA Editor: A source at the Americans for Limited Government in Washington D.C. called my attention to a dangerous piece of legislation that is working its way to the floor of the House of Representatives. This bill would restrict your rights as never before. Simply put, this would legislate that the Government could take an industry and slaughter it! And that is the least of the powers that they will gain if this is allowed to pass.

Left wing extremist, Henry Waxman and the House Committee on Energy and Commerce is set to vote on legislation that would place tobacco products under the authority of the FDA. The bill could be on the President's desk as soon as this Summer. While I am not a smoker nor do I even support smoking in general, one does not have to agree with smoking to see that this bill only serves to further centralize government authority over our daily lives. Through classifying tobacco as a drug under the authority of the FDA, the Government then can force people to do as they say, and as a result, put thousands of people out of work and block new proven smokeless products from entering the market.

Instead of helping to fix the problem, the government will use force and coercion to influence the change that they want. They are gaining power to influence your daily life, and do not think for one second that they will not exploit this for their own benefit. Although the ears of the Arkansas and other Blue Dogs democrats appear to have been clipped by Speaker Peloisi, if they don't stand up soon for against the continued onslaught of centralized government authority, they will become totally co-opted by Pelois' liberal cronies. As for Arkansas Vic Snyder, no need seek help since he represents the liberal extreme interests. And as much as I would like to ask "former" blue dog Marion Berry, he appears to be out for nap most of the time.

But I am going to plead with the one able minded Arkansas Blue Dog congressman who in the past has taken stands for his Arkansas constituents. That Congressman is Representative Mike Ross of Arkansas' 4th Congressional District. So here goes: Congressman Ross, please do not support legislation that would restrict liberty and freedom. As long as people are not restricting the liberties of their neighbor, there exists no need to punish them. It is not the job of the Government to tell people how to live their lives, rather, it is the job of the government to defend us from those who would restrict liberty. Congressman Ross protect our liberty and freedom. We are all watching and hoping! Join me and Contact your representatives!