Blue Dogs

In 2003, the Republican-dominated House passed a GOP version of healthcare, Bush's Medicare Part D. Today it is, by far, the worst part of the Medicare system and it allows for these systemic ripping off of the elderly by Big Pharma. The final vote in the House was 216-215; it passed by one lousy vote.

Friday, Politico warned: "Governor’s races in South and Midwest could be lost if party brand becomes too liberal." The culprit: a leftward shift in the Democratic Party.

I've never been a tremendous fan of the ACA (Obamacare)-- I favor letting everyone buy into Medicare (single payer universal)-- but I think it makes the dysfunctional American health care system a lot better than than it was before 2010.

Joe Baca, Blue Dog ----> RepublicanBlue Dogs tend to vote with Republicans on core, crucial issues. Of the 10 worst Democrats in the House this year-- based on their ProgressivePunch lifetime crucial vote scores-- 7 are Blue Dogs who have voted more frequently against progressive proposals than for them. And 2 of the others are shady New Dems. 

Writing for Stars and Stripes and the Washington Post Sunday, Anne Kim, an operative for Wall Street's deceptively named Progressive Policy Institute (a pro-corporate/anti-worker New Dem outfit that was founded by the DLC to promote neoliberal ideas like NAFTA and the TPP), decries how much more it costs reactionary Democrats-- New Dems and Blue Dogs-- to run for election than it costs real Democrats.

Money-grubbing Long Island Blue DogWhen Boehner and McCarthy boast how their extreme right agenda gets bipartisan support, they're talking about a gaggle of reactionary Democrats who for one reason or another vote with the GOP-- primarily Blue Dogs and New Dems. Last week, for example, the House voted 242-184 to further restrict women's right to reproductive Choice.

Schrader/BoehnerBecause most of the more senior Blue Dogs in Congress have been defeated and their caucus utterly decimated in recent electoral cycles, relatively inexperienced Oregon conservative Kurt Schrader has become the chairman of this motley branch of the Republican Wing of the Democratic Party.

I guess the could blame the walking conflicts-of-interest who inhabit the DCCC and EMILY's List, which pushed Graham so hard, but if you're taking any advice from either the DCCC or EMILY's List-- other than using it as a negative indictator-- there's already a problem. Although Graham was careful to hide just how right-wing her instincts are, she never portrayed herself as anything but a cliche-spouting careerist.

Boehner consults SchraderReactionary 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.

I had dinner with an old friend the other day, visiting from Wall Street, where he works with banksters on compliance issues-- although, more often than not, on banksters trying to make it look like they're complying with the law while running end games around those very laws and rules.