Dog The Blue Dogs
by digby
Campaign for America’s Future is taking on the Blue Dogs and not a moment too soon. Here’s Bob Borosage:
Who stands in the way of the reforms vital to get us out of the deep hole we are in?
Republicans, of course, have decided to be the party of “no,” staking their future on Obama’s failure. But that isn’t a surprise.
The entrenched interests whose oxen get gored are suitably enraged, and mobilizing million dollar lobby efforts – Big Oil, Big Pharma, insurance companies, agribusiness, global corporations, Wall Street. But we knew that was coming.
The timidity of conventional wisdom – particularly in dealing with the Wall Street banksters – has delayed the necessary restructuring of the insolvent banks. As the AIG bonus scandal suggests, the president’s economic team may well be shooting itself in the knee.
But the most treacherous opposition comes from within the Democratic Party itself, from so-called “moderate” and conservative Democrats, particularly the Blue Dogs in the House and their cousins in the Senate who are working to block the changes that we need. House Blue Dogs threaten constantly to join with Republicans to cut vital investments and limit basic reforms. New Dems ingloriously worked for banks in weakening judges ability to adjust mortgages in bankruptcy. But it is in the Senate, where the opposition is most damaging.It was Ben Nelson, a conservative Democrat from Nebraska, who gave Republicans their legs in weakening the vital stimulus package. Joining with the Maine Republican Senators, Nelson succeeded in reducing the size of the stimulus package and in cutting investment to support more tax cuts, particularly the egregious “fix” of the alternative minimum tax that goes to high end earners and is least effective in generating jobs. Nelson not only turned on the president’s plan, he made it much weaker. Now Evan Bayh, the Ken doll handsome Senator from Indiana, has joined with Tom Carper of Delaware and Blanche Lincoln to organize the equivalent of a Blue Dog group in the Senate. Bayh objects to early reports that described them as working to obstruct the president’s reforms and water down his budget, arguing “we’re not a counterweight to anybody. We’re not here to obstruct anything. We’re here to help get to 60 votes,” referencing the threshold that’s needed to overcome filibusters. Exactly. That is the threat that enables them to obstruct the president’s reforms and water down his budget. Bayh and his colleagues have joined with Republicans to insist that the president gain a super-majority of 60 to pass any of his major reforms. Bayh joined with others to warn the president not to use existing budget rules that require only a simple majority of 51 votes to pass either his clean energy or his health care reforms. The rules around what are called reconciliation bills are one procedure in the Senate wherein majority rule still governs, because filibusters are not allowed. On all other major votes, Republican obstruction promises a filibuster that requires 60 votes to overcome. Not surprisingly, major changes often are packed into reconciliation bills. That is how, for example, Reagan and Bush got their top end tax cuts passed. Bayh is joining with other conservative Senators to deprive Obama of the very means he needs to pass his major reforms.
CAF is coordinating an action to pressure these Blue Dogs.
Call (202) 224-3121 and ask the operator to connect you to one these conservative Democrats in your state:
| Senate | ||
| Mark Begich (Alaska) Michael F. Bennet (Colo.) Robert C. Byrd (W. Va.) Thomas Carper (Del.) Robert P. Casey Jr. (Pa.) |
Kent Conrad (N.D.) Kay R. Hagan (N.C.) Herb Kohl (Wis.) Carl Levin (Mich.) Joe Lieberman (Conn.) Claire McCaskill (Mo.) |
Bill Nelson (Fla.) Mark L. Pryor (Ark.) Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.) Mark Udall (Colo.) Mark Warner (Va.) |
Chris Matthews just interviewed Roger Hickey and harangued him about where this strange, freakish, unknown group of Dirty Hippies called “Campaign For America’s Future” is getting the money to do this. And then he asked what Hickey did for a living. I guess Bob and Roger don’t get invited to the same parties as the five million dollar man.
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