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Blue Dog Dems Bite Back

By Justin Gardner | Related entries in General Politics

43 conservative Democrats are taking their party back from the Murthas of the world, and helping Pelosi in the process?

They started the year with a major victory, when Democrats adopted strict “pay-as-you-go” budget rules that Blue Dogs have advocated for years to block measures that would deepen the deficit.

Soon after, their insistence that a catchall spending measure stay within strict budget limits helped Democrats pass the bill along with boosts for veterans, health research and education _ handing the party its only substantive win so far this year.

The group’s next major test is likely to come when Democrats look to pass a budget. Many in the party are pushing for tax increases to fund education, health and other priorities.

Yes folks, the moderates not only have a voice, they’ve got real power…

House leaders now see the support of the group _ particularly its nine freshman members, whose victories over Republican incumbents in conservative districts helped to hand Democrats the House _ as a prerequisite for any measure they bring before the House, senior aides said.

“It should be obvious that very little is going to pass in the House that a majority of Blue Dogs do not support,” said former Rep. Charles Stenholm, D-Texas, who led the group when he was in Congress and keeps in close contact with House Democrats.

Anybody got any Blue Dogs representing them? Do you like their leadership? Please share in the comments.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 7th, 2007 and is filed under General Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

2 Responses to “Blue Dog Dems Bite Back”

Pete Abel Says:
March 7th, 2007 at 8:26 pm
I don’t have a Blue Dog representing me, but I have had the chance to get to know one in the context of my day job, namely, Rep. Mike Ross, D-AR. He’s smart, focused, principled. A great guy and from what I can tell, an excellent, excellent representative for his constituents.
The Democratic Divide « Michael P.F. van der GaliÃƒÂ«n Says:
March 8th, 2007 at 4:31 am
[...] The middle? [...]

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