Keep something in mind here: These conservative Republican districts didn’t suddenly become harbingers of liberalism. The Democrats who replaced Republicans tended to be conservatives and even Obama ran as a tax-cutting, family values guy. They start running too far left, as Pelosi & Crew want to do now that they have near-total control, and they’ll be replaced themselves.
Blue Dog Democrats Friday called on the Democratic Caucus to support “moderate voices” in the slew of leadership decisions the party will be making this month.
The release did not name any of the races or contenders, but Blue Dog sources say it can be seen as preliminary support for Rep. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.) in a brewing bid for vice chairman of the caucus and Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) in his fight to stave off a committee chairmanship challenge from Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.).
“As the moderate faction of our caucus has grown and contributed to our large majority, our leadership must have more moderate voices at the table if we want to continue to be successful, strong, and effective as a caucus,” said Blue Dog leader Rep. Allen Boyd (D-Fla.).
Taking leadership positions indicates that Blue Dogs aren’t simply going to go along with the agenda of the San Francisco liberals. They want a voice and intend to use their votes as they wish. That’s good news for America, but might not be enough to stop most of Pelosi’s agenda in the long-run.
by Stephan Tawney on Sat, Nov 8, 2008