“Blue Dogs” Get Serious on Fiscal Responsibility … April Fools!

When Will So-Called Moderate Democrats Finally Vote The Way They Talk and Renounce Support for the Obama-Pelosi Agenda?

Over the course of the last week, some “Blue Dog” Democrats criticized their party leadership for fiscal irresponsibility and pursuing an out-of-touch liberal agenda, implying their own fiscal responsibility bona fides:

REP. JASON ALTMIRE (D-PA) ADMITS DEMOCRATS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR A POSSIBLE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN:

FNC’s NEAL CAVUTO: “Do you think it was Democrats who botched it by never getting a budget done last year anyway and that we are in this pickle precisely because of that?”

ALTMIRE: “I think that it accurate, yes. We should have passed a budget. We wouldn’t be in this predicament unless we let ourselves get here. It is self-inflicted. But the fact is that’s where we are.” (Remarks from Jason Altmire, Fox News’ “Your World With Cavuto”, 3/31/2011)

REP. DENNIS CARDOZA (D-CA) BLASTS DEMOCRAT LEADERSHIP FOR FISCAL IRRESPONSIBILTY, LIBERAL AGENDA:

CARDOZA: “The Democratic Party and the Obama administration are not focused on the nation’s problems. There’s a lot of lip service, but the reality is other priorities are getting the attention.” (Kevin Parrish, “Blue Dog’s Political Bites,”The Record, 3/29/2011)

ON OBAMACARE: “Even with last year’s health care reform, we’ve done nothing yet on cost containment.” (Kevin Parrish, “Blue Dog’s Political Bites,” The Record, 3/29/2011)

ON THE STIMULUS: “The stimulus package is not working.” (Kevin Parrish, “Blue Dog’s Political Bites,” The Record, 3/29/2011)

These concessions come after remarks earlier in the week where former Democrat Congressmen, some considering a run for their old seat, criticized their leadership for pushing an unpopular agenda during the last Congress that contributed to the defeat of many incumbents:

FORMER REP. ARTUR DAVIS (D-AL): “Former Reps. Bobby Bright (D-Ala.) and Gene Taylor (D-Miss.) ‘were the two most conservative Members of Congress. You name it, they voted against it,’ Davis said. ‘It would’ve mattered in a less-nationalized political climate. But voters in southeast Alabama and voters in northern Mississippi decided, ‘You know, Gene, Bobby, we like you, but we don’t like your party.’ …

“‘People often ask me what would’ve happened in my race if I had voted for the health care bill. A very simple two-word answer: Blanche Lincoln,’ Davis said of the former Arkansas Democratic Senator who barely won her primary last year and then lost in the general by 21 points.

“‘The reality is the minute Blanche Lincoln aligned herself with the national Democratic agenda, conversation was closed in Arkansas,’ he said.” (Kyle Trygstad, “Democratic Moderates Bemoan Future,” Roll Call, 3/30/2011)

FORMER REP. DAN MAFFEI (D-NY): OBAMACARE A “LOSE-LOSE” VOTE FOR “CENTRIST” DEMOCRATS: “The political climate was so polarized last cycle, Maffei said, that major issues such as healthcare presented a lose-lose scenario for Democratic centrists.” (Shane D’Aprile, “Former Lawmakers Complain It’s Run Left or Right, Lament Loss of Center,” The Hill’s Ballot Box blog, 3/29/2011)

But don’t just take their word for it. A new study to be released this weekend proves that voting for ObamaCare was a major political liability for Democrats last cycle, costing them on average 6 to 8 percent of the vote:

“A vote for health reform reduced election margins by six to eight percent for Democratic members of Congress in the 2010 midterm elections, according toa new study by two political scientists to be unveiled this weekend in Chicago.

“The University of Denver’s Seth Masket and North Carolina State’s University’s Steven Green examined the impact of four key votes on the midterm elections and found that a vote for the health care bill directly cost Democrats at least 13 House seats. …

“Another key stat in their breakdown: In a district where Obama got 40 percent of the vote in 2008, a Democratic representative would have a 54 percent chance of retaining her seat if she opposed health reform, but only a 19 percent chance if she supported it.” (David Catanese, “Vote for Health Care Cost 6-8 Percent,” Politico, 3/31/2011)

Talk, however, is cheap. When it counts, “Blue Dogs” vote overwhelmingly with their leadership—in the last Congress, and in this one. When will “Blue Dogs” actually vote to make government live within its means?:

THIS CONGRESS:

ONLY 3 DEMS JOIN GOP ON OBAMACARE REPEAL: Final Vote: 245-189(House Vote #14, 1/19/2011)

ZERO HOUSE DEMS VOTE FOR RESPONSIBLE FY ’11 SPENDING CUTS TO REDUCE THE DEFICIT: Final Vote: 235-189 (Roll Call Vote 147, 2/19/2011)

LAST CONGRESS:

“MODERATE” DEMS VOTE FOR LIBERAL AGENDA: “Of the 54 Blue Dogs serving at the end of the 111th Congress, 26 voted for the climate change bill in June 2009, 30 voted for the final version of health care reform in March 2010, and 42 ultimately backed the financial services bill in late June this year.” (Josh Israel and Aaron Mehta, “PACs Flocked to Conservative Blue Dog Democrats, Then Fled After Crucial Votes,” The Center for Public Integrity, 12/7/2010)

BLUE DOGS “IN LOCKSTEP” WITH PELOSI: “On the biggest, defining votessince the Democrats took the House, the Blue Dogs have voted almost in lock-step with their party leaders.

“And with one leader in particular the Blue Dogs are more like lap dogs. Of the 62 votes cast by Speaker Pelosi during the current 111th Congress on economic issues, the Blue Dogs voted with her 80 percent of the time.”(“The Blue Dog Report,” The Club For Growth, 10/4/2010)