Will the Last Blue Dog in Washington Turn Out the Lights?

July 26, 2011

So-Called “Moderate” Democrats Lose a Lead “Dog,” Leaving an Increasingly Extreme Democrat Caucus

Several “Blue Dog” Democrats have recently announced that they’re leaving the pound including one of their lead “dogs,” Rep. Mike Ross, who opted to retire rather than run for re-election.
The Blue Dogs are more bark than bite, often voting with Pelosi and her liberal allies. Despite their voting record, these Blue Dogs never seem to completely please their master Nancy Pelosi.
Earlier this year, Blue Dogs lost political cover on the right when the flagship so-called centrist Democratic Leadership Council closed its doors. Now unwelcome on the left and without a home on the right, Blue Dogs have become stray dogs.

Arkansas “Blue Dog” Democrat Mike Ross announced Monday that he’s leaving the pound by retiring from Congress, confirming what many already know: there is no place for so-called conservative Democrats in Nancy Pelosi’s increasingly extreme caucus:

REP. MIKE ROSS’ RESIGNATION ADDS TO STRING OF BLUE DOG DEFECTIONS: “Rep. Mike Ross, one of the few conservative Democrats who survived the midterm elections of 2010, announced Monday he won’t stand for re-election in 2012.

“In a letter announcing his decision, Ross cited the ‘tough political environment’ he’d face in seeking a seventh term and bemoaned the current state of Congress. …

“Ross was the lone Democrat from Arkansas to emerge victorious in the 2010 congressional elections. The state’s delegation flipped from 3-1 Democrat to 3-1 Republican, and Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln was also soundly defeated.” (Mike Memoli, “Rep. Mike Ross Latest Conservative Democrat to Pass on 2012 Race,” The Los Angeles Times, 7/25/2011)

ROSS CHAIRED BLUE DOG COALITION, BUT THEIR “INFLUENCE WITHIN THE [DEMOCRAT] CAUCUS WANED” AFTER ELECTION: “Ross has chaired the so-called Blue Dog Coalition of fiscally conservative Democrats. The group’s membership shrank from 54 members in 2010 to about two dozen when the 112th Congress was seated in January, and their influence within the caucus waned.” (Mike Memoli, “Rep. Mike Ross Latest Conservative Democrat to Pass on 2012 Race,” The Los Angeles Times, 7/25/2011)

TRANSLATION: YET ANOTHER “BLUE DOG BITES THE DUST”: “The Blue Dog decline has been sharp, to put it mildly. Following the 2008 elections, the coalition counted 54 House members. When the dust settled from the 2010 midterms, just 25 remained. There will be two fewer with the departures of Boren and Indiana Rep. Joe Donnelly, who is running for Senate.” (Alex Isenstadt and Dave Catanese, “Another Blue Dog Bites the Dust,” Politico, 6/9/2011)

THE WASHINGTON POST: BLUE DOGS A “DYING BREED,” WITH AT LEAST 16 OUT OF REMAINING 22 VULNERABLE TO DEFEAT OR RETIREMENT: “With the retirement this week of Rep. Mike Ross (D-Ark.), the Blue Dog caucus — a collection of House Democratic conservatives — is dwindling even further.

“In the 2012 elections, redistricting is likely to further chip away at the once-powerful group, as members are placed into more Republican districts or forced to compete against more liberal Democrats.” (Aaron Blake and Rachel Weiner, “Blue Dog Democrats a Dying Breed,” The Washington Post, 7/26/2011)

How did the Blue Dogs get here? Rep. Dan Boren (D-OK) also recently announced his retirement, and his advisors said the extreme, job-destroying policies of the national Democrat party took “a toll” on so-called conservative Democrats:

“UNPOPULARITY OF [BOREN’S] NATIONAL PARTY” TOOK “A TOLL” ON DEMOCRAT: “But there was also a private acknowledgement among Boren loyalists that the unpopularity of his national party in deep-red Oklahoma had taken a toll on him. …

“One Boren adviser, speaking on condition of anonymity, said 65 percent of the district’s voters currently have an unfavorable impression of Obama.

“The congressman’s camp was bracing for his toughest race yet.” (Alex Isenstadt and Dave Catanese, “Another Blue Dog Bites the Dust,” Politico, 6/9/2011)

Perhaps some of the damage has been self-inflicted as well. Many of the Blue Dogs who survived the 2010 cycle have continued voting in lockstep with Nancy Pelosi on her job-destroying liberal agenda:

ZERO DEMOCRATS VOTE FOR GOP FY 2011 BUDGET THAT WOULD MAKE RESPONSIBLE SPENDING CUTS: 235-189. (“Final Vote Results for Roll Call 147,” Clerk of the U.S. House, 2/19/2011)

FINAL VOTE ON OBAMACARE REPEAL: 245-189, with only 3 Democrats joining GOP. (“Final Vote Results for Roll Call 14,” Clerk of the U.S. House, 1/19/2011)

ZERO DEMOCRATS VOTE FOR FY 2012 GOP BUDGET: 235-193. (Final Vote Results for Roll Call 277,” Clerk of the U.S. House, 4/15/2011)

This year the door also closed on the flagship so-called centrist Democrat organization, the Democratic Leadership Council, because in a world where so-called conservative Democrats vote in lockstep for the Obama-Pelosi agenda, there are no more conservative Democrats. These Blue Dogs are now stray dogs left without a home:

“The centrist Democratic Leadership Council, which fought and largely won a battle for the soul of the Democratic party in the 1990s, is on the verge of bankruptcy and is closing its doors, its founder, Al From, confirmed Monday. …

“In the Obama era, the group has simply struggled for relevance. Its leaders remained close to the Clintons, and presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton headlined the DLC’s 2006 annual gathering in Denver. But as Hillary Clinton’s presidential fortunes waned, so did the DLC’s influence. By the summer of 2008, the organization was kicking off its annual meeting a mere block from Senator Barack Obama’s campaign headquarters in Chicago – but the candidate didn’t find time to drop by.” (Ben Smith, “The End of the DLC Era,” Politico, 2/07/2011)