Blue Dogs Are Out of Tricks

November 2, 2011

Facing Steep the Re-election Challenge of Running Alongside Unpopular Obama, Blue Dogs Are Retiring or Searching for Campaign Cash

One year after the 2010 elections and nearly a year out from the 2012 elections, the future of the Blue Dog Democrat coalition is as tenuous as ever. The 2010 elections saw the ranks of these so-called “moderate” Democrats decimated from 54 to 25 members. Now many of the remaining Blue Dogs are opting for retirement rather than running for re-election alongside a politically toxic President Obama.
Blue Dog Democrats have long masqueraded around Washington pretending to be centrists while voting with liberal Democrats on the biggest agenda items. But now even the few Blue Dogs remaining know they’re in trouble, as Democrats try to avoid questions about the president’s calls for more failed stimulus spending and hide during his political visits.
The 21 Blue Dogs running for re-election face steep challenges due to redistricting and hostility within their own party. Some are groveling before Democratic donors to stockpile campaign cash. But as we know all too well from 2010, Blue Dogs can run, but they can’t hide from their votes for the Obama-Pelosi agenda.

BACKGROUND

One year after the 2010 elections and nearly a year out from the 2012 elections, the future of the Blue Dog Democrat coalition is as tenuous as ever. The 2010 elections saw the ranks of these so-called “moderate” Democrats decimated from 54 to 25 members. Now many of the remaining Blue Dogs are opting for retirement rather than running for re-election alongside a politically toxic President Obama:

BLUE DOG COALITION SHRINKS BY FROM 54 TO 25 MEMBERS AFTER 2010 ELECTION: “In 2008, they numbered 54 members, and bragged that they were turning away Democrats clamoring to join their caucus. After 2010, they were 25—a silver lining to an otherwise bleak year.” (Markos Moulitsas, “The Death of the Blue Dogs Accelerates,” Daily Kos, 10/20/2011)

BLUE DOGS RUNNING FOR THE EXITS:

BLUE DOG REP. DENNIS CARDOZA “THE LATEST MODERATE DEMOCRAT TO HEAD FOR THE EXITS”: (Aaron Blake, “Democratic Rep. Dennis Cardoza Becomes Latest Blue Dog to Retire,” The Washington Post, 10/20/2011)

3 OTHERS HAVE ALREADY ABANDONED RE-ELECTION BIDS: (Robin Bravender, “Blue Dogs in the Hunt for More Money,” Politico, 10/27/2011)

CARDOZA “ISSUED A SCATHING PARTING SHOT AT PRESIDENT OBAMA’S TRACK RECORD ON HIS WAY OUT”: (Jessica Taylor and Billy House, “Announcing Retirement, Dem Congressman Bashes Obama,” National Journal’s “Hotline On Call”, 10/20/2011)

CARDOZA CRITICISM “BOUND TO STING AT THE WHITE HOUSE” GIVEN THAT MANY OTHER DEMOCRATS ARE “KEEPING THEIR DISTANCE” FROM OBAMA:(Jessica Taylor and Billy House, “Announcing Retirement, Dem Congressman Bashes Obama,”National Journal’s “Hotline On Call”, 10/20/2011)

DRIVE TO 25? ALL SIX HOUSE REPS. TO RETIRE SO FAR ARE DEMS: “Cardoza is the sixth member — all Democrats — to announce plans to retire outright so far.” (Jessica Taylor and Billy House, “Announcing Retirement, Dem Congressman Bashes Obama,” National Journal’s “Hotline On Call”, 10/20/2011)

NOT EXACTLY RANDOM: AMONG ALL DEM GROUP OF RETIREES, HALF ARE BLUE DOGS: “He’s also the third member of the Blue Dog Caucus to head for the exits — joining fellow moderate Reps. Dan Boren, D-Okla., and Mike Ross, D-Ark.” (Jessica Taylor and Billy House, “Announcing Retirement, Dem Congressman Bashes Obama,” National Journal’s “Hotline On Call”, 10/20/2011)

Blue Dog Democrats have long masqueraded around Washington pretending to be centrists while voting with liberal Democrats on the biggest agenda items. But now even the few Blue Dogs remaining know they’re in trouble, as Democrats try to avoid questions about the president’s calls for more failed stimulus spending and hide during his political visits:

BLUE DOGS VOTING WITH PELOSI

REPEAL OF THE GOVERNMENT TAKEOVER OF HEALTHCARE, OPPOSED BY 98% OF DEMS. Final Vote: 245-189. (Roll Call 14, Clerk of the U.S. House, 1/19/2011)

BLUE DOGS HAVE A LONG HISTORY OF VOTING WITH PELOSI: “On the biggest, defining votes since 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)

ONLY THREE BLUE DOGS HAVE SIGNED ON AS CO-SPONSORS TO OBAMA’S STIMULUS 2.0: (Thomas.gov, Accessed 11/02/2011; “Members,” Blue Dog Coalition Website, Accessed 11/02/2011)

BLUE DOG HEATH SHULER DODGING QUESTIONS ON STIMULUS 2.0: “When asked where Shuler stands on President Obama’s jobs bill, Shuler spokesman Andrew Whalen told the Times-News via email that it’s still in unclear what portions, if any, of Obama’s proposal will be brought before the House for a vote.”(Gary Glancy, “Shuler, Blue Dogs Speak Out About Deficit Reduction,” The Times-News Online, 9/14/2011)

AND BLUE DOGS ARE TRYING TO HIDE FROM OBAMA

OBAMA WAS “UNQUESTIONABLY AN ANCHOR ON THE DEMOCRATIC NOMINEES” IN EACH OF LAST THREE SPECIAL ELECTIONS: “The last three elections — the Sept. 13 House special elections in New York and Nevada and the Oct. 4 West Virginia special governor’s election — haven’t done much to inspire confidence about Obama’s ability to help the entire ticket: the president was unquestionably an anchor on the Democratic nominees in each race.” (Alex Isenstadt and Dave Catanese, “Obama’s Lonely Campaign Trail,” Politico, 10/24/2011)

DEMOCRAT POLITICIANS HAVE NOTICED, AND THEY’RE STAYING AWAY FROM THEIR POLARIZING PRESIDENT: “But already, as Obama’s most recent forays into battleground states indicate, there are growing signs that many Democratic politicians don’t want to get too close to him either. In trips to Michigan, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania — all states that he carried in 2008 — members of Congress were notably missing from the president’s side. Though none came out and said they were deliberately avoiding him, they didn’t have to: Dodging a presidential candidate who’s riding low in the polls is a time-honored political practice.” (Alex Isenstadt and Dave Catanese, “Obama’s Lonely Campaign Trail,” Politico, 10/24/2011)

BLUE DOGS NOW “TRY[ING] TO PERSEVERE AMID LOW OBAMA POLL NUMBERS”: “Blue Dogs in Congress, already an endangered species following the last election, are bracing for another challenging campaign season. … Redistricting, coupled with President Obama’s low approval ratings, has buoyed GOP hopes of picking up seats in the 2012 election.” (Cameron Joseph, “Conservative Dems Try to Persevere Amid Low Obama Poll Numbers,” The Hill, 9/27/2011)

The 21 Blue Dogs face steep challenges due to redistricting and hostility within their own party. Some are groveling before Democratic donors to stockpile campaign cash. But as we know all too well from 2010, Blue Dogs can run, but they can’t hide from their votes for the Obama-Pelosi agenda:

BLUE DOGS “ZEROING IN ON FUNDRAISING AHEAD OF WHAT THEY EXPECT TO BE ANOTHER TOUGH ELECTION”: “The moderates who survived the brutal 2010 election that wiped out about half of their 54-member caucus are zeroing in on fundraising ahead of what they expect to be another tough election, this time facing off against Republicans in many redrawn districts.” (Robin Bravender, “Blue Dogs in the Hunt for More Money,” Politico, 10/27/2011)

LIKE GOOD “MODERATES,” BLUE DOGS “RELYING ON A STEADY STREAM OF CASH FROM TRADITIONAL DEMOCRATIC BACKERS.” (Robin Bravender, “Blue Dogs in the Hunt for More Money,” Politico, 10/27/2011)

FORESHADOWING: CARDOZA MENTIONED ON LIST WITH 15 OTHER “VULNERABLE” AND “POTENTIALLY VULNERABLE” BLUE DOGS: (Aaron Blake and Rachel Weiner, “Blue Dog Democrats a Dying Breed,” The Washington Post, 7/26/2011)

NATIONAL JOURNAL: HOUSE DEMS “ANCHORED TO THE PRESIDENT,” WHETHER THEY LIKE IT OR NOT: “But House Democrats face this discouraging specter: After losing their majority in dramatic fashion, they may be no better equipped to escape Obama’s unpopularity than House Republicans were able to escape President Bush’s in 2008 after losing their majority in 2006.” (David Wasserman, “Anchored to the President,” National Journal, 10/27/2011)