Blue Dogs Present The Single Biggest Threat to Obama's Budget
By Susie Madrak Tuesday Mar 17, 2009 5:00pmThe Blue Dogs don't really care what the economy is doing to the rest of us. They only care about getting reelected - which means opposing the Obama budget is really their own personal stimulus plan! (Even though, you know, they had no problem rubber-stamping the spending for the Everlasting Iraq War for Bush.)
WASHINGTON — Government spending on most domestic programs is growing at its fastest pace in nearly 30 years, and a lot of worried Democrats are seeking ways to rewrite and reduce the size of President Barack Obama's budget proposals.
As a result, "you'll see a budget come out of the House that spends considerably less," said Rep. Allen Boyd, D-Fla., a leader of the Blue Dog Democrats, a group of 47 of the party's House of Representatives conservatives and moderates.
If all 47 Blue Dogs joined the House's 178 Republicans, they could deny Democratic leaders a House majority of 218.
The House Budget Committee plans hearings this week on Obama's $3.6 trillion blueprint for fiscal 2010, the 12-month period that begins Oct. 1, and the full House is expected to vote on it sometime in the week of March 30.
The Senate is likely to consider the budget the same week, and Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D., is also voicing reservations about the package's size.
"When I look at this budget, I see the debt doubling again, and that gives me great concern," he said. Obama's budget projects that by 2019, debt held by the public will reach $15.3 trillion, roughly double the current level.
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another bunch of hostage takers.
I do not know if you saw my apology earlier, so here it is again:
"I was wrong in the use of a word referring to you in a post and for that I apologize. I also apologize for the fact that my own bad form had to be brought to my attention."
Yeah? Is that right, Mr. Boyd? Want to know the next thing you'll see if you kill the recovery by not backing the President?
The next thing you'll see are considerably less chickenshite, spineless, Repuke-in-disguise so-called "Blue Dog" Democrats in the new Congress of 2010.
Vote like you're the Liberals you were elected to be, or lose your jobs, you punks.
Finally the 2 wars are counted in the budget and THAT is killing the 'fiscally conservative' idiots of both parties. They can no longer hide the cost of unwarranted invasion. But rather than credit this for the unprecedented budget numbers, they decry all spending except defense!
As long as ANY elected official puts his re-election ahead of our national interest that official should be targetted for replacement.
Vote out the weak sisters!!
Why don't they cut the budget for the MIC and get the money back from the TARP swindle? Oh right.
Blue Dog Ellen Tauscher to State Department?
The only problem I see is that Tauscher's area is fairly moderate to conservative. It's hard to imagine a liberal winning a special election.
Are you saying then that there is a group of politicians that does not care about being reelected over any other consideration?
Who?
Wikipedia: Blue Dog Coalition - Members
they usually come from red states and their constituents are heavily influenced by the GOP talk radio monopoly that dominates politics in those states and pushes the center way right.
when these votes come up the limbaugh dems are inundated by radio inspired calls. the dem party needs to do an immediate education program for the limbaugh dems so they aren't so easily intimidated by what they may think are real representations of constituent concern as opposed to misinformed dittoheads lathered up with lies and fear from the loudest and only blowhards in the state.
and until progressive groups and unions and americans realize the biggest obstacle to progress is their local right wing station and start calling complaining boycotting and picketing their local RW stations ( the real centers of GOP power) and their local sponsors, there is no guarantee we won't be back to the same old flat earth politics in a year, or sooner.
bring back howard dean!
{ Would you please stop Yelling! SiteMonitor}
:<((
{ Look, I have to sound everyone on this. If I let you slide, then I have to let everyone slide. That isn't going to happen. Ok? So please stop yelling. Thank You. SiteMonitor}
OK, no bold tonight, I guess. maybe a little in moderation? :)
{ You've been here so long, you know the drill. Just don't do everthing in bold lettering. OK? I really do appreciate you input CoInTelPro.
SiteMonitor.
The fact that I expect a threat of banning for wanting to criticize what I consider over-active monitoring should say something about the atmosphere created here.
Repeat after me; the sitemon is always right.
this is all we need to know. Let them fight the progress that is needed to pull our asses out of this "conservative hole", and we'll vote their scrawny, chicken-shit asses out of Congress the next time they come up.
I'm so sick of spineless Democratic politicians that can't stomach a good fight. They can collect their unemployment with the rest of us.
We've won on November 4th but the lesson is that these Blue Dog bastards just gave progressives a "swift kick in our complacency." Let's set up the challenges in these districts. Let's get better Democrats elected.
Seems to me that the Blue Dogs have an ally, China. Since much of the running up of the deficit is predicated on borrowing from China, if the Chinese stop lending, then we're going to have to live within our means. I think in part, Obama's statements about the economy fundamentals is in reaction to China's expressed concern about the debt it already holds.
I think the final borrowing binge, the federal borrowing is going to come to an end. It may be a hard landing, or a soft landing, but I think it's going to land someway, somehow.
The funny thing is, with all these labels, conservative, liberal and so forth, when considering being fiscally conservative, I think that tax and spend is more fiscally conservative than borrow and spend, because tax and spend implies living within our means, instead of relying on Jesus to miracle away the national debt.
The question is where to make the cuts. We're being foolish spending 50¢ for every dollar spent in the world on the military. Costs on the war on drugs could be greatly curtailed. What I would do is if you are already addicted to heroin or crack, then you can get maintenance doses from a clinic. That would wipe out the cash flow from recurring drug sales, which would cause the drug gangs to deteriorate. National health care is the no cost way to cover the poor.
And I have great misgivings about bailing out ponzi schemes, such as these AIG derivatives, especially when, by bailing out AIG, we're in part bailing out foreign banks. Bailing out paper secured in real estate is one thing, but bailing out this worthless crap is another.
concern trolls?
Anyone who truly cares about the deficit would be stressing revenue increases as much as spending cuts, i.e. taxing the rich.
Anyone who stresses only spending cuts is not concerned with the deficit. They are concerned with coddling the rich.
Gee, isn't it great that one of Rahm Emanuel's greatest "achievements" was getting these Blue Dog imbiciles elected when he was head of the DCCC. Rahm refused to finance good progressive candidates, and gave us Heath Schuler instead.
All this hoopla over AIG while dead on correct and noteworthy is a big diversion away from congress and what they are doing with our money. Sorry but both parties just need to get derided relentlessly for the BS both parties have pulled. None are innocent.
but that idea is being pimped by the Repigs as a way to deflect the blame that needs to be heaped upon them. Are the Dems blameless? Of course not.
But let's not pretend that the Repigs aren't the primary culprits in our national crisis.
Hillary's hand-selected choice to replace her in the Senate is the NRA Queen, Kristin Gillibrand.
A blue dog Democrat from head-to-toes, Gillibrand has a terrible record while in the House and has only recently come slightly into line with the agenda of downstate New York and mainstream Democrats.
They say tryin to get dems to fall in line behind one idea is like hearding cats..more like hearding cats chaseing mice on meth
as far as rahm goes he's by no means a progressive he;s a k street dem and thats the people that he wants in office like gaitner people connected to closely to wall street and the money side of things
What is it about Washington that makes people lose their minds? Oh. Right. Duh. Money. Greed. Money. Power. A God-like sense of entitlement. Greed. Power & Money. And its not just for Republicans any more.
I can understand the appeal in one respect. Its much easier to campaign for reelection on a Republican fashioned 7 second sound bite than to actually govern when all your power and entitlement hangs in the balance. To hell with the people who put you there.
Blue Dog bastards.
Less than 100 days in office and the honeymoon is already over and reason why is on our side.
Can't say the Dems don't have a "big tent". We don't need Republicans to screw us over. We can do that ourselves. Thanks Rahm.
F#@king Blue Dog bastards.
Its okay to screw people, invade non-threatening nations, take bonuses for bankrupting the savings of fellow Americans, torture, deny health insurance to children, discriminate, spew hate on talk-show radio, lie, cheat, steal from your neighbors. Its all OK because you can and you can't punished for it. Isn't America grand?
I thought I would never have to say this again after November 4th but I was wrong.
I said that we don't need more Democrats in Washington - We Need Better Ones.
And we do.
..for taking impeachment off the table!
Too weak to lead!
Why should we listen to Ben Bernanke or Obama's Tim Geithner? Here is a video with Marc Faber and he does a pretty good job of explaining why you shouldn't.
Marc Faber, joins Lateline Business to discuss the latest rally on the local market.
(Link is to a Windows Media .ASX file, don't worry about the pop-up, it will launch the video)
but I could really care less what some talking head has to say.
All this relentless hammering on Team Obama is just supposed to make us all forget that it was right-wing ideas that got us into this mess. Endless posts about how "they're all the same" and "everyone in DC is to blame", but never an actual suggestion about what needs to be done to fix our problems.
It's all really about disempowering Team Obama and the Dems by painting them as no different than the fascist-lite scum on the right.
Sorry, but I'm not buying into this concern trolling.
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