So-called ‘moderate Democrats’ are complaining that Speaker Pelosi is using a strategy of maximizing the liberalness of legislation so that it results in a more satisfying product after the Senate gets done watering it down. For example, Ellen Tauscher, leader of the New Democratic Caucus, forced a delay in the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009 by whimpering and whining about how the bill will help too many families renegotiate their mortgages.
The problem with this can be seen in David Waldman’s analysis of the foreclosure crisis by congressional district.
Forty-one districts have 9,000+ projected foreclosures for the year. Fourteen are represented by Democrats. Twenty-seven of them (66%) are currently represented by Republicans. Discounting districts represented by first or early second term Democrats — i.e., areas that were previously and traditionally Republican — the number approaches 75%…
…nine of the ten districts with the highest number of projected foreclosures are represented by Republicans. Only MI-09, represented by Gary Peters, currently has a Democrat in office.
In fact, of the 22 districts with more than 10,000 foreclosures projected, only 6 are represented by Democrats (and only two — Dale Kildee and Rob Andrews) have been in office for more than one full term, meaning that 20 out of the 22 districts have pretty much traditionally been Republican.
I don’t bring this up to make the obvious argument that the foreclosure crisis wasn’t caused by poor, black people buying rowhouses in urban ghettos, but to rebut the idea that mortgage relief is going to be unpopular in conservative districts. People are losing their homes at the highest rate in conservative districts, so there are more people there that are going to directly or indirectly benefit from the mortgage cram-down in the Housing bill.
Here’s a piece of advice for Tauscher and the New Democrats. If you don’t like liberal legislation, vote against it. But take into consideration that the country isn’t divided into red and blue anymore. The banks are foreclosing on red America. The populist rage of Rick Santelli is fake, but the populist rage against the banks is real.
P.S. The Dow Jones is below 7,000.
Wow, those are some crazy numbers. That means all those districts have representation that is refusing to represent them. Worse than that, they are saying ‘screw you!’ to their constituents.
And I bet those districts also lead in ‘Rush listening’.
Yep! Wonderous times.
nalbar
Worse, they aren’t just refusing to help their constituents, they’re trying to blame black people for the foreclosure crisis.
If the Repugs actually stuck to their word and have systematically minimized pork to their own districts, while the Dems have not, this disproportionate suffering is a natural consequence and an object lesson on why spending does in fact have a stimulus effect even when it was not created for that purpose generally, and that extreme deregulation and privatization combine naturally to form an abusive neglect.
Since, they didn’t always/ever stop the pork train, you can also chalk this up to a general lack of effectiveness in the GOP’s servicing of their own constituency.
Either way, if we can get those dancing figures into a sound bite on everyone’s mind, the GOP is done-diddy-done even more so than today…
“How is it that Repugs can consistently get their voters to go against their own interests and the interests of the nation at large?”
“Either way, if we can get those dancing figures into a sound bite on everyone’s mind, the GOP is done-diddy-done even more so than today…”
I agree! If this became common knowledge it is HUGELY damaging.
Someone should call Rachel.
nalbar
Wow. Moveon needs to do a commercial which congressional are affected by the mortgage crisis.
That should read Moveon needs to do a commercial which congressional districts are affected by the mortgage crisis.
You nailed it ! Now let’s hope they do…Atrios has Tauscher’s contact #s up right now.
from what i see at FDL, Pat Murphy might be voting with his chair Tauscher:
I called Murphy’s office, but they would neither confirm nor deny. And while there are some wealthy areas of Murphy’s district, much of lower bucks is poor, lower middle class, and working class.
Any idea how Murphy’s going to vote?
They’re simply wrong. Murphy’s district is in the 7,000 range, not in the 9,000+ range.
How will he vote? I have no idea. But they shouldn’t have included him with the others on that list.
that’s waldman’s link, not FDL btw.
what?
Check Waldman’s table. It has PA-08 at 7,335.
wait, which “they” are you referring to? I’m not seeing that 9000 reference you mention.
either way, any “new democrat” or “blue dog” should immediately be viewed with suspicion, given their history and records.