I am coming down with what feels like influenza, so please don’t expect much in the way of analysis here. I just want to start a conversation about the following quote:
“We’re in this for the long haul,” Rep. Kurt Schrader (Ore.), co-chairman of the Blue Dogs, said in an interview, predicting that the Democrats could regain the majority only if they are once again competitive in those rural and Southern districts. “We’re the way the Democrats are going to get back into the majority.”
It’s instructive to read the history of the Blue Dog Coalition. One of the co-founders, Nathan Deal, is now the Republican governor of Georgia. You might remember another founding member, Billy Tauzin, who used to be assistant majority whip of the House Democrats before switching parties, chairing a committee that oversaw the healthcare industry, and quitting to run PhRMA.
It’s actually not all that easy to pinpoint the ideological purpose for the Blue Dog Coalition. We can certainly understand that there are areas of the country where a traditional liberal can’t compete because of controversies about social issues like gay and reproductive rights. But, my impression has been that the Blue Dogs have distinguished themselves less as social conservatives than as deficit scolds. My friend Patrick Murphy joined the Blue Dogs when he was elected to Congress and then made a name for himself pushing through the end of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.
I agree with Rep. Kurt Schrader that the Democrats need to win back seats in these traditional Blue Dog districts, but I don’t see them doing it with more votes to remove bankruptcy protections or more talk about slashing government debt.
I honestly think that Elizabeth Warren has the message that these Blue Dogs need to win over the voters. What she doesn’t have is the money they need to run in poor, rural districts. Times have changed. We don’t need a revival of the old Blue Dog Coalition. We need a populism that is funded well enough to compete with the mining and ranching operations that dominate these districts.
That used to be unions, but maybe it has to be small donors getting organized online.
