what's the philosophical difference between blue dogs and repubs?

[ulysses]

Help me out, DU...

[kenny blankenship]

1. Republicans are the party of Lincoln?

[ulysses]

4. there's that,

or there was that, in 1864.

[Toots]

27. You do know that Lincoln did not run as a Republican his second term?

He was not elected as a Republican his second term. He ran as and was elected as a National Unity Party member..

[kenny blankenship]

28. fascinating.

[Double T]

2. Here.................

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Dog_Democrats

[ulysses]

3. already read it.

Details the diff. between the BDs and the DLC and the progressives, but doesn't say anything about the difference between the blue dogs and the GOP.

[dsc]

5. They actually believe in fiscal responsibility

and are generally good about civil rights.

[Capn Sunshine]

6. If liberals were allowed in the Republican party anymore that would be where they are.

The basic difference between calling yourself a Democrat or a republican lies in your view of government as a tool , particularly as a regulator to level or democratize the playing field (Democrat) versus the view of Government as an enforcer of laws and repository of the military that should values individuals above the collective society.( republican)

[LoZoccolo]

7. Republicans think that all poor people are poor because they are lazy.

Blue dogs think that some poor people are poor because they are lazy.

[ulysses]

8. so, a question.

Do some people like being poor?

[LoZoccolo]

9. I'd have to go ask them.

It's the moderate way to make observations rather than theorize and try to prove loyalty to an ideology.

[ulysses]

10. do you subscribe to the view that some are poor

because they are lazy? If so, have you asked them? If not, would you say that those who do subscribe to that view (by your own definition) are wrong if they haven't asked them?

[LoZoccolo]

11. In answer to your questions.

1. Oh yeah.
2. Better: I observed him.
3. No. I think we all know someone who is poor because they are lazy.

[ulysses]

12. so you know that some folks are poor via their own laziness

through your own observation. That's pretty sharp. What was the level of your observation?

[LoZoccolo]

13. Roughly five and a half feet from the ground.

I'm about 5'10", so that is the level at which my eyes are at.

[ulysses]

14. I should be more specific for you.

How did you observe them? What were they doing (or not doing), and what actions lead you to the conclusion that they were being lazy?

[LoZoccolo]

15. They repeatedly parked in a no-parking zone in front of their apartment...

...until they had racked up seven thousand dollars in unpaid tickets, on top of three thousand dollars in other fines, because they didn't want to find somewhere else to park, or pay the $10 tickets when they got them, after which they became $50 tickets.

Yes, some people face the consequences of their actions. And it is not my problem. If they are not responsible due to their personal irresponsibility, what makes me responsible? Maybe I have the same irresponsible problem he does, and it should become completely your problem instead of mine or his.

The thing about this whole line of reasoning you seem to be taking is that you can't put every single person in the entire country under the kind of criticism/self-criticism session you are trying to subject me to right now, and even if you could, you couldn't do it constantly. People believe what their lying eyes tell them as soon as they can find a good excuse to get away from you and your haraunging, and they act accordingly.

[ulysses]

18. I would suggest

that, if you think ten thousand dollars in parking fines equals "being poor", you have no understanding of what it is to be poor.

[ulysses]

16. perhaps a different question would be more to your liking.

Antonio was a strong student, but realized early on that trapping would get him a lot more money than anything else he was likely to achieve in life. He dropped out of school in the 9th grade, and thus became a statistic talked about on Lou Dobbs. Was he lazy? What could we do for someone like Antonio?

[LoZoccolo]

17. Did I say "some" or did I say "some"???? n/t

[ulysses]

19. see #18.

If you think I'm talking about your friend with a parking problem, you're mistaken. You have no fucking clue.

[LoZoccolo]

20. OK, looks like it's time for someone to go to bed. n/t

[ulysses]

21. enjoy your rest, then.

[eridani]

23. Then why isn't George Bush poor? n/t

[ulysses]

24. because some lazy get to be rich.

It's, like, a mystical thing...

[LoZoccolo]

25. Because he has a bunch of enablers. n/t

[Hippo_Tron]

29. I don't think anyone likes being poor, some people are unmotivated to get off of Welfare

I'm not sure how many there are, but I would imagine that they are closer to the exception to the rule than the rule.

[ulysses]

22. still hoping for an answer...

[Milo_Bloom]

26. Yes, Some people are poor b/c they are lazy!

I have observed them with my own two eyes and lived among them.

One poor family I can think of has 3 children and lives on the edge of being kicked out of their home. They are on state assistance, have filed bankrupcy and barely make it from month to month. The wife in the family REFUSES to look for any type of work. She REFUSES to get a driver's license, demanding the husband come home from work to drive her if she needs to be someplace. The floor in their home is sticky, because she doesn't clean. My wife and I have offered her 2 or three very easy opportunities to make money from home and each one was "too much trouble". She sits around, watches TV and eats. The husband works a single 9-5 job and when we offered him ways to make extra money, it was too much trouble.

They are poor because they are lazy.

Another example is actually a close friend of mine. They have 1 child and live on the edge of being kicked out of their home. I recently lent them nearly $20,000 so they could pay bills like electricity and have rent fora while. The wife REFUSES to work, rationalizing that because she takes care of the child she shouldn't have to. When I offered the husband the opportunity to work from home and make an extra $1000 per month, he decided that he didn't feel like getting up at 6:00AM instead of 9:00AM. (This was work that involved him dragging his rear from bed to a computer station in his living room and typing for 5 minutes an hour)

There are many other people who are poor for reason that have nothing to do with laziness, but to suggest that NO ONE is poor because of laziness is just plain wrong.

[Hippo_Tron]

30. Minimum wage, tax cuts for the rich, trade in some cases, stem cell research...

It really depends on what district said blue dog comes from.

[SoxFan]

31. Straight from the source

From the Blue Dog home page:

The Coalition was formed in the 104th Congress as a policy-oriented group to give moderate and conservative Democrats in the House of Representatives a common sense, bridge-building voice within the institution.

Most agree that, since then, the Blue Dogs have successfully injected a moderate viewpoint into the Democratic Caucus, where group members now find greater receptiveness to their opinions. In fact, the continuing political success of "Blue Pups" in the 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004 and 2006 elections points to the public's approval of the centrist, fiscally responsible message represented by The Coalition. Since 1996, 24 Blue Dogs won their seats by defeating a Republican incumbent.

The Coalition has been particularly active on fiscal issues, relentlessly pursuing a balanced budget and then protecting that achievement from politically popular "raids" on the budget. Past Coalition budgets have won the endorsement of the nonpartisan Concord Coalition and multiple newspaper and magazine editorials. As one column pointed out, the Blue Dogs have proven that "common sense, conservative economics and compassion aren't necessarily mutually exclusive."

Blue Dog Coalition proposals have served as middle-ground markers which laid the foundation for the bipartisanship necessary to bring about fundamental reforms, and helped set into law policies reflecting the "common sense, conservative compassion" so often attached to the group's efforts.

In the 110h Congress, the Coalition intends to continue to make a difference in Congress by forging middle-ground, bipartisan answers to the current challenges facing the Country. A top priority will be to refocus Congress on balancing the budget and ridding taxpayers of the burden the debt places on them. The group also expects to be involved in a variety of issues, where the stale extreme left vs. right approach requires a breath of fresh air.

http://www.house.gov/ross/BlueDogs

The Blue Dogs are most assuredly Democrats on most issues. The caucus focuses its energy on fiscal matters, pushing for reforms in the budget process and for a balanced federal budget. Contrary to what some folks on DU believe, the BD caucus doesn't get involved in hot-button social issues, leaving it to the discretion of the individual members to vote their conscience when it comes to stem cells, abortion, etc. Thus, you have pro-life Blue Dogs as well as pro-choice women such as Stephanie Herseth, Gabrielle Giffords, and Ellen Tauscher in the group.