Being a Blue Dog means never having to say you're sorry..

[kentuck]

You can vote against your President or your Party anytime you want. Because you have them over a barrel. They need you to keep the majority.

You can go to the Heritage Foundation, the most Republican of organizations, and speak out against your Party and they will still defend you. Otherwise, we might get a "Republican" to replace you.

You can demoralize the entire Party. It doesn't matter. You can make the Party look weak and without any principles and they will still support you.

You are the one that holds the power. You are the one that will determine what does or does not get passed. And you will see that the majority never gets anything passed that the Republican Party does not want. But we need you to keep our majority.

You do not have to apologize for voting against our President. You do not have to apologize for voting against tax breaks for the middle class. You do not have to apologize for voting against anything that the Democratic Party stands for. You are a Blue Dog. You rule!!

[treestar]

1. It's because of the district you come from

How to get the voters of those districts to be more progressive is the real issue.

[Wounded Bear]

2. Yeah. What he said. ^ nt

[kentuck]

6. Because they believe your political philosophy is weaker than your opponent...

and you go out of your way to prove them right...

[metapunditedgy]

13. People all over the country want a robust public option, prosecution of BP,

repeal of DADT, etc.

[Me.]

3. So True Cause You Know Whatever You Do

The DNC is going to hand you wads of cash to run ads saying what a great guy you are even though you aren't up for re-election.

Added:

DNC admits they paid $500,000 for ads defending Ben Nelson's hideous position on HCR
by John Aravosis (DC) on 2/02/2010 06:10:00 PM

“Joe reported yesterday that a series of pro- Ben Nelson ads have been running in Nebraska over the last month. Ads touting how Ben Nelson stood up to those evil forces in Washington who wanted a "government takeover" of health care (he means the "public option," that he helped kill). Joe was wondering where the Nebraska Democratic party got the money to run these expensive ads. Then he found his answer - the DNC, and you.

Markos has more:

Who gave the cash to the Nebraska Democratic Party ? Well, if you've donated to the Democratic National Committee this cycle, you did.

That's right, the Democratic Party paid for ads attacking health care reform, for an incumbent senator who isn't even up for reelection until 2012, and for a senator who has made it his life mission to stymie every significant item in the Obama/Democratic agenda. The same Ben Nelson that fought hard to include regressive anti-choice language in the Senate bill, backing off only when Democrats agreed to pay him off with $100 million for Nebraska's Medicaid expansion.

This is the same Ben Nelson that cut $60 billion in school reconstruction funds in last year's stimulus plan, and the same Ben Nelson that has signed on to the odious Murkowski amendment that would prevent the EPA from regulating greenhouse gasses. And of course, the same Ben Nelson that stripped the health care reform bill of any meaningful cost constraints.”

http://www.americablog.com/2010/02/dnc-admits-they-paid-500000-for-ads.html

[msongs]

4. it means getting your butt kissed even though you are more like a repub than a dem lol nt

[truedelphi]

5. And helping helping helping Blue Dogs means never having to say you are sorry

When you have to move on, you just pack up your stuff in Washington and return "home" to run for Mayor of Chicago.

[DCKit]

7. I figure we need about a 20% majority of progressives in both the House and Senate..

to offset the (D)-corporate influence.

How much longer do we have to wait?

[OHdem10]

8. You can run ads dinegrating Party Leaders and the Democratic

Party.

[BlueDemKev]

9. Oh, they have to apologize all right....

...to their constituents. Whether it's for voting for Pelosi for Speaker or for having an "80+%" pro-Obama voting record. Blue dogs are ALWAYS huge targets for the Republicans every time they step the slightest bit to the left.

[kentuck]

10. That doesn't make sense ??

Why do Republicans vote for them instead of Republicans? "Blue dogs are ALWAYS huge targets for the Republicans every time they step the slightest bit to the left."

[Fumesucker]

11. At some risk of repeating myself..

Blue Dogs, fuck yeah!!

That's what every vote for a Blue Dog says to the Democratic party, no matter how tightly you hold your nose while voting.

[McCamy Taylor]

12. Being a Blue Dog means---we should have a parliamentary system with more than 2 parties.

The two party systen is ideal for big business which can force both parties to the center (i.e. to their knees in front of CEOs). If every fringe in the US could get a handful of seats, we would see more environmentalists, more liberals. They would mix and match to form coalitions.

A Texas Republican does not have the same economic interests that a Maine GOPer has. California Dem is different from Arkansas Dem.