Blue Dogs Roll Over

IBD Editorials ^ | July 30, 2009 | INVESTOR BUSINESS DAILY Staff

[Kaslin]

Congress: In exchange for a vague promise of cuts in the cost of health care "reform," a few fiscally conservative Democrats agree to release the bill to a September floor vote. Have the pit bulls become Chihuahuas?

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Apparently even a Blue Dog Democrat will stop growling if you toss him a big enough bone. Four of the seven who helped keep the House bill bottled up in the Energy and Commerce Committee — Mike Ross of Arkansas, Baron Hill of Indiana, Zack Space of Ohio and Bart Gordon of Tennessee — agreed to vote the bill out of committee in exchange for a promise of unspecified cuts.

Ross, a Blue Dog Coalition leader, said changes agreed to by the defectors and the leadership would cut the cost of the trillion-dollar House bill by almost $100 billion over the next decade. What the cuts are remains unknown, and in the past such promises of cuts have been like Lucy offering to hold the football one more time for Charlie Brown. In exchange, for their consciences, there won't be a floor vote before September.

There are additional parts to the deal. The compromise would allow states to create health "co-ops" that would also compete with a government-run "public option" and private insurers. Rates on the "public option" would not be tied to Medicare, but separately negotiated. Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman agreed to loosen the employer mandate so that it covered firms with payrolls over $500,000 rather than the original $400,000.

[bareford101]

obviously, they can be bought... which says what they are... now it’s just a matter of negoiating the price.

weasels... all of them...

[Kaslin]

[Kaslin]

It does not surprise me at all

[freekitty]

The American public does not want DEATHCARE..

[bareford101]

then you must have suspected WHAT they were... :)

[freekitty]

Unspecified cuts???? How transparent is that? I am sick of these people. They are crooks, liars and thieves.

They must leave Congress.

[hope]

typical democrats

[Ghost of Philip Marlowe]

They’re not blue dogs/

They are lap dogs.

[Red_Devil 232]

I heard a few of those Blue Dogs who capitulated have reversed course because the “Snake” Waxman reversed his position on what they agreed to.

[Kaslin]

No they don’t

[Kaslin]

Well, lets say I had a feeling they would.

[Gator113]

They can go by whatever label they want, but these traitors are still democrats to the bone.

[Kaslin]

You got it

[SkyPilot]

In the end, Bluedog Democrats are still Democrats.

DEMOCRAT

[Carley]

I called the office of four of them. One had his mailbox full. So I called the local IN office and suggested he was too much of a coward to take calls.

I then suggested the congressman move to Iran as they hate freedom there too.

They all got the same message from me. Move to Iran where the leaders hate freedom. They’ll feel right at home.

[ronnie raygun]

Time and time again they show us right up front who and what they really are, despicable pompus parasites with their own self interest in mind.

[CapnJack]

For those of you who live in a one of these blue pussy’s districts ... and you get a chance to ask him/her a question over the recess.

Ask them loud and clear so that all can hear you “why are people in congress and the Pres/VP exempt from this new legislation”?

I’m sure there will be many there waiting intently for that answer ... before they pull out the long knives.

[zipper]

Thank you, fellow patriot!

[NoobRep]

It’s up to the states to stand up for the people. Passage of this bill is a declaration of war.

[windsorknot]

The Blue Eyeshadow Democrats hold out for a higher price.

[zipper]

A shame, but no big surprise.

Rahm ‘dead fish’ Emmanuel recruited most of the so-called “blue dog Democrats” personally.

The Democrats have such a plurality that they can afford to lose some votes. They allow some of them to vote against a particular bill to preserve their reputations at home as ‘blue dogs’, AS LONG AS the bill passes anyway.

But when it comes to nut-crunchin’ time, if they need a vote, they just twist arms (1st choice) or bribe members (2nd choice) until they secure the votes they need.

The ‘blue dogs’ are really just ‘manchurian candidates’ by another name. They’re there to fool the public into thinking the Democratic party is centrist.

[Kaslin]

Nah, she’s a lunatic

[combat_boots]

“in exchange for a promise”

of millions, no doubt.

[preacher]

What they'll settle for:

30 peices of silver

[AlphaOneAlpha]

My guess is that this move was a Blue Dog fig leave. They wanted to get out of town for the summer recess in good stead with the hard left Dem leadership. But, when they get back to their districts and get a real ration of hell, they can come back in Sept and take a hard center position.

[DustyMoment]

Apparently even a Blue Dog Democrat will stop growling if you toss him a big enough bone.

The problem is that the "bone" Waxman offered them is bribes that he will pay out of more of our tax dollars on top of the cost of this monstrocity!!

We need to make sure that the political cowards on BOTH sides of the aisle understand where the bribe money comes from and that they have surpassed the "enough-is-enough" limit!!!

[central_va]

take a hard center position

LOL

[Nuc1]

If this gets out of committee they will get it all. We don't have the votes to stop it and apparently the Blue Dogs have the same spine manufacturer our Pubbies have. Damn them all.

[Paige]

Then they are OUT in 2010. They need to work on their Resumes.

[SuziQ]

So their bark IS worse than their bite. Well, this just sets up some great issues for the Republicans in 2010, as long as it’s a conservative running against the Blue Dog.

[Clintonfatigued]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=He82NBjJqf8

[paul51]

The American public does not want DEATHCARE..

and congress says, 'so what?'

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

More payoff from the Republican voters who “showed THEM” in the 2008 elections by staying home.

[SunkenCiv]

Four of the seven who helped keep the House bill bottled up in the Energy and Commerce Committee -- Mike Ross of Arkansas, Baron Hill of Indiana, Zack Space of Ohio and Bart Gordon of Tennessee -- agreed to vote the bill out of committee in exchange for a promise of unspecified cuts. Ross, a Blue Dog Coalition leader, said changes agreed to by the defectors and the leadership would cut the cost of the trillion-dollar House bill by almost $100 billion over the next decade.

IOW, over ten years, the bill will cost $100 billion a year, and these unspecified (i.e., non-existent) savings no more than $10 billion a year; and the actual cost will be something like $3 trillion over ten years.

[Kaslin]

Indeed

[pillut48]

WOW!! I AM STUNED!! This is HUGH and SERIES!! Oh, what, oh, whatever shall we do now?!? [fans self rapidly to stave off a severe case of the vapors]

/sarc

Seriously, most people saw this coming, the same way day follows dawn!

[Category Four]

Thing is, if it makes it outta the House, are there 67 Senators to vote for it? (he asked, thinking even some Dems would bolt on it before it ever came to be signed)

[Ditter]

The reasonable side of my brain keeps thinking “this health care bill will never happen, it is insane”.

Then the hysterical side of my brain keeps screaming “it is gonna happen I am sure it’s gonna happen”.

I think I am becoming bipolar!

[Kaslin]

If Republicans going to vote for it, then you know they are the usual RINOs who always vote with the rats

[Yardstick]

Exactly. And since the true cost of this thing is going to be some multiple of the current projection, that measley $100 billion might as well not even exist.

[ExTxMarine]

The problem here is that if this gets passed, even with “Republican suggestions,” is that as soon as the House and Senate both pass a bill, they will come together WITHOUT Republicans when rectifying the differences and all the crap the Democrats want will be put back in and the Repubs will look even more stupid when they vote against something that they once voted for.

The answer is NO and start over!!!

[SunkenCiv]

And really, that’s only $333 a person — spread out over ten years.

[rabidralph]

Rush mentioned this earlier last week—to forget about the Blue Dogs because they took us for a ride with their PUMA/Hillary campaign. The Blue Dogs will always roll over for their dem masters.

[Mr. Silverback]

OK folks, our mission is to put the fear of the people in every Congresscritter over the next month.

[ExTxMarine]

“...that’s only $333 a person...”

Yep, but you only get $1.09 in return services per person! And I am pretty sure that amount is the “best case scenario!”

[Mr. Silverback]

One other thing: Don’t forget that a ferw Blue Dogs is not enough. They need almost all of them to vote for the bill in order to get it passed. We can still win this, and maybe even win it big. Keep the pressure on.

[bareford101]

I didn’t see the earlier statement about the blue dogs... as far as I can see now, they are lap dogs, not blue dogs.

[Daryl L.Hunter]

[Eric Blair 2084]

weasels... all of them...

FReeper instant trivia question: There is actually one blue dog who voted against all the left wing bills.

Lifetime supply of rice a roni for the FReeper who names him.