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Blue Dog: 'No way' House bill could passBy PATRICK O'CONNOR | 7/16/09 2:46 PM EDT Arkansas Rep. Mike Ross, a key negotiator on health care for moderate Blue Dog Democrats, has warned that "there's no way they can pass the current bill on the House floor. Not even close." Ross doesn't believe the bill unveiled Tuesday comes close to curtailing the ever-escalating costs of health care spending, particularly for Medicare. The conservative Arkansas Democrat also objects to the surtaxes included in the bill, saying, "I don't like the idea of raising taxes in the worst economic crisis since World War...

Arkansas blue dogs: No timetable for health care reform legislationBy John Lyon / Arkansas News Bureau Thursday, July 16, 2009 12:22 PM CDT LITTLE ROCK — Two members of Arkansas’ congressional delegation who helped put the breaks on legislation to reform the nation’s health care system said Friday they don’t believe the reform effort should follow a timetable. U.S. Reps. Mike Ross, D-Prescott, and Marion Berry, D-Gillett, were among 40 members of the Blue Dog Coalition of centrist Democrats who wrote to Democrat Party leaders Thursday demanding changes in health care legislation the leadership was drafting. Party leaders had said...

July 10, 2009 Dear Mrs. Dunavant: Thank you for contacting me about climate change. As Central Kentucky's advocate in Washington, D.C., your views are extremely important to me, and I appreciate the time you took to share them. I voted for the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, a comprehensive piece of legislation that creates clean jobs, moves us away from our dependence on foreign oil, tackles pollution, and transforms our economy to face the new challenges of the 21st century. Supporting this bill was not an easy decision. I struggled with this legislation, and I recognize the...

Barack Obama's pledges in peril as Blue Dogs take a bite at budget Tom Baldwin in Washington President Obama was huddled in talks yesterday with congressional Democrats over proposals that would pare his $3.6 trillion budget, raising question marks over how he would fund promises on healthcare, climate change and tax cuts. Although the President was braced for ferocious opposition from Republicans, who warn that his spending plans will bankrupt America, he also faces growing hostility from a group of fiscally conservative Democrats alarmed by forecasts of a $9.3 trillion (£6.3 trillion) deficit over ten years. Kent Conrad, chairman of...

Former professional football player and Blue Dog Democrat Heath Shuler is at the top of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s “enemies list,’’ according to Politico. Why? Shuler, D-N.C., has staked out a leadership position as a fiscal conservative who doesn’t ride with the pack on issues like the massive stimulus package, which he and five other conservative “Blue Dog” Democrats voted against. Shuler’s name tops a list of 10 alleged enemies of the speaker. ... Shuler, a second-term member, is clearly being noticed among Pelosi’s allies as a potential problem. He opposed Democratic leaders when he was a freshman, including on...

Dem blasts Obama's budgetPosted: 06:29 PM ET February 26, 2009 From CNN Congressional Producer Deirdre Walsh (CNN) – Mississippi Democratic Rep. Gene Taylor blasted the budget outline President Obama submitted to Capitol Hill today, saying “I don’t like it…change is not running up even bigger deficits that George Bush did.” “That’s what George Bush did very well. Apparently that’s what President Obama is doing.” Taylor, a conservative “blue dog” who voted against the stimulus bill, noted he was still reviewing the plan but was troubled by the additional amount of spending for many government programs on top of the recent...

Thank you for contacting me about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. President Obama gets high marks for trying to bring change to Washington, but Congress isn't living up to its end of the bargain. In the face of millions of lost jobs and an economy that continues to shut down, the House passed a bill loaded with pet projects that won't provide the jobs Americans need. Let me be clear: our economy needs immediate stimulus. That's why I called for Congress to pass President Obama's plan to cut regressive payroll taxes, invest in the nation's infrastructure and extend social...

Competing in traditionally GOP strongholds, they campaign on fiscal discipline, gun rights and oil drilling. They may pose a problem to party leaders in Congress if they win.The prospects for big Democratic gains in the House, amplified by advances in the Senate and a White House victory, have spurred grave Republican warnings of a shift to the left that could bring increases in spending, taxes and regulation. But if anything, a number of potential Democratic newcomers have been running well to the right of their party's leader, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco). Competing in traditional GOP strongholds, many are...

Some of the other leading Democrats in Congress aren't ready to echo House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's suggestion that lawmakers might hold up funding for additional troops in Iraq. On CBS's ''Face the Nation'' today, Pelosi said Democrats won't cut off money for those troops already in Iraq -- but that President Bush would have to ''justify any additional resources.'' The comment comes as Bush puts the finishing touches on a plan that could put thousands of additional U.S. troops in Iraq in an effort to stem the sectarian violence. But Pelosi's second-in-command in the House Democratic leadership, Steny Hoyer, told...

Tango wants to wish all of my friends and family on FreeRepublic a Happy Blue Year!!

Artist George Rodrigue's latest work still features the blue dog he's famous for, but this time, the little dog usually seen in a more festive atmosphere is just trying to keep his head above water - like New Orleans.

Our Texas congressman, Charlie Stenholm (D) TX is a conservative democrat from the 17th congressional district in central Texas. He's a member of the blue dog democrats and his district is mostly made up of conservative republicans. This past election he won the election 51% to 48%, which is the closest race he's had in roughly 20+ years in congress. I think with the combination of a close election and the new Democratic leader in the House being such a liberal (Pelosi), that this might just be enough to get Charlie to switch party's. Charlie is not stupid, and realizes...

Tanner says Ford's candidacy could highlight views of fiscal conservatives By AMBER McDOWELL Associated Press Writer November 8, 2002 NASHVILLE, Tenn.- U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Jr.'s bid to become House minority leader could bring to the forefront the views of fiscally conservative Democrats, one of his Tennessee colleagues said Friday. "I expect Harold to articulate some of the positions I advocate, particularly fiscal responsibility and the steep federal debt being incurred by this generation and passed on to the next," U.S. Rep. John Tanner said Friday in a statement. "There was not enough discussion of fiscal responsibility during the past...