Free Republic

Politics: The water spigots are back on, at least temporarily, in California's Central Valley. Turned off to protect a tiny fish, they happen to be in the districts of two congressmen "undecided" on health care reform. One could chalk it up to good fortune or just good constituent service. But in the middle of a contentious health care debate marked by Cornhusker Kickbacks and Louisiana Purchases, we may be forgiven if we find an announcement by the Department of the Interior regarding California's water supply a tad too coincidental. On Tuesday, the Department of the Interior announced it was increasing...

House Democrats passed the 2,032-page Pelosicare bill on a near party-line vote Saturday night 220-215 (roll call here). The only Republican voting in favor of the measure was New Orleans-based Joseph Cao who has long ago proven to be a tax and spend (and spend and spend) liberal. After a week of intense arm twisting, threats and promises from party leaders, more than half of the 52 so-called conservative Blue Dog Democrats voted in favor of the over $1.3 trillion measure. These are the 28 Blue Dogs voting in favor of Pelosicare (who apparently fear the wrath of House Speaker...

Just got a robocall from his office this evening (Aug 24)...... Altmire Invites Constituents to Town Hall Meeting on Health Care Reform on August 26 August 18, 2009(???) (PITTSBURGH, PA) -- Today, U.S. Congressman Jason Altmire (PA-04) announced that he will hold a town hall meeting on health care reform in Farrell on Wednesday, August 26 at 4:30 p.m. The meeting will be held in the auditorium at Farrell Area High School, located at 1600 Roemer Boulevard in Farrell, PA. Doors will open at 4 pm. If anyone knows applicable town meeting sites could you please post this there. BTW,...

MARIANNA, Fla. — Rep Allen Boyd (D-Fla.) is a skilled politician who has pretty much seen it all — a Deep South Democrat who’s managed to dispatch all opponents in his conservative-leaning Panhandle district since winning election in 1996. But as he fended off gnats buzzing through the August humidity after a morning fending off angry constituents at a town hall meeting here, Boyd confided that the depth of the unease spurred by the health care debate had caught him by surprise. “People are scared,” Boyd said twice, trying to explain what would drive his constituents away from home and...

Time was, Baron Hill was best known for his jump shot and tenacious defense when he was starting at guard in the heartland of basketball mania, the Hoosier state. He was successful in parlaying that notoriety, a good persona and “Blue Dog” political philosophy into a multi-term stint in the Congress, representing his home district, the 9th.... Hill lost his seat 5 years ago to a conservative patriot named Mike Sodrel, a truck driver-turned transportation magnate, but got his seat back the next election (2006). And something happened in the interim. Gone were the old Midwestern values and all that...

Rep. Mike Ross (D-Ark.) said on Wednesday that providing healthcare to uninsured Americans is "not what this healthcare reform debate is about."In making his comments, Ross, who is the centrist Blue Dogs' health reform point man, questioned one of the primary healthcare goals of the White House and Democratic leaders. "That is a side benefit to healthcare reform and an important one," Ross told the Arkansas Educational Television Network. Instead, the fifth-term congressman said the bill should focus on "cost containment."The Energy and Commerce Committee member reiterated that he wants to pass a health reform bill by the end of...

Politics is a team sport. People who do not realize that live on the fringes and generally are unsuccessful in getting anything done. There are often people on your team who you do not really appreciate for their character or policy priorities. But why the Blue Dog Democrats have bought onto the policies of the current House leadership is beyond me. My Democratic friends often confront me about my involvement in Republican politics. These people often focus on the issue of abortion since my leanings are somewhat different then most of the members of my party. I make clear to...

Health Bill Hinges On Blue Dogs' Vote But Few Bite So Far By DAVID HOGBERG AND SEAN HIGGINS August 14, 2009 Blue Dog Democrats are being chased by both sides in the health care debate. But the opposition may have the inside track, based on an IBD survey of these moderate-to-conservative House lawmakers. There are 256 Democrats in the House, 52 of whom are Blue Dogs. Rep. Artur Davis of Alabama, who's not a member of the pack, has said he won't support HR 3200 in its present form. That means Democrats need the support of at least 15 Blue...

AUGUST 14, 2009 Arkansas Rep. Ross Faces Restive Crowd on Health Care STEPHANIE SIMON ARKADELPHIA, Ark. -- Arkansas Democratic Rep. Mike Ross has been getting an earful on health care from his constituents for months – at the supermarket, at church, even when he's out deer hunting. More than 700 people crammed a university auditorium here Friday to continue that conversation. And it was a restive crowd, shouting at the congressman -- and often, at each other -- interrupting questions and drowning out speakers with jeers and boos. Mr. Ross, a former drugstore owner, has emerged as a key figure...

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?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...