Oust the Blue Dogs

There are two things I am fed up with in the Democratic Party. Both involve our elected officials. The first is that predominant Dems in power are wishy washy pansies. The second is that conservative Democrats, the Blue Dogs, do not vote party line when it matters. The argument against Democrats this year is that we hold the power. We could pass whatever we wanted. Those are two big arguments against us this election season. Unfortunately, we just don't have any solidarity like Republicans do. There is too much individuality within the Democratic Party. We need to get rid of some dead weight.

While I admit it is a good point to argue against rank and file conservatives by saying our tent covers people who may not agree and vote as a matter of principle over party line, times are dire right now. Things need to get done. Don't Ask Don't Tell is on the table and it may get botched up because of one vote, a Republican from Maine. The health care debate was screwed up by conservadems like Blanche Lincoln and Mary Landrieu. Dems can whine all they want about Republican obstructionists and they'd be right, but our own house needs to get cleaned out too. The notion of an inclusive tent is a ruse and only serves as eye candy so those on the Left can have a talking point. Blue Dogs do not represent us. They are not liberals. They are moderates with problematic conservative stances.

On the flip side, Democratic voters tend to vote their conscience in addition to being party line. For instance, it's usually nothing for a staunch Democrat to cast a protest vote. Democrats are likely going to struggle this fall, so the last thing Democratic elected officials will want to do is piss off voters who have no qualms over voting someone out for being a douchebag who can't get DADT and other key agenda items through Congress. Just like the Tea Party, if you don't vote for what we want, we will get rid of you. We should be doing this to all of the Blue Dogs. Oust them so we can get some work done. On both fiscal and social issues, they are seldom progressive at all. They might as well be Republicans.

Blue Dogs are naively considered the compromising souls between the Left and the Right. Unfortunately, our system does not work under the notion of compromise and legislation winds up getting watered down into ineffectual nothingness or becomes ushered into the wasteland that is a bill that goes nowhere at all. Conservadems are right in the middle of this mess, but in terms of ideas, they should not be considered moderate. Oddly enough, conservative groups run slanderous campaign ads touting most Blue Dogs as Leftists when they are nothing of the sort. Their records show us this much.

If the Tea Party can put the screws to the GOP, surely liberal voters can hang conservative Democrats out to dry. Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Tim Kaine, and yes, even Barack Obama can all start cracking some skulls. We cannot rely on moderate Republicans to vote in our favor. The Republican leadership has them on a short leash. On the Left, there is no leash. We need to crack the whip and then strap a choker chain on some of these Democrats. If they don't want to be chained, suggest to them that they should retire their political career so we may vote in someone new.