Those Dirty Blue Dogs !

I've about had it with the "blue dog" politicians in Washington. For those of you who don't know, a "blue dog" is a person who gets elected as a Democrat but votes with the Republicans. They call themselves conservatives, but what they are is scoundrels who fool the voters of their district or state into thinking they support Democratic values while they are really just corporate-owned politicians (no different than Republicans).

Once again these blue dogs have crossed the line of good sense and sided with the Republicans against the citizens of this country. They have announced that they support Republican efforts to pass a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution. They do this in spite of the fact that the BBA would double the current level of unemployment and shrink the economy by more than 17% -- throwing the country into a severe Depression. Here's what the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities said the BBA would do:

“The constitutional balanced budget amendment that the House is expected to consider this week could force Congress to cut all programs by an average of 17.3 percent by 2018.

“If revenues are not raised (the House-passed budget resolution assumes no increase above current-policy levels) and all programs are cut by the same percentage, Social Security would be cut $184 billion in 2018 alone and almost $1.2 trillion through 2021; Medicare would be cut $117 billion in 2018 and about $750 billion through 2021; and Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) would be cut $80 billion in 2018 and about $500 billion through 2021.”

I find it hard to believe that anyone elected as a Democrat could vote to do such damage to this country. And frankly, I think all Democrats should refuse to vote for these blue dogs in the next election. I know some of you are going to say that would just result in a Republican being elected to replace them. My answer to that is that you are already being represented by a Republican (dressed in Democratic clothing). Once they have been voted out, you can start working to replace them with a real Democrat who will vote for Democratic ideals and values.

I know Democrats are famous for their "big tent" philosophy, but these rabid blue dogs are not just stinking that tent up, they are trying to burn it down. They are destroying the party, and they are helping the Republicans destroy the country. For your information, here are the 25 members of the Blue Dog Coalition in the 112th Congress:

Members in the 112th Congress

1. Jason Altmire (PA-4)
2. Joe Baca (CA-43)
3. John Barrow (GA-12), Co-Chair for Policy
4. Sanford Bishop (GA-2)
5. Dan Boren (OK-2), Blue Dog Whip
6. Leonard Boswell (IA-3)
7. Dennis Cardoza (CA-18)
8. Ben Chandler (KY-6)
9. Jim Cooper (TN-5)
10. Jim Costa (CA-20)
11. Henry Cuellar (TX-28)
12. Joe Donnelly (IN-2)
13. Gabrielle Giffords (AZ-8)
14. Tim Holden (PA-17)
15. Jim Matheson (UT-2)
16. Mike McIntyre (NC-7)
17. Mike Michaud (ME-2)
18. Collin Peterson (MN-7)
19. Mike Ross (AR-4), Co-Chair for Communications
20. Loretta Sanchez (CA-47)
21. Adam Schiff (CA-29)
22. Kurt Schrader (OR-5)
23. David Scott (GA-13)
24. Heath Shuler (NC-11), Co-Chair for Administration
25. Mike Thompson (CA-1)