Last week, House Blue Dog Democrats issued a 2010 Blueprint for 15 Fiscal Reforms in anticipation of... (or preemptive strike on?)... both President Obama's State of the Union address and his fiscal 2011 budget plan, which was released today.
I suggest "preemptive strike" because all 52 members of the Blue Dog Coalition are eager to distance themselves from the President's economic record as they prepare to face angry voters in November. The majority of Blue Dogs hail from Republican-red states, and are rightly nervous about their reelection prospects.
Some of the Blue Dog's 15 fiscal reforms are realistic and make a lot of sense, while others are generic, perfect-world statements that everyone agrees are wonderful goals, albeit completely unachievable in the nation's near future. Clearly, some of these fiscal reforms were included primarily to protect the electoral hides of jittery Blue Dogs.
The Blue Dog 2010 Blueprint for 15 Fiscal Reforms is politically very interesting because it provides a glimpse into the principles which will guide Blue Dogs in deciding, in 2010, whether or not to support President Obama's policies and budget proposals.
In 2009, of course, the Blue Dog voting block was often resistant to legislation endorsed by both House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Obama White House. In some instances, because of their unified response, Blue Dogs forced liberal-leaning legislation to be modified into more conservative bills.
Take a look at the first fiscal warning shot from Blue Dog Democrats as they arm for their 2010 campaigns, at Blue Dog 2010 Blueprint for 15 Fiscal Reforms
Learn more about this stubbornly cohesive House Democratic voting block at Blue Dog Democrats, Fiscally Conservative House Members, which includes the names of all current 52 coalition members.
Comments
“Some of the Blue Dog’s 15 fiscal reforms are realistic and make a lot of sense, while others are generic, perfect-world statements that everyone agrees are wonderful goals, albeit completely unachievable in the nation’s near future.”
Quite correct. By my count, one has already been done, one has been voted down, 2 are reasonable achieveable proposals and eleven are pie-in-the-sky or a near derivative.
Take a look at this chart…
http://bit.ly/desbYG
Then this one…
http://bit.ly/cPvF1e
Together they show a panorama of the last five years or so PRIOR TO last January. That stretches all the way back before anyone even thought Barack Obama even had a prayer of getting nominated, much less elected.
It’s a shocking picture, to be sure. It shows someone coming into the oval office in the same way that a bystander jumps in front of a wagon, out of control and with no brakes, speeding down a hill, about to run over a crowd of unsuspecting people.
And by damn, he’s slowing it down..And it’s happening in less than a year. If the nay-sayers let him do what he does best his administration will get good results. But I’m not optimistic.
In retrospect the worst judgment call may have been not kicking both houses of Congress in their collective butts before the August recess. It was during that time that the most dangerous collection of uninformed citizens in modern memory found a critical mass. Abetted by the Blue Dogs in a shameful display of political cowardice, the Tea Party got a running head start.
Barack Obama might slow the economic wildcat wagon. He has done yoeman’s work reaching out to what passes for a loyal opposition. And somehow he got the Blue Dogs whipped into some kind of order long enough to get something out of the House. But from where I am observing he looks like the political equivalent of an earthquake victim.
If he makes lemonade out of this latest lemon, it will be almost as impressive as turning water into wine.