Ok, so you want to profile a Bush Dog Democrat. That's very good, because the first step in a campaign to offer sustained criticism to Bush Dog Democrats is to get to know the people voting against core progressive values at key moments. Who are they? What is their district like? Do they face a primary challenge or did they face a close election last cycle? This information needs to be accessible and in one place for easy access. With this profile, activists and donors can learn about these members, and we can run Google ad campaigns that target them effectively. Additionally, these members can then know what activists think of them.
Every Bush Dog at this point has been profiled. Not all of these are complete, and not all have been profiled by local activists, so if you think you can do a better job or know a lot about one of these members, don't hesitate to do another profile or leave a comment. I'll include as many profiles on the Bush Dog blogroll as people decide to write.
How do I do a profile of a Bush Dog?
Here are some good resources:
District information: SamL created a nice spreadsheet with district information for every Bush Dog
Open Congress: OC has a profile on every member's voting record, a collection of recent news and blog posts, and some voting record comparisons.
OpenSecrets: This site will show you who is donating to Congressional campaigns.
OpenSecrets Travel: This site will let you track who is paying for Congressional travel.
Progressive Punch: This site compares voting records of members to progressive stalwarts according to issue category.
What we need is a brief profile of the member, their voting record, their personality, and the district and its politics. Is there a primary challenge? Is the member well-suited for his or her district? Did the member do something to mitigate this criticism? Remember, this is not an attack, it's a profile so we can get to know these people and eventually persuade them to do the right thing. It doesn't have to be comprehensive or long, just enough to get a sense of who this person is and how they do their politics.
If you have a profile written, email me at stoller at gmail.com or leave the link in the comments. It doesn't matter if you profile someone who has already been profiled, that's fine, the more talk the better. And it doesn't matter if your profile is positive. This is a research project so far, not an attempt to primary these people.
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