| cross-posted at Dailykos
Ah, the Bush Dog Democrats. So far, the reception has been pretty great. Clearly, you all are hungry for a way to tell Democratic leaders and Bush Dogs to stop enabling the Bush administration. And of course, the wingnuts are freaking out, it's always a nice bonus to hear them squeal and defend conservative Democrats. It's probably the only time they do defend Democrats.
Anyway, for a background on the project, go here. We think that there's a group of conservative Democrats who are screwing up Pelosi's ability to lead the House in a progressive direction, and so we're doing research on them.
Here is a list of the Bush Dogs who you have profiled so far. 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. (By the way, Left in Ohio and Buckeyestate Blog, there's nothing stopping you from writing a positive profile of Charlie Wilson and Zach Space putting their Bush Dog votes in context.). Sam L has created a nice spreadsheet to help you get started with district information for every Bush Dog, and there are more resources on voting patterns at Open Congress's individual representative pages. Open Secrets has a nice profile of their top donors, and you can even find out whose sponsoring their travel at this neat little part of the Open Secrets site.
Here are current profiles.
And just so you know why it's important, here's an article Chris pointed to on Bush Dog Democrat Melissa Bean.
Two years, a $12 million campaign and a 7-point victory later, her sophomore greeting was decidedly different: a line of newly elected Democrats from GOP-leaning districts, eager to learn Bean's secrets of electoral success.
Bean, a self-styled pro-business Democrat from a slice of Chicago's north and northwest suburbs long dominated by the GOP, has become an archetype for many of the congressional rookies whose victories delivered control of the House to Democrats last fall -- and whose fortunes in 2008 will determine whether the new majority lasts another two years....
In Congress, Bean preached fiscal discipline and courted business leaders for support and campaign cash. She bucked the Democratic line and angered organized labor leaders by voting for free-trade deals...
When the victors arrived to form the new Democratic majority in Congress, several turned to Bean again.
Giffords said Bean emphasized the importance of "voting your district" over the party line, which for Giffords meant voting with Republicans on several get-tough-on-illegal-immigrants measures. (The NRCC has criticized her on other immigration votes.)...
Bean's approach has won fans among business groups that traditionally lean Republican -- the U.S. Chamber of Commerce co-hosted a fundraiser for her in Chicago last month -- and the respect of several elected Republicans in her district.
Hard right racist on immigration, pro-business, anti-labor, strong neoliberal, I wouldn't mind this so much, except that she's contagious. Congresscritters are following her lead.
There's your problem, right there. We have to kill that conventional wisdom that being a right-wing Democrat is the correct model for getting elected.
So profile a Bush Dog. It's fun. And leave your links in the comments. |
