Projo Politics Blog

The Democrats' key message in this campaign is "change." But while the word is most associated with their presidential candidate, Barack Obama, it also applies to the party's members of Congress.

As the Democrats' House membership expands, it is moving to the center, not to the left. This is thanks in large part to the success of the Blue Dogs. Blue Dog Democrats are centrists who tend to represent red or purplish parts of the country. Most are from the South or Midwest, where "traditional values" reign. Their campaigns can sound very conservative, and unsettling, to many liberals.

The Blue Dog Coalition now has 49 members. Liberal Democrats rejoiced when their party took three seats in special elections held in what's considered the Republican heartland. Two of them, Travis Childers, in Mississippi, and Don Cazayoux, in Louisiana, immediately joined the Blue Dogs.

I spoke with Dogs co-chairman Allen Boyd at a coalition reception, here in Denver. Boyd, who represents the Florida panhandle, was jubilant about the Blue Dogs' prospects in November. They have endorsed candidates for nine seats, eight of them now held by Republicans. Boyd is especially excited about Walt Minnick's chances of capturing Idaho's first congressional district, which includes Coeur d'Alene and Boise's western suburbs.

"Can you imagine a Democrat winning in Idaho?" Boyd said to me.

Obama wasn't the Dogs' first choice to head their ticket. They are avid deficit hawks and consider Bill Clinton's balanced budgets an emblem of fine leadership. Clearly, they would have preferred Hillary Clinton.

I asked Boyd about that, and he gave a philosophical answer. "Any discussion of what might be better is irrelevant," he said. "We move forward from here."

He's added that he's hopeful that Obama will help them sort through their key issues, which also include immigration, health care and energy. As for fiscal policy, the Blue Dogs are delighted that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi backs them on PayGo, the rule that requires any new spending to be covered by new revenues.

These guys do subscribe to the bipartisanship that Obama endorses. As Kansas Rep. Don Moore later told the crowd, "The American people want Democrats and Republicans to work together. Let the extremes at both ends go their own way."

 Tags  Blue Dogs Boyd Cazayoux Childers Minnick Moore Obama PayGo Pelosi

Comments

Marilyn said:

I am so bored by this convention. I wish it would end and save us all some energy. The Democrats have nothing to add to solutions.

Link | August 27, 2008 4:30 PM
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