A new block conservative Democrats in the Congress has formed what they call the Blue Dog Coalition. Their objective is to block President Obama's health care, energy and union organizing reforms. This is pretty clearly an effort to attract corporate money; by announcing they have the power to stop Obama's reform efforts, they can soak up millions from companies they would otherwise have to change their polluting or profiteering ways.
Robert Borosage of Campaign for America's Future writes at Huffington Post,
Note that in the California legislature we have the same problem in the Senate (in particular), with the self-identified "business Dems." At the blog Down With Tyranny! Joshua Grossman wrote a while back,
Robert Borosage of Campaign for America's Future writes at Huffington Post,
Meanwhile his organization has launched an effort to counter this, called Dog the (Blue) Dogs."The new Senate Blue Dogs claim, of course, to be high minded advocates of "fiscal responsibility." But this is often a cover for more parochial concerns. Nelson objects to the Obama budget because it calls for moving to direct lending for student loans, saving billions in subsidies to banks and using that money to pay for increased grant aid. Nelnet, a leading student lender, will be hit badly by the change. Its headquarters happen to be in Nebraska.
Kent Conrad argues piously that the deficits are too high, but that doesn't stop him for opposing Obama's call to save billions by paring the wasteful subsidies that go to agribusiness, leading contributors to Conrad's campaign coffers"
"It is time for progressives to "dog the dogs" -- to call conservative Democrats in the House and Senate and tell them to not be lapdogs for the "Dr. No's" on the right who want to obstruct the administration's common-sense agenda."Their list includes the following California members: Joe Baca (43), Dennis Cardoza (18), Jim Costa (20), Jane Harman (36), Loretta Sanchez (47), Adam Schiff (29), Mike Thompson (1).
Note that in the California legislature we have the same problem in the Senate (in particular), with the self-identified "business Dems." At the blog Down With Tyranny! Joshua Grossman wrote a while back,
"Meanwhile, the so-called "Business Dems" number almost half the Democrats in the state legislature and constantly force the watering down of progressive legislation if not ensuring its outright defeat."
Here is my question. Articles about the Blue Dogs seem to unfailingly label call these legislators 'centerists' and 'moderates.' A couple of examples: Centrists Flex Power of Veto and Moderate Democrats balking at Obama's spending plans. Why is this? What is 'centrist' or 'moderate' about going against the will of the people and the results of the last election or two? What is 'centrist' or 'moderate' about taking corporate cash and then voting for an agenda that enriches a very few at the expense of the rest of us?
So long as we allow corporations to buy elections, whether through these phony "PACS" or unlimited campaign spending, those with the most money (and that's the big corporate sources) will continue to win elections and control the leaders their dollars have bought.
Call it "Clean money" or just real campaign finance reform, unless we get there, the people will be shouted down by the moneyed interests. No rocket science here.
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