President Obama appears to have completely "sold out." His approval rating plummeted, not because of Republicans, but because of how he is "negotiating" health care reform. Single-payer should have been used as a bargaining chip.

To compromise both single-payer and a public opton is to trade out health, financial stability and our nation's solvency in exchange for Blue Dog and Republican votes. This is a direct affront, and duplicitous act, against the very people who put him in office and gave him a majority in Congress to work with.

Follow the money.

A small number of legislators, the BlueDogs, have conspired with the repulsive Republicans to try and destroy the American economy and the economic future of American workers for the sake of political gamesmanship. They must be punished.

The lines of battle over the economic salvation of America and our working class are now crystal clear. It is Republicans and BlueDogs together on one side, acting in furtherance of the same Corporatists who ran public policy under Reagan and the Bushs, versus the rest of us.

Because having her in the Senate would have been truly awful.

Sen. Evan Bayh is working to create a Blue Dog coalition in the Senate and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid --quelle surprise!-- is "upbeat" about the idea.

Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) is trying to mobilize moderate Democratic Senators to form a group based loosely on the House Blue Dog Coalition.

“I think we have a wonderful opportunity to break the gridlock that has existed in Washington for too long,” Bayh said in an interview. “We need to do that in practical ways that will solve problems. The place that will be most important in striking that right balance will be in the Senate.”

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I don’t like Steny Hoyer. There’s just no way around it. Now he’s conspiring with Jay Rockefeller to force retroactive telecom immunity through Congress, so George Bush and his criminal conspiracy won’t have to answer any questions about violating the Constitution by spying on American citizens without warrants.

Again.

Did I mention I don’t like Steny Hoyer?

Scum. Primary challenges needed:

Some House Democrats were prepared to support immunity, regardless. In a Jan. 28 letter, 21 Democrats in the conservative Blue Dog Coalition sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi , D-Calif., supporting [retroactive] immunity and listing other provisions that they believed were needed in a FISA bill.

They wrote that the Senate bill “contains satisfactory language addressing all these issues, and we would fully support that measure should it reach the House floor without substantial change.”

Meanwhile, Steny Hoyer says:

Rahm "I hate Progressives" Emanuel.

How Emanuel came to his decisions about which candidates to support against Democratic opponents is known only to Emanuel and his staff. Emanuel declined direct comment on this story. But an examination of individual races reveals a pattern of financial and political support for wealthy conservative candidates and an assault on their grassroots-supported opponents who were running on platforms that included a full withdrawal of US forces from Iraq.

Go read the whole disgusting thing.

Open Left has a mailing list for people who want to take action against the Republican wing of the Democratic Party.

I'm in. How about you?

(via)

'It's empirically untrue.' Fo shizzle, Matt. How do you deal with people who cannot perceive, well, reality? It's a tough nut to crack. Matt says:

Building a different set of incentives for decision-makers is going to take a lot of work. The problem is a mixture of conventional wisdom, poor judgment, bad values, a lack of coordination with activists by progressive members, and inertia.

and I agree. Just off the top of my head:

The Hill:

Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Michael McConnell has quietly courted key members of the House Blue Dog Coalition for a short-term fix for the administration’s foreign-intelligence surveillance program, putting additional pressure on Democratic leaders to pass a bill before the end of the week.

McConnell’s office, however, started reaching out to Blue Dogs before negotiations intensified in an attempt to help leverage the Democratic Caucus. Rep. Bud Cramer (D-Capitulation), a member of the Intelligence Committee, said over the weekend McConnell asked him to organize a Blue Dog meeting, which was held on Tuesday in a secure location.

Interesting. Secure location where? Cheney's bunker?

The DNI’s office also reached out to Rep. Jane Harman (D-Capitulation), the former ranking member of the Intelligence panel who now chairs the intelligence subcommittee on the Homeland Security Committee. Pelosi denied her the top spot on Intelligence last winter.

Harman said that she has been privy to information about the increased terrorist “chatter” and believes there’s a real risk that terrorists could strike in this country in August, and that an overhaul of the bill could help the NSA deter it.

“The two of us became lead dogs on this,” Cramer said.

Nice work, there, Jane.

[Welcome, wingers [DCOW]. Welcome, PantLoads media. Enjoy reality...]

Somebody's talking to AP:

As Democratic leaders feud [nice trivialization there, AP!] with the White House on Iraq war spending, lawmakers from both parties are working quietly to break the impasse. House members will vote Thursday on a new Iraq bill hotly contested by the White House, opposed by nearly all Republicans and unlikely to survive in the Senate.

[A] dozen or so members in Congress [are] attempting to strike a Bipartisan compromise on the war...

And a "compromise" would look like what? More Friedman Units for Bush? Appointing Petraeus Consul by a consensus of the general will? Appointing Petraeus's horse consul? Stamping tiny feet and waving tiny fists and getting really, really mad like the Moderate Republicans just did?

"We'll see what happens," said Rep. Bud Cramer, D-Ala. "A lot of us are coming together across the aisle. We're under the radar now, but we're meeting."

Ah yes, Bud Cramer. Founder of the Blue Dogs. He'd betray Pelosi, the party, and the country in a heartbeat, wouldn't he? Especially if he could hold onto the increasingly irrelevant Southern rump's lock on the party.

So, that AP story chimes nicely with this Americablog story:

Sirota Speaks for me:

Let's see - polls show more than two thirds of Americans oppose President Bush's escalation plan, less than a quarter support his handling of the Iraq War, and the vast majority of the country thinks the war was a mistake and wants an exit strategy. Meanwhile, state legislatures are aggressively moving forward with resolutions demanding Congress use its power to stop Bush's escalation. What's the response from some top Democrats on Capitol Hill? Undermining their own leadership, of course. Here's this from the Washington Post:

Mom, Dad: I understand you better now. I just hope that I don't have to experience a Cambodia style aftermath in the Middle East, even as that hope is small. Raw Story:

But another sizable group of House Democrats is set to propose a different course today. The Democrats' Blue Dog Coalition -- comprised of more conservative Democrats -- will hold a press conference on the war at 11:30 am. Their proposal appears likely to include important differences from Murtha's legislation.

Currently including 44 members, the group describes itself as primarily "dedicated to a core set of beliefs that transcend partisan politics, including a deep commitment to the financial stability and national security of the United States."

snip

But one aide was able to say that "the Blue Dogs are not calling for troop withdrawal tomorrow, and they're not cutting off funding, but they do want accountability and responsibility."

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