Blue Dogs May Sell-Out On Health Care

This concept starting to be pushed by the Democrat leadership needs to focus our attention. If any of these so-called moderate Democrats help pave the way for a more liberal bill to move forward only to vote against it in the end in an end run of the sixty vote requirement, they need to be held to account just as if they had voted for passage of the bill.

Even word of this potential scenario does nothing but weaken ones running in moderate districts in 2010. It suggests they can't actually be trusted on such a significant piece of legislation as health care reform.

Given the steep climb toward 60, Senate Democratic leaders have begun to make another argument to lawmakers. They are pressing colleagues to vote with the party on procedural matters related to health care legislation and against any filibuster — a 60-vote issue — even if they intend to oppose the measure in the end when simple majority rules.

Senators are usually reluctant to clear the way for a bill they might vote against since they relinquish their most powerful leverage, but the message is evidently reaching some.

“It is difficult to ask someone to facilitate the enactment of legislation with which they disagree,” Mr. Bayh said. “But to move the process forward, to improve things, to get to the point where you can support it substantively, that of course I would be willing to do.”

Comments

[Meadow]

The last I heard, the expectation is that Ms Snow will give the Dems their magic number 60.

I sure hope everyone is taking names and making a wish list of who will not return to DC (or individual State admins) in 2010 and 2012.

They are supposed to work FOR us, not against us.

[mark l.]

I thought when she bailed on baucus and the gang of six, it was over.

My guess is that the dmes were going to string snowe along, get her to vote for reconcilation, and then change the bill to their needs. -modest hat tip to snowe-it would appear that she was the one who was stringing the dems along, for months, into their own waterloo. The dem army is about to completely disband after marching for months.

nancy is crying today, because she was just told it is over.

[neomom]

mark l.

It is NEVER over.

[mark l.]

it may never be over, but nancy is crying today.
no one does "lamentations" better than pelosi. her rxn was characteristic of someone who has received bad news.

if healthcare had a chance, we would have gotten the rosy, "i have the votes" speech.

[MarkJ]

“It is difficult to ask someone to facilitate the enactment of legislation with which they disagree,” Mr. Bayh said. “But to move the process forward, to improve things, to get to the point where you can support it substantively, that of course I would be willing to do.”

Oh, Evan "Super Genius" Bayh is soooooo clever. It's like asking a condemned prisoner, "If you help us find a vein in which to inject the poison, we pinky-promise we'll think REAL hard about commuting your sentence."

It's clear that stupidity and arrogance are no longer barriers to a successful Senate career, huh?

[Ran]

In today's world of the interweb thingy, we keep track of such votes, and the word gets out. Voting to relax rules or do the end-run is going to be noted precisely as such by constituents... no-one would dare try to hide behind a final "NO!" vote if they had voted "yes" on procedural runarounds.

Hey - Pelosi and Reid promised "accountability" and bless 'em, they will get it. They all will.

[K]

We must face facts. Some of the Blue Dogs can and will be bribed or intimidates by the Democratic leadership.

And there are several GOP Senators like Snowe who may do anything; the only certainyy is they can never be relied upon.

Right now they are sparring, looking for an individual advantage or present, worried about voters, trying to trade favors and evade consequences. Only when the bills come out will we know the votes.

Even then we won't know what be enacted.

All sorts of crap will be added or changed during the reconciliation process to make the house and senate bills identical.

[rwisher]

If Snowe goes, I think that state should fire her, even if she is replaced by a Democrat. At least then, you'll know from which direction the knife thrust is coming.

They may ram it through, but they will take damage for doing it. Here is the question you need to ask. What in it do we not see that makes this all worthwhile for them? The Chicago Machine is gunning for the money they can steal and the unions they can fill. Maybe that is enough. But is there something else?

[crosspatch]

Which Blue Dogs do or do not sell out depends, I believe, on two things. Does their state have an open or closed primary and by how much did of a margin did they win the last election.

If they *barely* won the election last time, they are going to be vulnerable to DNC threats to run an opposition candidate and withhold funding. This is particularly true if it is a closed primary. If it is an open primary, they could possibly see their popularity go up by opposing things like the health care bill and might be able to snub the party intimidation tactics.

If they won by a large margin, they are somewhat less vulnerable to the threat to run an alternative candidate but still more vulnerable in closed primary states depending on the sense of the base in their district.

A Blue Dog who did well in the general election in a district with a large number of independent voters but a partisan base loyal to the party leadership in a closed primary state will likely be tempted to switch parties if he goes against the Democratic leadership.

In the end, though, expect Blue Dogs to sell out or switch parties if they plan to make any kind of a career out of Congress.