Put another open-seat race on the board: Rep. Mike Ross (D., Ark.) is retiring at the end of this term. Under its current lines, Ross’s 4th District scores an R+7 in the Cook Partisan Voting Index, and last year Sen. John Boozman took 70 percent of the vote against incumbent Democrat Blanche Lincoln in this district.
"Blue Fraud" is what I prefer to call them.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseBlue Dogs may be, by and large, not as they market themselves to be to potential voters, but I don't think it's really true that Democrats are all the same (specifically that they all vote the same). If Pelosi had had a much thinner margin in the last Congress, Obamacare wouldn't have passed; sure, certain members voted against Obamacare for political reasons rather than ideoglical principles, but I don't think it's really true that all Democrats think the same. This is not to say that a BD Democrat isn't fair less reliable than a conservative Republican in supporting the things I believe in, but not every Blue Dog is created equal. Assuming the Democratic caucus in the House of a certain size, I would prefer that they have more Mike Rosses and fewer Debbie Wasserman Schultzes.
That being said, the upside of taking over districts from Blue Dogs is that such districts are much easier for the GOP to keep over the long-term. It's exciting when Republicans (e.g., Djou, Cao, Brown) win heavily blue districts and states, but it's almost impossible to hold those seats for very long, especially if the GOP holder of that seat isn't a total RINO. Blue Dogs, on the other hand, tend to represent the lowest-hanging fruit for the GOP, esp. in open elections, and when the GOP takes over those seats, it doesn't give them back easily.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThey're definitely an endangered species. Their population dropped by half last election (down to 25) and will likely drop in half again this time.
Being in the minority in the House isn't much fun, unless you're a bomb-thrower like Wiener was. Many Dems this year, I suspect, will discover they want to 'spend more time with their family'.
Blue Dogs aren't just low-hanging fruit for Republicans, they're also low-hanging fruit for committed socialists in primaries.
Some, like Shuler, will also get knocked off due to redistricting.
The socialists are in full control of the Democratic Party, and have gone all-in for massive Government. Since every action has an equal an opposite reaction, this has resulted in the Tea Party. Grass roots Conservatives have begun the process of taking over the Republican Party. This isn't the game we grew up with, its now a death-match: Big Government vs Limited Government, with no room in the middle for moderates. Both Parties are seeing their moderates rapidly losing seats.
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