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The Spectacle Blog

What's the Difference Between a Blue Dog and a Liberal?

By Doug Bandow on 7.30.09 @ 11:12AM

The Blue Dogs talk conservative while voting liberal.

The new health care agreement is merely the latest in a long string of Blue Dog sell-outs. My Cato Institute colleague David Boaz wonders if the Blue Dogs will ever bite. He observes:

They call in the journalists, and they moan and complain about their concerns over the deficit and rising federal spending. And when the rubber meets the road, what happens?

They vote for whatever big spending bill is at issue.

The Blue Dogs need to understand that they won't be able to get away with conservative rhetoric in next year's election if they vote to nationalize the health care system. The generic ballot preference for Congress has turned Republican. A Blue Dog sell-out will make them particularly vulnerable in any GOP resurgence.

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BigSkyBob| 7.31.09 @ 7:54PM

What is the distinction that makes a difference between being a "Blue Dog" and a "Compassionate Conservative," other than the "Blue Dog" is morely likely to oppose "comprehensive immigration reform," and take a tougher line on fiscal deficits?

Again, the real scandal in Washington isn't whether, or not, Obama lied about his place of birth, or whether, or not, Chris Dodd and Kent Condrad, knowingly, or unknowingly accepted bribes from Mozilla. The real scandal is how poorly we governed.

The real scandal for conservatives is not that some Democrats talk right and govern left, rather the real scandal for conservatives is that the Republican party talks right and governs left.