LITTLE ROCK — “But it saddens to see the Blue Dogs in Congress becoming fewer and fewer. Over in Oklahoma, Dan Boren-another Blue Dog congressman-has announced he’s not going to run for re-election, either. Considering the popularity of this Democratic president, maybe these Democratic congressmen just see the writing on the wall. Or maybe they really are sick of Washington’s games and constant rudeness. Who wouldn’t be? Also, couldn’t they be sick of both their party and life (such as it is) in Washington?”
-Editorial, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, August 14, 2011, on the news that Rep. Mike Ross, D-Ark., was retiring from Congress MIKE ROSS may have got when the gettin’ was good. Oh, he’s still in the United States Congress, but he announced his decision to retire from that body back when it was still hot around here. Unbearably hot. The month was August, and good riddance. To August and summer, that is, not to Mike Ross.
Some of us have been pleasantly surprised with the gentleman from Prescott, Ark. He may have gone up to Washington, D.C., but he took his Arkansas values with him. He joined something called the Blue Dog Coalition in Congress. That was-slight and maybe premature emphasis on was-a group of conservative Democrats who didn’t necessarily kowtow to Nancy Pelosi and reflexively toe the liberal line.
There used to be many a conservative Democrat haunting Washington, D.C., just as there were many liberal Republicans. Remember when the liberals in the GOP were pushing through civil rights bills? And remember when conservatives in the Democratic Party were insisting on a strong defense? Well, you might remember if you’re over the age of 40. Or maybe 50. But once upon a time, chillen, the parties weren’t so polarized that they couldn’t mix and match. And that was a good thing. Better to have conservatives and liberals in each party, because that way lies compromise-the good kind-and America’s business got done in the nation’s capital. The other way lies what the country has seen the past few years: parties on opposite sides of a political gulf, and acting as if any show of good will was treason-lest the fire eaters in your own party pitch you into the abyss.
The honorable Mike Ross remained a loyal Democrat, but he was of the Blue Dog variety, which meant he voted as a conservative on many issues.He was good for his party. Now he’ll leave Congress. And leave Congress poorer as a result.
Next door in Oklahoma, another Blue Dogger, Dan Boren, announced his retirement, too. Again, that was back in the summer.
Word comes now that yet another Blue Dogger-Dennis Cardoza of California-is retiring. Goodness, are there any more Blue Dogs left in Congress?
Answer: not many. In the 2010 midterms, the Blue Dogs lost more than half their seats to Republicans. Now federal game wardens have only been able to count 26 of the critters in the wild. And the pack’s leaders are even more endangered. Mike Ross was a co-chair and Dan Boren was the outfit’s whip.And every month it seems that there’s another press release announcing a Blue Dog retirement.
Speaking of press releases, Representative Cardoza’s didn’t hold back when it came to criticizing . . . no, not Republicans, but the leader of his own party, aka the president of the United States. In writing, no less: “Looking back on disappointments, I am dismayed by the administration’s failure to understand and effectively address the current housing foreclosure crisis. Home foreclosures are destroying communities and crushing our economy, and the administration’s inaction is infuriating.”
Then the gentleman from California offered this:
“As a leader of the centrist Blue Dog Coalition, I am also disappointed by the broadcast media’s general lack of attention to moderate members of Congress, and their failure to recognize those members of all ideologies who work together to build consensus and solve problems. The constant focus on ‘screamers’ and the ‘horse race’ of elections is smothering useful discourse and meaningful debate of public policy. This, in turn, is fueling the increasingly harsh tone in American politics. My experience tells me that those who shout the loudest, and give the most speeches, have the fewest good solutions for America’s challenges.”
Volume does not equal relevance.
It’s disappointing to lose so many Blue Dogs. They helped pull their party to the center. With each retirement and election loss they suffer, their party shifts further and further toward Nancy Pelosi and her knee-jerk politics. And if you think that’s good for the country, you’re already much too close to her party line and to rendering the Democratic Party irrelevant. There’s a reason she’s the former speaker of the House.
Editorial, Pages 20 on 10/26/2011