Blue Dogs break with Dems on balanced-budget amendment

[chill_wind]

Blue Dogs break with Dems on balanced-budget amendment
By Russell Berman - 11/16/11 08:30 PM ET

The conservative-Democrat Blue Dog Coalition officially endorsed the House Republican balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution, breaking with Democratic Party leaders and the White House.
The support from the 25-member bloc keeps GOP hopes alive that the measure, scheduled for a final vote Friday, could gain the two-thirds support necessary to pass.

“We were advancing a balanced-budget amendment when balanced-budget amendments weren’t cool,” a co-chairman of the coalition, Rep. Mike Ross (D-Ark.), told reporters on a conference call.

Another Blue Dog leader, Rep. Jim Matheson (D-Utah), said he expected “a significant majority” of members to support the amendment, and sent a blunt warning to Blue Dogs who might oppose it.

The decision to endorse the measure puts the Blue Dogs directly at odds with the Democratic leadership and with a longtime ally of the coalition, Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (Md.). Hoyer supported a similar amendment when it gained 300 House votes in 1995, but he is opposing it now because he said he cannot trust the Republican Party to make responsible fiscal decisions and waive the requirement in an emergency.

http://thehill.com/homenews/house/194023-blue-dogs-break-with-dems-endorse-balanced-budget-amendment

I haven't checked for position statements from the Third Way/New Dem sites, but it seems likely there will be some ample overlap there with that bloc as well.

[still_one]

1. The fuc*ing blue dogs have destroyed the Democratic party, and why it is where it is today

[Tippy]

17. K&R

[redqueen]

24. Blue Dogs, New Democrats... by any name they are known

they are indeed the reason for the situation we're in now.

[TheKentuckian]

42. Just say Turd Way and we'll no the cast of fuckwits you are speaking of in all their flavors

[quinnox]

2. fuck em

They are falling into the republicans trap of only being "very concerned" about balanced budgets when a Democrat is in the White House. Where were all these budget hawks when Bush was spending like a Las Vegas gambler.

[ladjf]

6. yes. nt

[Scuba]

3. DINO's. n/t

[BlueCaliDem]

4. Blue Dogs?? Call them what they are: Republicans running on a D ticket.

Let's not forget, Democrats have the majority of the American people behind them. The GOP knows this. So, not having the numbers to retain power in our government, they run one of their own as a Democrat; one who will always vote with them on important issues, and against Democrats on those very same, important issues.

Blue Dogs: the quintessential Manchurian pol.

[sasha031]

20. +1 you are so right

:thumbsup:

[still_one]

23. My cynical side believes that this is part of the repuke strategy to infiltrate the Democratic party

[BlueCaliDem]

34. I don't put it past them. They do it all the time on other levels

like that woman who taped Senator Obama saying that bitter and loving their guns and religion thing. She was there, as a Democrat. Tell me, what Democrat would want to put the candidate for president in that precarious situation where she *knows* it'll be twisted by corporate media?

I can list a LOT of other occurrences, but I'll have to look in my archive.

This is about a LOT of power and control of the most powerful country in the world. It's not impossible to believe they'll do whatever it takes to keep as much power for their corporate masters as they can.

[Snotcicles]

30. Blue Dogs?? Call them what they are: Imposters. nt

[mod mom]

41. The GOP infiltrated w Bill Clinton (Jackson Stephens financed his campaign)

I held my nose and voted for Clinton and now am partially responsible for the repeal of Glass Steagall, MFN status for China, Telecom Act of '96, free trade shifting a mercian jobs. I will NEVER vote for another POS faux D again. Evar!

[BlueCaliDem]

43. The Gramm-Leach-Blilely Act passed with veto-proof majorities in Congress

but I don't know if the President is still obligated to sign the bill into law. Could President Clinton have refused to sign it if he so chose?

But you're right about President Clinton, although I'd place the lion's share of the blame on so-called Democrats in Congress. They're the ones who keep giving the GOP what they want. It should make us wonder if they're really Dems, or are they Republicans elected with D's beside their names just to get elected?

The U.S. government is the most powerful government in the world, and a lot's at stake. I wouldn't put it past the GOP to push Republicans to run as Democrats.

If you can't beat'em (the majority of the country is Progressive, not REgressive), infiltrate, join'em and blow them up from the inside out.

[mmonk]

5. The US has a 1 1/2 party system.

[chill_wind]

16. Throw in Third Way

on most matters and I'm not sure we have even that.

[girl gone mad]

7. That would ensure depression.

Learn some economics, dopes.

[RB TexLa]

8. And the opposition to a balanced budget is?

[stillwaiting]

10. Wrong bat-time. Wrong bat-channel. nt

[chill_wind]

12. You're seriously asking?

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2011/11/16/370172/blue-dog-democrats-endorse-balanced-budget-amendment-that-would-double-unemployment-gut-social-safety-net/

[Philosopher King]

14. Because it will ultimately end the practice of stealing bacon from the future.

[chill_wind]

28. delete- wrong place

[Philosopher King]

22. *

[chill_wind]

29. This is a Tea Party wet dream. Why are you supporting this? And it appears that you are.

http://www.cbpp.org/files/11-15-11bud.pdf

[Kingofalldems]

50. Looks familiar.

[JoeyT]

33. There isn't any objection to a balanced budget.

What people object to is that "balanced budget" is now a dog whistle that means "Fuck the poor and middle class as hard and fast as humanly possible.".

Any time you hear someone say "I think we should balance the budget", what follows will inevitably be demands for cuts to every social welfare program, infrastructure program, and non-military R&D program.

Asking "And the opposition to a balanced budget is?" is like asking why someone objects to patriotism because they oppose the Patriot Act.

[jmowreader]

48. The opposition to the balanced budget amendment is only logical

This is it:

http://goodlatte.house.gov/system/uploads/92/original/HJ2.pdf

It allows Congress to ignore it with a three-fifths majority vote in both houses.
It requires a three-fifths majority in both houses to raise the debt ceiling
It requires a "rollcall vote" for tax increases
It allows the amendment to be ignored when there's a war going on, and since there ALWAYS seems to be a war going on...
It defines "outlays" as "all outlays of the US Government except for those for repayment of debt principal."

I interpret it as a very-difficult-to-get-rid-of way to completely destroy the government.

[Huey P. Long]

9. Of course they have! I guess the WH and country have no choice now but to go along.

More pain ahead for the 99%.

[n2doc]

11. I am a bit surprised they don't have this part in it:

"This amendment is only to be enforced during times when a Democratic Party member is President. When a Republican Party member is President, this Amendment shall be put on hiatus until their term ends"

[closeupready]

13. Blue Dogs are not Democrats; they are Republicans.

nt

[Bigmack]

15. How about an amendment to keep households...

from borrowing, too?

If the government can't borrow on the future, why should households be able to?

Let's call it the "Balanced Household Budget" amendment.

That should put the final nail in the coffin of the housing and consumer market.

[ProfessionalLeftist]

18. Because they're NOT "Dems" - they're Republicans.

They ought to just drop the damn pretense and switch parties - stop undermining the DEMOCRATIC party.

[Jackpine Radical]

19. Remember when Rahm backed these assholes against progressive opponents?

In some situations, that choice blew up in their faces right away--think Blanche Lincoln & Bill Halter. In other cases, like right now, we're paying for that strategy on the installment plan, and the balloon payment just came due.

[chill_wind]

21. CBPP

November 15, 2011
PROGRAM CUTS UNDER A BALANCED BUDGET AMENDMENT:
HOW SEVERE MIGHT THEY BE?
By Richard Kogan

Read the analysis at the link (6 pages)

http://www.cbpp.org/files/11-15-11bud.pdf

[Proud Liberal Dem]

25. This still has to pass the Senate by 2/3 vote I presume?

:shrug:

[tabatha]

37. I thought the vote had happened and it failed.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

39. It did today

This thread was started earlier this week.

[tabatha]

40. HHmmm. thanks. Don't know how I came to it.

[sarcasmo]

26. This is the exact reason we ned a third party that represents the poor and working

class.

[Zorra]

27. Corporate whores. "support from the 25-member bloc keeps GOP hopes alive"

Blue Dog support keeps the Republican Party alive.

[boston bean]

31. Maybe this is a good reason to not just vote for someone because there is a D after the name, no? n

[chill_wind]

32. A little more background

Balanced-Budget Amendment: Fix or Fantasy?
By Joseph J. Schatz, CQ Staff

http://public.cq.com/docs/weeklyreport/weeklyreport-000003976651.html

[vcc]

35. does anybody have a list of which ones?

[tabatha]

36. I thought the vote had been taken and it failed.

Blue Dogs need to be voted out.

[Telly Savalas]

45. Blue Dogs aren't going anywhere unless people run against them.

I'd feel a little more optimistic about the future of this country if there were more threads at DU discussing a broad range of viable candidates. Beyond Elizabeth Warren, there doesn't seem to be too much out there.

[tabatha]

38. *** This article WRITTEN 11/16/11 08:30 PM ET ***

It is now 11/18/11


The vote FAILED !!!

[Telly Savalas]

44. Blue Dog Congresspeople: "Even though we can't pass a balanced budget

we're going to try to force future Congresses to do so."

Not to say that imposing austerity measures during an economic downturn is a good idea. I'm just saying that it's childish and stupid for Congress to demand that their future counterparts do something they're unwilling to do now.

[StreetKnowledge]

46. Forget All of the Idiots.

Every one of these dirtbags. They are playing the game, allowing the GOP's War on America. All of these people should be tossed out on their asses.

[woo me with science]

47. Of course they do. nt

[nadinbrzezinski]

49. So how shocked should I pretend to be?

[stillwaiting]

51. Blue Dogs support Dems on ANY economic legislation is the only news worth reporting.

The Blue Dogs routinely vote against traditional Democratic economic policy positions.

They are right wingers to the core.

Blue Dogs, and New Dems, and Thirds, Oh My!