koyunbabaWhy Do We Have Blue Dogs?
July 29th 2009 22:54
As the health care debate continues, I sit here reflecting on the nature of politics in our country. I wonder, why do we have blue dogs? For those of you who are not familiar with the term, blue dog refers to the group of Democrat Representatives in the House who consider themselves "fiscal conservatives." For the most part, they claim to espouse liberal viewpoints, but when it comes to paying for potential liberal programs, they tend to shy away. Why? Because, due to the electoral process as it stands today in America, in order to get elected on the national level, one must raise millions of dollars to finance their campaign. While individual donors are an integral part of these campaign contributions, the big money comes from big business. And corporate lobbyists have become experts at picking candidates (liberal or conservative) that would be willing to vote on behalf of big business.
So here we stand, at the edge of real health care reform, with major Democratic majorities in the House and Senate, and yet a reform bill is being heavily scrutinized and gutted - not just by Republicans, but by BLUE DOGS! These representatives are NOT, I repeat, NOT looking out for their constituency. They are looking to get reelected, and in order to do so (in their minds), they must vote in the interests of those who contributed most to their respective campaigns. This is how a representative of the people is bought, and I am tired of it!
Here is my request, my plea. Wait, make that 2 requests.
1. Call your congressmen/women - call them all, send them letters, send them e-mails, and make yourself downright irritating. Tell them that you helped to elect them and that you want results - whatever they may be. Tell them that if you don't get the results you are looking for, you will not vote to re-elect them.
2. Request, beg, plead, demand, and advocate CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM! I'm not talking about more regulation here, I'm talking about removing a corporation's right to generate dollars for political campaigns. I'm talking about 100% of money coming directly from voters. 100% - remember, corporations DO NOT VOTE, therefore, they should not be represented in Congress!
Tell me what you think - am I ranting about nothing here or do you agree? Why the hell are we electing people who claim to be liberal when they vote conservative?
So here we stand, at the edge of real health care reform, with major Democratic majorities in the House and Senate, and yet a reform bill is being heavily scrutinized and gutted - not just by Republicans, but by BLUE DOGS! These representatives are NOT, I repeat, NOT looking out for their constituency. They are looking to get reelected, and in order to do so (in their minds), they must vote in the interests of those who contributed most to their respective campaigns. This is how a representative of the people is bought, and I am tired of it!
Here is my request, my plea. Wait, make that 2 requests.
1. Call your congressmen/women - call them all, send them letters, send them e-mails, and make yourself downright irritating. Tell them that you helped to elect them and that you want results - whatever they may be. Tell them that if you don't get the results you are looking for, you will not vote to re-elect them.
2. Request, beg, plead, demand, and advocate CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM! I'm not talking about more regulation here, I'm talking about removing a corporation's right to generate dollars for political campaigns. I'm talking about 100% of money coming directly from voters. 100% - remember, corporations DO NOT VOTE, therefore, they should not be represented in Congress!
Tell me what you think - am I ranting about nothing here or do you agree? Why the hell are we electing people who claim to be liberal when they vote conservative?
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