EDITORIAL: When the 112th Congress voted on repealing Obamacare (HR.2), Rep. Dan Boren was one of two Democrats who voted to repeal.

Another Blue Dog bites the dust

On the heels of an election that decimated the Blue Dog ranks in Congress, one more conservative House Democrat is packing it in.  Unlike the Blue Dog Democrats who were tossed out by voters, Oklahoma Rep. Dan Boren is leaving of his own accord, announcing Tuesday he will not seek a fifth term.

His departure is the latest blow to the party’s moderate-conservative wing, a faction that is beginning to look like the nearly extinct Gypsy moth Republicans of the Northeast.

The Blue Dog decline has been sharp, to put it mildly. Following the 2008 elections, the coalition counted 54 House members. When the dust settled from the 2010 midterms, just 25 remained. There will be two fewer with the departures of Boren and Indiana Rep. Joe Donnelly, who is running for Senate.

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Related Content:  Republicans to target Boren’s seat, national GOP leader says – NewsOK

The Great Blue Dog Flip Flop – solidprinciples.com

By Craig Edwards

When Obamacare passed Congress in 2010, 39 so called ‘Blue Dog’ House Democrats voted against the bill.  Only 13 of which survived re-election in the 2010 Mid-Terms.  When the 112th Congress voted on repealing Obamacare (HR.2), only Rep. Dan Boren (OK-2), Rep. Mike McIntyre (NC-7), and Rep. Mike Ross (AR-4) voted to repeal.  The remaining 10 voted instead to keep Obamacare intact.

In the aftermath of this vote, Solid Principles decided it was time to measure the distance these new supporters of Obamacare have made since November 2010. These dissenting ‘Blue Dogs’ obtained considerable criticism from the far-left base for voting against Obamacare, now all is forgiven.  There was also speculation that Pelosi had approved their nay vote, all the 39 ‘Blue Dogs’ came from conservative districts, and no one wanted to face re-election by being the deciding vote on Obamacare. Even Rep. Stupak couldn’t carry that can, and he walked his own self appointed plank.

Through our own investigation, only a few Congressmen were more then willing to milk the accolades for publicity sake. Overall, the vast majority of these candidates conducted campaigns that avoided any association to the Health Care Reform Bill. Instead, great emphasis was placed on their opposition toward Bail-Outs, Washington spending, and their supportive nature towards Veterans.

BLUE DOG FLIP FLOPPER NO:1 – Rep. Heath Shuler [D-NC-11]

Rep. Shuler takes top ranking, not only for milking his ‘No Vote’, he boasts the point home in this You Tube video titled ‘Doing what’s best for our country...‘.  He claims:

“I voted against the Health Care bill because it cut Medicare, not cost.”

On the subject of Health Care in the ‘Issue’ section of his campaign website, Shuler removes any reference to Obamacare.  Had he not made this video, Rep. Altmire would’ve been the ‘standout’ by a mile.  DOWNLOAD PDF.

BLUE DOG FLIP FLOPPER NO:2 - Rep. Jason Altmire [D-PA-4]

Running a close second is Rep. Almire, mostly for this You Tube, ‘Congressman Altmire’s First Campaign Commercial‘ featuring ‘Joe Public’ supporting his ‘No Vote’ on Obamacare

Also on Altmire’s campaign website is a reposted letter titled ‘A Promise Kept’ from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette which supports Altmire’s recent no vote on Obamacare.  DOWNLOAD PDF

BLUE DOG FLIP FLOPPER NO:3: Rep. Daniel Lipinski [D-IL-3]

Rep. Lipinski is the ‘Blue Dog’ that almost got away with it.   With no You Tube channel to speak of to leave a pesky viral footprint, Lipinski drops the ball by issuing a statement on his campaign website on why he voted against Obamacare.

“For all of these reasons, I cannot support the health care bill. I am deeply disappointed that Congress did not develop a better bill. But whatever this bill’s fate, I will not stop fighting against special interests and for improvements to our health care system that will benefit all of the residents of the Third District. And in the days, weeks, and months ahead, I will continue working to create jobs and revive our economy.” DOWNLOAD PDF

BLUE DOG FLIP FLOPPER NO:4 – Rep. Ben Chandler [D-KY-6]

On his campaign website, Chandler makes no mention on Obamacare apart from a repost from the Herald-Leader newspaper’s endorsement of Ben Chandler

“Chandler’s independence was on display in his vote against Obama’s health care reform measure (we disagreed with him on that one nearly as much as we agreed with him on the cap-and-trade bill) and his refusal to vote for the bipartisan bailout of Wall Street”. DOWNLOAD PDF

On Chandler’s You Tube Channel there is no mention of Health Care, apart from a video in which Chandler shows support for Kentucky veterans and the Leestown Road VA Hospital.

BLUE DOG FLIP FLOPPER NO:5 - Rep. Steven Lynch [D-MA-96]

Rep. Lynch almost successfully avoided the ‘No Vote Card’ during his campaign. Even his You Tubes passed himself off as the working ‘everyman’, even stacking his website with ‘photos-a-plenty’ of Lynch posing with veterans.  Except for this statement featured on the ‘Issues’ section of Lynch’s site (most likely written by a ‘hack’ campaign worker) the egg from his subsequent ‘No vote’ on repealing HR.2, is now forever planted on his face.

“Stephen Lynch believes that every American should have access to quality healthcare, regardless of their employment status or income level. However, he believes that the health care reform law passed earlier this year is critically flawed, in that it does very little to reform the current fee for service system.” DOWNLOAD PDF

BLUE DOG FLIP FLOPPER NO:6 – Rep. Jim Matheson [D-UT-2]

Rep. Matheson deserves a special mention for his vast efforts placing enough distance between himself and his ‘No Vote’ on Obamacare.  Even his You Tube videos placed great emphasis on his opposition towards the Bank-Bail-Outs’. Once again, it’s the statement portion of his website that ties Matheson to the hip of his ‘No Vote’.  TIMBER!

“As the President has said, our health care problem is our deficit problem. I remain committed to ensuring that legislation is not only deficit neutral, but contains costs and is fiscally responsible over the long-term.” DOWNLOAD PDF

BLUE DOG FLIP FLOPPER NO: 7 – Rep. Collin Peterson [D-MN-7]

Peterson also played it safe, avoiding any association with his ‘No Vote’.   Even his You Tube campaign videos successfully avoided the topic of Health Care by wrapping Peterson in the flag, and attacking Washington’s appetite for spending.  In retrospect, this statement on Health Care (taken from his website) seems direct proof his ‘No Vote’ on Obamacare in 2010, was always going to be temporary.

“Health care reform is an important goal for our country, and I have always supported reform that will bring down the cost of health care without increasing our country’s growing debt. Now that President Obama has signed the landmark health care reform bill, I will work hard to make sure that the bill is implemented fairly.” DOWNLOAD PDF

BLUE DOG FLIP FLOPPER NO:8 – Rep. Tim Holden [D-PA-17]

Like Peterson, Holden too wrapped himself in the flag and targeted the Veteran Voters in his campaign videos. His only connection with Health Care on this campaign website was this vague statement.

“Out of control health care costs are hurting our businesses, putting jobs on the line, and driving working families into debt. Tim is fighting to provide affordable, quality health care to Pennsylvanians who need it without putting our economy in jeopardy.” DOWNLOAD PDF

BLUE DOG FLIP FLOPPER NO:9 – Rep. Larry Kissell [D-NC-8]

To distance himself from voting ‘No’, Kissell focused on job creation, expanding upon it further during his campaign videos. His only acknowledgement of Obamacare with his campaign website came from a media release of Kissell being Endorsed by Charlotte Post that mentions his ‘No’ Vote.

BLUE DOG FLIP FLOPPER NO:10 – Rep. John Barrow [D-GA-12]

Barrow wins the Obamacare Ninja Award for the being most ‘Stealth Blue Dog’ on the campaign front. Barrow left no hint on his ‘No Vote’ in 2010, either on his website or his campaign videos.  His Yes vote on HR.2 was so surprising, that I’m still stunned!

It came as no surprise that the Republican controlled Congress were able to get a repeal on Obamacare.  On the final vote, 245 to 189 the GOP manged three vote from rival Democrats.  As all the eyes looked towards Sen. Harry Reid’s desk and waited for his next move – no one bothered to do the math of those three votes.

When Obamacare passed in 2010, 39 Democrats voted against it.  When the November 2010 Mid-Terms came around, 17 of those nays lost their seats while 13 survived.  Out of those remaining in this congress, only 3 voted to repeal Obamacare.

THE BIG QUESTION

If these so called ‘Blue Dogs’ were so apposed to Obamacare, why is their post re-election flip-flop not being scrutinized more by political pundits?  There is no doubt any of these Blue Dog Democrats would’ve used language that clearly demonstrated they were adamantly against Obamacare in 2010 during their re-election campaign.

Their masquerade to stay in office is stunning, and you would hope it doesn’t work a second time for them.  If the 2010 voter sentiment was anything to go by, these 10 might want to start penning their concession speech ahead for 2012.

Craig Edwards

I just wanted to point that out briefly, as we head into this mid-term election.  For any of you who may live in a district that is represented by a self-labelled “Blue Dog,” be sure to go to VOTERSMART.ORG and check out their voting record before you walk into the voting booth on Nov.2  Lots of false advertising going on lately, don’t let them hustle you on how “conservative” they are.  As Ronald Reagan used to say, “Trust, but verify.”

~~John Cronin~~

Anti-abortion groups [Editor's note: we prefer the term "pro life"] are poised to launch a multimillion-dollar offensive against a collection of former allies — House Democrats who also oppose abortion — in an effort to discredit their credibility with anti-abortion voters and oust them from office.

Four separate campaigns are in the works, aimed at anti-abortion House Democrats who voted for the health care bill and designed around the notion that those Democrats signed on to legislation that lacked restrictions ensuring that federal funds would not be spent to provide coverage for abortions.

Some of the targeted members — largely, though not exclusively, vulnerable and junior Democrats — voted for the bill after Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) cut a deal with the White House that President Barack Obama would sign an executive order ensuring that the bill would not provide such funding.

This week, the Family Research Council Action political action committee announced that it would spend $500,000 targeting 20 House Democrats — many of them freshmen from districts with a high concentration of voters who oppose abortion.

“These people were viewed as pro-life until they decided to fold. You’re not pro-life unless you vote the right way when you need to,” said Tom McClusky, the organization’s senior vice president. “The pro-life issue is not to be bought and sold.”

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0410/36173.html

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