Here is what is left of the blue dogs

[ps1074]

Total Blue Dogs before election - 54
Total Blue Dogs after election - 23
Too close to call - 3


Blue Dog Leadership Team

Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (SD), Blue Dog Co-Chair for Administration - defeated
Rep. Baron Hill (IN-09), Blue Dog Co-Chair for Policy - defeated
Rep. Jim Matheson (UT-02), Blue Dog Co-Chair for Communications - projected winner
Rep. Heath Shuler (NC-11), Blue Dog Whip - projected winner

Blue Dog Members

Altmire, Jason (PA-04) - winner
Arcuri, Mike (NY-24) - defeated
Baca, Joe (CA-43) - winner
Barrow, John (GA-12) - winner
Berry, Marion (AR-01) - retired
Bishop, Sanford (GA-02) - winner
Boren, Dan (OK-02) - winner
Boswell, Leonard (IA-03) - winner
Boyd, Allen (FL-02) - defeated
Bright, Bobby (AL-02) - defeated
Cardoza, Dennis (CA-18) - winner
Carney, Christopher (PA-10) - defeated
Chandler, Ben (KY-06) - too close to call
Childers, Travis (MS-01) - defeated
Cooper, Jim (TN-05) - winner
Costa, Jim (CA-20) - too close to call
Cuellar, Henry (TX-28) - winner
Dahlkemper, Kathy (PA-03) - defeated
Davis, Lincoln (TN-04) - defeated
Donnelly, Joe (IN-02) - winner
Ellsworth, Brad (IN-08) - retired
Giffords, Gabrielle (AZ-08) - too close to call
Gordon, Bart (TN-06) - retired
Harman, Jane (CA-36) - winner
Herseth Sandlin, Stephanie (SD) - defeated
Hill, Baron (IN-09) - defeated
Holden, Tim (PA-17) - winner
Kratovil, Jr., Frank (MD-01) - defeated
McIntyre, Mike (NC-07) - winner
Markey, Betsy (CO-04) - defeated
Marshall, Jim (GA-08) - defeated
Matheson, Jim (UT-02) - winner
Melancon, Charlie (LA-03) - retired
Michaud, Mike (ME-02) - winner
Minnick, Walt (ID-01) - defeated
Mitchell, Harry (AZ-05) - defeated
Moore, Dennis (KS-03) - defeated
Murphy, Patrick (PA-08) - defeated
Murphy, Scott (NY-20) - defeated
Nye, Glenn (VA-02) - defeated
Peterson, Collin (MN-07) - winner
Pomeroy, Earl (ND) - defeated
Ross, Mike (AR-04) - winner
Salazar, John (CO-03) - defeated
Sanchez, Loretta (CA-47) - winner
Schiff, Adam (CA-29) - winner
Schrader, Kurt (OR-05) - winner
Scott, David (GA-13) - winner
Shuler, Heath (NC-11) - winner
Space, Zack (OH-18) - defeated
Tanner, John (TN-08) - retired
Taylor, Gene (MS-04) - defeated
Thompson, Mike (CA-01) - winner
Wilson, Charles (OH-06) - defeated

[Syrinx]

1. Gene Taylor thought "I voted for McCain" would save him

But I think that little comment may've cost him some Democratic votes.

[butterfly77]

37. Oh,I didn't know he lost..

yaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!:toast: :party: :bounce: :fistbump: :applause: :applause: :applause:

[truedelphi]

2. Thank you for compiling this list.

A pretty handy guide of what we progressives are up against.

[suzie]

9. The so-called 'progressives" naivete about politics would seem to be what you're up against.

[Tesha]

10. There was very little we were naive about.

We told you that if the Democrats didn't take some dramatic steps
to accomplish their campaign promises, they'd lose in 2010 (and
2012, BTW).

They passed the Great Giveaway to Banks and Rich Financiers Act of 2009
and the Great Health Insurance Giveaway Act of 2010 and did damn little
else of substance; certainly nothing for the common folks.

And now they've lost, in one of the most spectacular electoral disasters
of modern times.

We were right, you were wrong, now get over it.

Tesha

[suzie]

12. Forming a circular firing squad and then bragging because it worked so well.

I guess you're correct, it wasn't naivete.

Some people are just so self-absorbed that they care only about their own views and not the overall good.

My mistake.

[truedelphi]

33. Hey we aren't the ones who asked Rahm to go around the nation, circa 2005-2006, & make sure that

Local progressives were destroyed in order to let their Blue Dog Competitors win. And then lamenting the fact that in 2009 there simply were not the votes to get things like the public option done.

We weren't the ones who immediately upon achieving the Oval Office suddenly became about bipartisanship and "reaching out across the aisle" (While calling the very base of voters responsible for their mandate "retards")

Anyway as far as the firing squad analogy, Pot, please meet Kettle.

[suzie]

40. Sorry, but as one who lives in a formerly Blue Dog district, where we'll never see

another Democrat elected in my lifetime, I'm so grateful to those of you who trashed Blue Dogs every chance you got.

Thanks so much.

And he wasn't put into office by Rahm Emanuel, and had a long term voting record for women's issues better than that of your beloved DK.

But, he was a Blue Dog and certainly we deserved a Republican instead. Thank you, thank you.

[Tesha]

43. Try running a true Progressive who knows how to put people first *AND*...

...how to communicate the fact that he will do that/
is doing that.

Maybe you would find that candidate gets more votes
than you might have thought.

Wot the Hell, if you think you're never going to see
another Democrat elected in your lifetime, you might
as well give it a shot -- what have you got to lose?

Tesha

[suzie]

55. Just because DUers sit at keyboards and fantasize that "true progressives" will

win in conservative districts doesn't mean that anything of the sort will happen in the real world of politics.

Or that those of us who live in conservative districts haven't watched "true progressives" go down to defeat.

But, fantasizing about politics is probably a lot more fun than being involved in the reality.

[suzie]

61. Sorry, I wrote the previous response before I thought about it.

My question to you is: Have YOU ever run for office as a "True Progressive" in a Red state, in a conservative district?

Have YOU taken a year out of your life to run for office, working at it every moment, day and night?

Have YOU been willing to give up a large portion of your income for a year to run a losing campaign for an office?

Have YOU been willing to give up spending time with your family, children, friends for a year of your life?

Have YOU been willing to ask all your friends and family to contribute after tax dollars to a losing effort?

Have YOU ever spent a year driving the district, shaking hands, talking to people, working with your friends, your family only to discover that you received 25% of the vote?

Have YOU ever spent all that time, money, and a part of yourself only to discover that people would vote only for the R or D behind the name?

If you haven't, then please refrain from stupid moralizing to others about "Try this".

[reggie the dog]

58. I care about the common good

that is why i want Democratic leadership to take a clear, firm stand for liberal and progressive values, in opposition to the laissez faire, racism, and homophobia progected by the Republicans

[auburngrad82]

19. Oviously it's better to be in the minority and get nothing donThey passed than to have a blue dog

"They passed the Great Giveaway to Banks and Rich Financiers Act of 2009
and the Great Health Insurance Giveaway Act of 2010 and did damn little
else of substance; certainly nothing for the common folks."

It's a sad day when so called "progressives" spout right wing rhetoric and rationalize the loss of their government as a cleansing of the moderates.

Good luck with that. You're going to need it for the foreseeable future.

[Tesha]

25. I understand that, given the stages of grief that we all have...

...have passes through or will pass through over
the next few months that it's hard to accept this,
but please, please *DO* accept this: in our twenty
one months as the absolute government of this
nation, our Party accomplished essentially
*NOTHING* that mattered to the common folk
in a way that they could understand it mattering.

When you can accept that, you will understand why the
electoral reaction of 2010 was inevitable by about
January of this year.

Tesha

[treestar]

35. this is as crazy as saying O'Donnell lost because she was not

right wing enough. The opposite happened in Delaware. The Repukes replaced a moderate candidate with an extreme won and took a big beating on a seat they could have won.

Likewise, if the Democrats chose left wing liberals in the places where the Blue Dogs had run, they'd have taken an even bigger trouncing.

[Tesha]

36. No problem then; you just keep doing what you've been doing.

But please keep in mind that famous definition
of insanity.

Tesha

[treestar]

38. Insanity is thinking that a district that sends a Blue Dog Democrat

Is a district that would vote for a very liberal Democrat over a Republican.

[Tesha]

39. Do you think there's no force on Earth that could educate these voters...

...to vote in *THEIR* best interests instead of the Oligarchy's best interests?

If you really believe that, we might as well quit now.

Tesha

[treestar]

49. Well to quote the 8 zillion DU posts

about how "insulted" they are by the President's actions, etc., why would conservatives in Blue Dog districts be "educated" by telling them they are so damn stupid they don't vote for progressives? How do you get them to vote for progressives? By ranting on about how the Democrats are not progressive enough?

[reggie the dog]

64. no, by explaining to them how they, their children, their grandchildren

their friends and family will benefit from liberal policies. i believe that is how kucinich keeps winning in his district which is not santa cruz by a long shot

[reggie the dog]

60. I grew up in a district that is usually republican

in the suburbs of chicago, the centrist dems often lose to the republican because there is very little difference in their messages so people think they may as well vote for the person going all the way instead of the person going half way. were a liberal to run people may just get the idea that the Democrat is willing to go all the way and vote for them instead of a Republican.

We disagree here but I would love to have Howard Dean on here for a chat and see what he thinks of your idea, he did have the 50 state strategy and i wonder what he would think about running liberals, as opposed to centrists, in very republican areas..

[reggie the dog]

63. how many very liberal districts voted Reagan?

was Reagan a centrist? he seemed pretty hard right to me, yet he carried what was it? 48 states??? MN and was it MA that did not vote for him??? everywhere else did... was he a centrist or did he have a message which was clearly different from that of carter?

[reggie the dog]

59. Just a question

did Kucinich run in a place where democrats always won or is it something about his politics that appeals to voters in a very red state to vote him in 8 times in a row?

[Leopolds Ghost]

50. "sensible centrists" have reason to be upset--they agree with their former Blue Dogs on every issue.

They see their districts as irreducibly red, havens of pro-business, pro-Wall Street sentiment where the problems of the working man are caused by government and "progressive" irresponsibility. Unfortunately, many of their neighbors actually DO see it that way and are self-entitled "sensible centrists" who view rural, white middle class (most of whom live in the suburbs and are only characterized as Middle American because their cities are devoid of culture) as inherently superior and entitled to remain a notch above other classes, even when Wall Street reduces them to poverty.

That's why they refer to "the left" as "you people" or "those people", i.e. untouchable, demeaning label.

Also unfortunately, the New Democrat wing of the party is dedicated to proving that government CAN screw over rural (and urban) working class in the name of Wall Street. They want to turn urban areas into electorally impregnable, depression proof havens for the rich, so the rest of the country can be reduced to second world status and NY/SF/LA/DC will keep on humming as outposts of the global economic dictatorship, like Sao Paulo. Who do you think owns all those high rises? The global economic corporate regime. So you have two groups (Blue Dogs and urban New Democrats) dedicated to trashing the ideals of the left.

Both groups are anti-New Deal, or any other populist ideal, so both groups can gradually go the way of the dodo.

[chimpymustgo]

30. You've summed up this disaster pretty well.

[reggie the dog]

57. the centrists are naive

they compromise with people who are unwilling to compromise (the right wing) so what you get are Republicans with a hard line, clear argument which they never compromise and the Democrats with a wishy washy middle of the road compromised line which they compromise even more when the Republicans scare them on TV

[truedelphi]

62. And it sure doesn't take much for the Republicans to scare them. n/t

[flpoljunkie]

27. I second that. Thanks!

[denem]

3. Lost 30 seats. Punching well above their weight ;)

[Syrinx]

4. Loretta Sanchez is a blue dog?

I would not have guessed that.

[David__77]

7. There are different shades of "blue."

She is perhaps the most anomalous. She is a former Republican actually, and her district was pretty right-wing when she won it way back in 1996. There's some expediency to her "Blue Dog" status originally.

[Syrinx]

8. I did not realize that

She always seemed to be pretty liberal to me. I had no idea she was a former Republican. It kind of makes me sad to hear that.

[frylock]

34. you may be thinking of her sister, linda..

linda is a liberal.

[vaberella]

5. I think we cleaned house pretty well then. n/t

[FBaggins]

6. Don't consider the list complete at this point.

We could easily see a handful of them switch parties.

The caucus has certainly shifted to the left (which isn't a bad thing... just a fact) and they'll feel less at home than ever.

The most likely ones are those in states where republicans now control redistricting. Heath Shuler here in NC, for instance, could see his district redrawn to be much more competitive... or he could switch and be almost guranteed a safe seat for a decade.

[cascadiance]

26. Parker Griffith (AL) already switched this last term and got "primaried" out...

So that's one more Blue Dog that in effect got pushed out by the Republicans...

[FBaggins]

32. Good point. That may mute the magnitude of any switching.

Why switch parties if you think it hurts your electoral chances?

[Fruittree]

11. I think some people who rejoice in the loss of Blue Dogs...

miss a couple of points...I worked on the Arcuri campaign...

1. His district is very Republican as is much of central and upstate NY - he had to walk a fine line to stay in power. Blue Dog he may have been but he voted 97% with Nancy Pelosi including for the public option in the health plan and was firmly against privatization of SS.

2. There are important local issues. He and Maurice Hinchey have stood between us and hydrofracking - what will happen now is unknown but I'm guessing his loss is not going to be a good thing.

We have to be careful that we don't become the Republican party of the left where there's a purity test to our support.

[denimgirly]

13. That's a rarity..Most Blue Dogs are DINOs and Proud.

[LoZoccolo]

31. What's a DINO? Someone who votes with the Republicans?

Like who?

[CTLawGuy]

17. you are talking to people who

believe that the loss of blue dogs is a sign that the country is really progressive...

[Fruittree]

22. Yep..

When in fact it means the opposite...

[mvd]

23. But as they say..

people will just choose the real Repuke. I think trying people who are more different could help. Maybe next election, we'll give it a try.

[vaberella]

24. Hardly.

It's a hope that maybe one person in the next 2 years or so... there will be a progressive Dem from those counties who will rise up.

[Leopolds Ghost]

51. Win/loss ratios. To quote Sean Connery, "Losers always whine about their bescht"

"Winners go home and f--- the prom queen."

And yes, I'd tell progressives the same thing if they were the ones getting their asses kicked last night.

If it weren't for the massive bloodletting among Blue Dogs it would have been a very different night, no?

[jeff47]

29. Um....not quite accurate

"Blue Dog he may have been but he voted 97% with Nancy Pelosi including for the public option in the health plan and was firmly against privatization of SS."

He voted against the final HCR bill. He voted for all the previous iterations of the HCR bill. And at the time, he gave no coherent reason for switching his vote. It's a classic "trying to have it both ways" that never works.

[Fruittree]

54. He voted for the congressional version of the healthcare bill

which had the public option. He was making a statement in not voting for the final bill which I disagree with but this is what he did. The point is that in heavily Republican areas - realistically at this point in history it's next to impossible to elect a true progressive or liberal. I've spoken with people - you can't even start a conversation in most cases. They will not listen or consider an alternate point of view. Facts are not part of the equation.

[harun]

14. That's what they get for screwing us out of a Public Option.

[era veteran]

15. Ben Chandler hangs on

We retained Ben Chandler d. KY 6th with a majority of about 600 votes out of 239,000.

[CTLawGuy]

16. ah yeah

they're in conservative districts that, not surprisingly, voted for conservatives.

[w4rma]

18. Bowing down to corporations isn't "conservative". It's just what the Republicans do. (nt)

[CTLawGuy]

20. no, it's pretty conservative

the idea that business should be allowed to do whatever it wants is a strong tenet of the modern US conservative.

[mvd]

21. Good distinction

Some conservatives "want Wall St." reform, yet don't understand Repukes are for the banks and Wall St. Also, since many of these districts vote against their own interests, a strong message could resonate.

[GoCubsGo]

28. Be glad we still have Barrow

His opponent was infinitely worse. I suspect that is the case with the vast majority of them, as well.

[craigmatic]

41. It's not as simple as it's presented here. Some of these guys voted for HCR and stimulus.

[recadna]

42. I do not enjoy their defeats

I know they are PITA but they have been holding the dam and giving us the majority. Now that they are gone, their districts will probably be gone for a long time.

[Tesha]

44. They were also the reason Democrats couldn't enunciate any clear message;

they were always supporting *THE EXACT OPPOSITE POSITION*.

Gat rights? Women's rights? Peace on Earth? Unions? The
common man against the Corporation?

The Blue Dogs were against it all, and made everyone believe
that Democrats as a whole were against it all as well.

Good riddance to bad rubbish!

Tesha

[RepublicanElephant]

45. what about chet edwards of texas?

didn't he openly campaign against obama's policies?

[Leopolds Ghost]

52. Gone. I guess there weren't a lot of young voters in College Station riled up to go vote for him.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

46. Win/Loss Figures for the Progressive Caucus (compare and contrast with the Blue Dogs)

Arizona
Ed Pastor--won
Raul Grijalva --won

California
Lynn Woolsey--won
George Miller--won
Barbara Lee--won
Pete Stark--won
Michael Honda--won
Sam Farr--won
Henry Waxman--won
Xavier Becerra--won
Judy Chu--won
Diane Watson--(retired, seat won by Dem)
Lucille Roybal-Allard--won
Maxine Waters--won
Laura Richardson--won
Linda Sanchez--won
Bob Filner--won

Colorado
Jared Polis--won

Connecticut
Rose de Lauro--won

Florida
Corrinne Brown--won
Alan Grayson--lost :cry:
Alcee Hastings--won

Georgia
Hank Johnson--won
John Lewis--won

Hawaii
Mazie Hirono--won

Illinois
Bobby Rush--won
Jesse Jackson JR.--won
Luis Guttierez--won
Danny Davis--won
Jan Schakowsky--won
Phil Hare--lost
Roland Burris--not running, corruption charges

Indiana
Andre Carson--won

Iowa
Dave Loebsack--won

Maine
Chellie Pingree--won

Maryland
Elijah Cummings--won
Donna Edwards--won

Massachusetts
John Oliver--won
Jim McGovern--won
Barney Frank--won
John Tierney--won
Ed Markey--won
Mike Capuano--won

Michigan
Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick--lost primary challenge, but her Dem challenger won
John Conyers--won

Minnesota
Keith Ellison--won

Mississippi
Benny Thompson--won

Missouri
William Lacy Clay--won
Emmanuel Cleaver--won

New Jersey
Frank Pallone--won
Donald Payne--won

New Mexico
Ben R. Lujan--won
Tom Udall--(Senator, not running)

New York
Jerry Nadler--won
Yvette Clarke --won
Nydia Velázquez--won
Carolyn Maloney --won
Charles Rangel --won
José Serrano --won
John Hall--lost
Maurice Hinchey --won
Louise Slaughter--won

North Carolina
Mel Watt--won

Ohio
Marcy Kaptur--won
Dennis Kucinich--won
Marcia Fudge--won

Oregon
Earl Blumenauer--won
Peter DeFazio--won

Pennsylvania
Chaka Fattah--won
Bob Brady--won

Tennessee
Steve Cohen--won

Texas
Sheila Jackson Lee--won
Eddie Bernice Johnson--won

Virginia
Jim Moran--won

Vermont
Peter Welch--won
Bernie Sanders--Senator, not running this year

Washington
Jim McDermott--won

Wisconsin
Tammy Baldwin--won
Gwen Moore--won

[Laelth]

47. Kick for the Honorable Members of the Progressive Caucus. n/t

-Laelth

[reggie the dog]

56. Happy to see Jesse Jackson Jr. won again!

give em hell Jesse! You and your father are some of the best Chicagoans, hell, best Americans out there and I have had the honor of watching you piss off my right wing relatives with your spot on left wing multi cultural agenda as far back as i can remember(i grew up just outside of chicago)

[besdayz]

48. a

redistricting is the most important legacy of the conservative movement, now we hve all these blue dog districts that frick up th democratic caucus from within and lead to results like this yr.....


not to worry too much though, the exact same principle is about to be unleashed in the republi. caucus which is now a mix of hard right, tea bagging libertarian, and elite conservatives.......

obama has to pit the working man republican against the country club republican. this time they cant' hide behind the culture wars and ignore the real class issues.....

[tomm2thumbs]

53. thanks for the listing - and hilarious cat pic