Jennifer Foster: Blue Dogs barking on health care reform

On Election Day last year, the only thing getting more attention than the complete Republican collapse in Congress was the election of America’s first black president.

It was almost an afterthought how Democrats’ expanded majority was built – on the election of moderate to conservative members in congressional districts previously represented by Republicans.
Alabamians contributed to this phenomenon by electing freshmen Democratic congressmen Bobby Bright in Montgomery and Parker Griffith in Huntsville to replace retiring members of the GOP.

A few folks wondered back then how these new lawmakers would do in D.C. They were elected on values and priorities that … well, don’t exactly mesh with those of the national Democratic Party.
Behold, the Blue Dogs.

The Blue Dog Democrats number 51, including Bright and Griffith, in the new Congress. Founded in 1995, the “fiscally conservative” Blue Dogs aim to represent “the center of the House of Representatives” and appeal to “the mainstream values of the American public,” according to their Web site.

They’ve been growling for months: They’ve objected to the massive deficits that would be created, and have been created, by President Obama’s $787 billion economic stimulus package; advocated redistricting reform to end gerrymandering and broken with the party on the energy bill, also known as “cap and trade.”

But on Thursday, the Blue Dogs started barking. Loudly.

Democratic congressional leaders were already straining to meet a self-set August deadline to move the health care reform package out of the House when they got a letter from 40 Blue Dogs Thursday demanding changes to the bill.

The proposal “lacks a number of elements essential to preserving what works and fixing what is broken” in the current system, they said.

Democratic leaders can’t afford to ignore the noise. They may have a 77-seat majority, but votes on controversial bills haven’t reflected it; the energy bill, for example, passed 219-212.

Health care reform is a political minefield. It is fraught with any number of pitfalls that in a best-case scenario could only doom the plan. A worst-case scenario could explode the federal deficit and compromise health care for millions.

For all his efforts to make this his signature domestic policy issue, President Obama has been at best an interested observer. He’s advocated for universal coverage, and he’s done some town halls. But when it comes to bridging rhetoric and reality, he has been careful not to commit himself to anything – or rule anything out.

The president’s supporters say he’s respecting the legislative process, giving lawmakers the space to work things out themselves. His opponents say it’s just another example of Obama talking the talk, but being unwilling – or unable – to walk the walk; by refusing ownership of any specifics of the plan, he’s maintaining his deniability in case things go wrong.

This leadership gap gives congressional caucuses a golden opportunity to wield significantly more influence over legislation than they usually do.

The Blue Dogs are foremost among this group. Small businesses, rural health care providers and responsible budgeting advocates are all counting on them to protect their interests in the reform debate. And the Blue Dogs, whose support is critical to passage yet who are insulated in their districts from national political groups like MoveOn.org, are perfectly positioned to do so.
In the wise old words of Dr. Seuss: “Go, Dogs, go.”

Jennifer Foster lives in Auburn and writes a column for the Opelika-Auburn News. She can be reached at