The “Blue Dog” Dem coalition has (formally) been around since 1995.

Back in 2004, just after George W Bush won his 2nd term and many new “Blue Dogs” were elected to the house and senate, I said then that they may be the “death” of the extreme lurch to the left for the democrat party.

Well, according to the election results from a few weeks ago, the “Blue Dog” coalition upped their members by two (and possibly one more, depending on a still undecided seat in the south).

If there’s one thing conservatives of all stripes can be thankful for (as we head into Thanksgiving week), it’s the fact that “Blue Dogs” tend to stick to their “fiscally conservative” mold. And with that in mind, Obama/Pelosi/Reid may have a huge fight on their hands for at least the next 4 years:

Newsmax has a nice article on this, here:
(snip below)

The left may still be crowing about its resounding Election Day victory, but it’s the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrats who are emerging as a significant force in the upcoming Congress.

The influential Blue Dog coalition of House Democrats saw their ranks increase on Election Day, and they’re likely to gain even greater power on Capitol Hill with an ally in the White House.

Just a few days after his victory, President-elect Barack Obama tapped his chief economic adviser, Jason Furman, to consult regularly with the Blue Dog leadership on economic issues.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, meanwhile, acknowledged the new power of centrists when she said, a few days after her party gained at least 20 House seats, that “the country must be governed from the middle.”

Blue Dogs, for their part, say they’ll hold Obama’s feet to the fire.

When we consider what’s going on with the “Mother Of All Bailouts”, the more fiscally conservative” leaders there are, the better.

Pass the turkey please.

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