Tell me what a Yellow Dog Democrat is.

[MoonRiver]

I think I'm confused. I've always thought of them as sort of Dixiecrats, but now I'm wondering. People like this blogger make me think they are liberals with a decidedly practical bent. Heck I might be one and not know it!

http://bobgeiger.blogspot.com/2005/09/questions-for-39-percent-who-approve.html

[DaveinMD]

1. someone

who'd vote for yellow dog if it were a Democrat is what they used to say. But they are southern Dems.

[WestHoustonDem]

2. or, to put it another way

We'd rather vote for a yellow dog than a Republican

[MoonRiver]

7. Why are yellow dogs so denigrated? Dogs of all colors are beautiful, imo.

:shrug:

[democracyindanger]

8. Maybe it's their nature, not their fur.

:shrug:

[devilgrrl]

10. Old Yeller?

:shrug:

[MoonRiver]

14. I love, and as a child cried fiercely over, Old Yeller.

Dogs, especially yeller ones, rule! ARF!

[texanwitch]

27. Yellow( Yeller) is just the country way of saying blond.

I have Yeller dog myself.

[MoonRiver]

28. Well, that sheds some light on the matter. I think.

Still it does sound kind of prejudiced against the color blonde. Why?

[texanwitch]

29. It might go back to the post Civil Wars days. I heard from one of my

Grandmothers who was born in 1896 stories about that period of time.

[AlCzervik]

3. whats a blue dog democrat then?

[justabob]

5. Conservative dem

on edit.... From wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Dog_Coalition

[madmax]

9. Here ya go

The Blue Dog Coalition
The Blue Dog Coalition is a group of moderate to conservative Democrats in the United States House of Representatives. The group is currently made up of 35 Democrats, mostly from the U.S. Southern states.

The coalition was formed in the 1994 104th Congress as a way for more conservative congressmen of the primarily liberal Democratic party to have a unified voice in Congress. The group's name came from the older description of many in the South who "would vote for a yellow dog if he ran as a Democrat" combined with the feeling that moderate-to-conservative views had been "choked blue" by the Democratic party in years prior to the election.

They were notably successful in a special election of February 2004 in Kentucky, to fill a vacant Representative's seat. They were also successful in the November 2004 elections, with three of the five races where a Democrat won a formerly Republican seat in the House won by Blue Dog Democrats. Freshman Blue Dogs in the House are sometimes known as "Blue Pups."

Often, the group will be instrumental in striking a balance between liberal and conservative ideas. Despite Blue Dogs' differing degrees of economic and social conservatism, they share a strong orientation toward fiscal responsibility, and as a rule work to promote positions within the House of Representatives which bridge the gap between the two extremes. Blue Dogs are an important swing vote on spending bills and, as a result, have gained an influence in Congress out of proportion to their small numbers. They are frequently sought after to broker compromises between the Democratic and Republican leadership.
more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Dog_Coalition

[MoonRiver]

4. Well, what does that mean in terms of ideology?

Are they, say, more or less liberal than DLCers?

[Fleshdancer]

12. It doesn't mean anything in terms of ideology, only Party loyalty n/t

[DaveinMD]

31. the phrase is old

in today's term, its likely a southern Dem. But the term originated as someone who will always vote Dem.

[katinmn]

26. We have them in NE Minnesota, too, where I grew up.

Strong union tradition: To vote Republican would be traitorous.

That started changing after Ray-gun weakened the unions, though.

[Ready2Snap]

6. All the answers are here

http://www.c-span.org/questions/weekly55.htm

[MoonRiver]

11. OK. Blue Dogs = DLCers. Yellow Dogs = true Democratic partisans.

I'll take a Yellow Dog any time.

[txindy]

16. Yep, so would I.

I've had it with compromises and deals.

[applegrove]

13. Fiscal conservative liberals have as much againt Bush as anyone.

Bush is not being a good keynsian. He is being a Utopian. Praticals & the "reality based" hate Bush too.

[RaleighNCDUer]

15. Yellow dog was the heart of the Anybody But Bush movement

that was so denigrated hereabouts. Any dem, no matter his leanings, would be better than letting Bush win again, as opposed to 'if Dean/Kerry/Hillary is nominated, I'm voting Green'.

[MoonRiver]

17. I was part of that movement.

Guess I'm a Yellow Dog. But a dog can always change its colors.

[FrenchieCat]

18. I'm for the "Red Dog" Democrats.....

Those are the ones that will kick whomever's ass needs kicking!

Love them! :loveya:

[MoonRiver]

19. I'm with ya on that!

:kick: arse General!

[SayitAintSo]

22. Oh Yeah ......

He's still "the one" ....

( Like the hearts )

:bounce:

[yella_dawg]

20. To be precise...

a Yellow Dog Democrat would "vote fer a old yeller dog iffun it 'uz runnin' on the Democratic ticket."

As it was explained to me as a child.


on edit: further corrupted the spelling.

[lonestarnot]

Wrong "Would rather vote for a yellow dog than a repuke" n/t

[lonestarnot]

21. ME

[texanwitch]

23. The version I heard growing up in Texas is "I'd Rather Vote for an Old

Yellow Dog than Vote for a Republican".

Works for me.

[lonestarnot]

24. And you have it right ...winnner ding ding ding ding ding eeerrrrrrrrrr

[MoonRiver]

25. Absolutely! Give me a yeller dog any day over *.

This country would run a heck of a lot better.

[banana republican]

30. been a yeller dog since the '72 election.

Didn't vote republican then and won't now. They lied then and they lie now.