Blue Dogs Say Helping Wall Street Is a "Genuine National Emergency," But Helping Main Street Isn't

[KoKo]

Blue Dogs Say Helping Wall Street Is a "Genuine National Emergency," But Helping Main Street Isn't
by: David Sirota
Thu Feb 12, 2009 at 18:15
Chris Hayes of The Nation catches the House's leading Blue Dog Democrat, Jim Cooper, going on record saying that they see helping Wall Street as a "genuine national emergency," but helping the rest of the economy isn't. I shit you not:

When I spoke to Cooper the week after the vote, he defended it as counterintuitively pro-Obama, cast against "certain Congressional old habits and bad practices. A lot of our colleagues have not gotten the change message." He expressed frustration with the speed of the process, as well as the fact that the leadership had forgone the normal committee mark-ups, saying that members were "just told how to vote."

If that was the case, I asked Cooper, why had he voted for the Troubled Asset Relief Program little more than a week after Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson sent a three-page proposal up to the Hill asking for $700 billion? "We were told," he said, "and I believed at the time, that the TARP money was a genuine national emergency."

I mean, there's no other way to read this. Cooper is on the record saying he voted to hand $700 billion to Wall Street because it was required by a "genuine national emergency." But the stimulus bill that would start addressing the economic destruction happening all over the country? No, according to the Blue Dogs who voted against the stimulus, that crisis on Main Street isn't a "genuine national emergency."

Guess what? The financial industry is the second biggest donor to Jim Cooper over his career. What a shocker that he thinks wealthy Wall Street fat cats having to take slightly lower paychecks is a "genuine national emergency," but millions of Americans losing their jobs and wages isn't.

http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=11587

[ej510]

1. I hate republicrats. What's the difference between Cooper and Kantor?

[BlueCaliDem]

2. Republicrats and Rushpublicans see Main Street as the milking barn

and Main Street people as the cows locked into it. We're only good for milking and when we need red meat, for the slaughter.

It's sadly that simple.

[PVnRT]

3. Yay, centrism!

I'm glad the centrists are so in tune with what regular Americans want.

[AndrewP]

4. Blue Dogs = Republicans

[democracy1st]

5. thats exactly why republicans pass so many bills,along with a few democratic weaklings of course

[SoxFan]

8. Oh, baloney

The Dogs sometimes raise a stink about fiscal issues, and that's a good thing. It serves as a check and balance on BOTH parties when they act in an irresponsible manner.

For the most part, the Blue Dogs will vote just as other Democrats vote, especially on health care, education, and the like.

Jim Cooper votes with the Democratic line 95.2% of the time. Taht's exactly the same as Dennis Kucinich and Peter DeFazio.

[1776Forever]

6. In general Blue Dogs do = Repub's but in one case at least that is not so..Cong. Space..

My Congressman Zach Space is not one of the "bad" guys here.

This is the "blue dogs" website:

http://www.house.gov/ross/BlueDogs/Member%20Page.html

And this is the record of Cong. Space votes:

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/s001173/

Voting with Party

Zachary Space has voted with a majority of his Democratic colleagues 96.8% of the time during the current Congress. This percentage does not include votes in which Space did not vote.

...........

I also get emails stating the benefits the Stimulus Bill will bring to Ohio. So far I really think Cong. Space is voting the will of the people.

[iamthebandfanman]

7. maybe these cats just need some encouragement

perhaps people from their states need to let them know theyll support any primary challenger if they dont start supporting the goals of the democratic party and our president.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

9. It used to be that the Blue Dogs were economic populists.

It was the only thing keeping them from being Republicans. They understood that the Republicans weren't for the Little Guy. They were social conservatives, economic populists. What happened to these people? Why don't they just become Republicans?