Thirteen ways of looking at a Blue Dog

[jpgray]

I seek to become post-election internecine blame-game champion. The way to do this is not by soberly apportioning blame to those deserving, but by spraying it on anything and anyone in order to validate some agenda or other. Pursuant to the glory of this heretofore nonexistent title, I will take a datum from the election and spin it thirteen ways.

My chosen datum--more Blue Dogs were defeated than progressive Democrats.

1. Progressives are to blame, as they sat on their butts and did nothing but whine at these candidates.
2. Blue Dogs are to blame, because they didn't publicly support Obama's policies.
3. Obama is to blame, because his unpopular policies were impossible to escape.
4. Tim Kaine is to blame--Howard Dean could have saved these assholes.
5. Blue Dogs are to blame--they were punished for undermining and ruining Congress's more progressive efforts.
6. Progressive caucus members are to blame--they radicalized or rejected the most reasonable Blue Dog compromises.
7. The president and leadership are to blame, for failing to come up with a "winning message."
8. Rahm Emanuel is fucking retarded.
9. Primary challengers and their union overlords are to blame--they are fucking retarded.
10. Liberal bloggers are to blame, for whining incessantly about Blue Dogs and influencing millions.
11. Blue Dogs are to blame, for not listening to liberal bloggers.
12. Blue Dogs left the unemployed, women and the poor off way too easy to win in their area.
13. As action liberals, they decided, in their game-changer, serious-person idiom, to lose.

[Kolesar]

1. The guitar that Bo Diddley made in shop class is in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland

Stop in sometime if you are in the area.

[jpgray]

2. OH has many great things within

Kaptur and Kucinich, for example. K&K and R&R. :headbang:

[jody]

3. Without Blue Dogs, Dems would not have controlled the House and Obama would not have

passed the health care bill.

Thanks Blue Dogs for making that possible.

[jpgray]

6. I'm curious--what do you think this thread is about?

Both your reply and stray cat's have made me begin to wonder if I know myself.

[stray cat]

4. Boy do progressives love labeling people -I guess just like conservatives

If You disagree wih something or someone just depersonalize them into a mass group labeled your enemies

[jpgray]

5. This would be a case of self-determination

Like typing "stray cat" into the username field.

[HereSince1628]

7. It is impossible to have an "us" if there isn't a "them."

It's one of those curious dynamics, a decision made with respect to the bounds of one category also creates the bounds of the one and only remaining category.

As gregarious animals, it's maladaptive to be inside a group but to be found to be one of "them."

Names are applied to both sides of this dynamic precisely because we can run around professing "I'm one of us!" or "I'm not one of them!"

[Nite Owl]

8. Another way to look at this:

Remove the labels Blue Dog and Progressive and see it as who had the ideas that people preferred.

Did the people want a public option and a health care bill that actually cost THEM less and reined in the health care corps. not just their worse practices but to see them put on notice not to even think of raising rates obscenely or trying to wiggle out of giving benefits? I think so.

Did the people want the bankers punished for their large part in trashing the economy? Did they want justice as it would have been applied to them? I think so.

Just those two things, who was for that and who was against it?
I think we know the answers and that is why they/we lost.