- Anti-Baucus Button - Irregular times
There has been considerable commentary about Republican Senators Olympia Snow and Susan Collins from Maine being necessary for successful bi-partisan healthcare reform. However, should the nine Blue Dog Democrats unite behind their party leaders, Republican support would be irrelevant. There are 58 Democrats and 2 Independent Senators. This is sufficient to overcome procedural obstacles, like filibustering, instituted by the opposition party.
The late humorist Will Rogers said, “I am not a member of any organized political party, I’m a Democrat!” This Gang of 9 Senators, called “Republocrats,” differs greatly from Rogers’ Democrats.
Gang of Nine Republocrats
- Max Baucus (D-MT) – the powerful Finance Committee Chairman received more than 70% of his donations from outside Montana with the health insurance industry giving $8 million. This has started the organization Progressive Democrats Against Max Baucus. They wrote in That’s My Congress, “If the Democratic majority in the Senate can’t [deliver healthcare]…the feeling seems to be that the right wing Democrats…are as much to blame as the Republicans.”
- Evan Bayh (D-IN) – Steve Benen of the Washington Monthly magazine wrote on October 28th 2009, “Evan Bayh is undermining…health care reform and helping advance the Republican message….” Bayh is up for re-election in 2010.
- Tom Carper (D-DE) – not a complete Blue Dog, according to a September 30th Intershame article the former Delaware governor accepted $1.5 million from the health insurance industry putting a slant on his views. Carper is up for re-election in 2014.
- Kent Conrad (D-ND) – Conrad took $3 million from the health and pharmaceutical industry or $7.28 for every voter in North Dakota. “It is remarks like…Conrad’s that make me leery….[He] is on Fox, of all places, touting his version…,” says liberal columnist Carol Berg on This Week. Conrad is up for re-election in 2012
- Mary Landrieu (D-La.) – may be exposed to a primary challenge in 2014. She only received 46% of the popular vote in 2002 and 52% in 2008. She personally stated “I supported President Bush 74% of the time.” According to Brendan Hoffman of the Washington Post’s Who Runs Gov’t, “Only Ben Nelson broke with Democrats more often [than Landrieu.]”
- Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) – is the most vulnerable of all conservative democrats. The knowledge that she received $4 million from the health insurance industry is aiding Arkansas Lieutenant Governor Bill Halter. He is contemplating making a Democratic primary challenge against Lincoln in 2010.
- Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) – was CEO of Central National Group Insurance Co and executive VP of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. A staunch conservative he stresses his independence from the Democratic Party. According to Olivier Knox of AFP on Nov 10th 2009, Nelson said he would be crafting legislation to “…toughen curbs on government funds helping to pay for abortions." Re-election 2012.
- Bill Nelson (D-FL) – taking $2.5 million from the health insurance industry, according to Intershame, the Senator may find additional grass roots problems in Florida.
- Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) – is the 2000 Democratic Vice Presidential Candidate that openly campaigned for John McCain in 2008 and the Democrats’ most repulsive senator in their caucus.Normal0falsefalsefalseEN-USX-NONEX-NONEMicrosoftInternetExplorer4/* Style Definitions */table.MsoNormalTable{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;mso-style-noshow:yes;mso-style-priority:99;mso-style-qformat:yes;mso-style-parent:"";mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;mso-para-margin-top:0in;mso-para-margin-right:0in;mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;mso-para-margin-left:0in;line-height:115%;mso-pagination:widow-orphan;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} "I probably will support some Republican candidates…in the election in 2010,” Lieberman said in an ABC News interview on October 30th 2009. Asked if he will seek the Democratic nomination in 2012, Lieberman said, "That's an open question." But he told Glenn Thrush of Politico this Tuesday, “I'd ask them [liberal critics who are now securing pledges to back his challenger Attorney General Richard Blumenthal] to hold back pending the outcome of healthcare negotiations.”
Benen’s view, to allow the Senate to vote on a bill and then allow the individual Blue Dog Senators to vote against the bill, is opposed by the Republican view that allowing a vote on the bill is tantamount to voting for the bill since Democrats control the Senate.
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