Let every American, every lover of liberty, every well wisher to his posterity, swear by the blood of the Revolution, never to violate in the least particular, the laws of the country; and never to tolerate their violation by others.

As the patriots of seventy-six did to the support of the Declaration of Independence, so to the support of the Constitution and Laws, let every American pledge his life, his property, and his sacred honor; let every man remember that to violate the law, is to trample on the blood of his father, and to tear the charter of his own, and his children's liberty.

Let reverence for the laws, be breathed by every American mother, to the lisping babe, that prattles on her lap; let it be taught in schools, in seminaries, and in colleges; let it be written in Primers, spelling books, and in Almanacs; let it be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative halls, and enforced in courts of justice. And, in short, let it become the political religion of the nation; and Let the old and the young, the rich and the poor, the grave and the gay, of all sexes and tongues, and colors and conditions, sacrifice unceasingly upon its altars.

While ever a state of feeling, such as this, shall universally, or even, very generally prevail throughout the nation, vain will be every effort, and fruitless every attempt, to subvert our national freedom.


- Abraham Lincoln, January 27, 1838
  Address Before the Young Men's Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois

Friday, August 17, 2007

When Democrats are really Republicans

We have a serious Blue Dog problem in our state.

For some reason the Democratic Party thinks that only a conservative Democrat can win here. We believe that this idea is not only wrong but (for us) painfully wrong. It would appear that Hoosiers want to keep our Constitution intact, and that our vote for a Democrat came with expectations that campaign promises (out of Iraq, etc) would be honored. So far, they have only been obstructed.

Considering how progressive the 'liberal pockets' of Indiana really are... a better question might be why anyone would even vote for a Democrat in a 'conservative state' if they didn't actually want a real Democrat? I mean -- if people wanted conservative... wouldn't they just vote for the Republican?

Seems we need a little truth in advertising both from the Democratic Party and from the candidates.

If we vote Democrat... for God's sake, give us a Democrat. If we wanted a Bush-enabler, we could have kept the Republican incumbent we already had before the election.

Here is an excellent graph of Blue Dog voting records (and future tendencies) from Chris Bowers, over on Open Left:


Vital Statistics On The "Bush Dogs"
by: Chris Bowers Thu Aug 16, 2007 at 15:18:29 PM EDT

The two biggest defeats for House Democrats so far in 2007 have been the capitulation vote on Iraq, and the vote to allow Alberto Gonzales warrant-less wiretapping powers.

Here are some vital statistics on the 38 Democrats, the “Bush Dogs,” who voted in favor of both bills, and thus are the most likely to capitulate on important fights in the future:

Vital Stats on “Bush Dogs”
Member District PVI Term # 2006 win % New Dem Blue Dog
Altimire PA-04 R +2.6 1st 52% Yes No
Barrow GA-12 R +2 2nd 50% Yes Yes
Bean IL-18 R +5.2 2nd 51% Yes Yes
Boren OK-02 R +4.9 2nd 73% No Yes
Boswell IA-03 D +1.4 6th 52% No Yes
Boyd FL-02 R +2.2 6th 100% No Yes
Carney** PA-10 R +8.0 1st 53% Yes Yes
Chandler** KY-06 R +6.6 3rd 85% Yes Yes
Cooper TN-05 D +6.2 3rd / 9th* 69% No Yes
Costa CA-20 D +4.6 2nd 100% No Yes
Cramer AL-05 R +6.4 9th 100% No Yes
Cuellar TX-28 R +1 2nd 68% Yes No
Davis, L TN-04 R +3.2 3rd 66% No Yes
Donnelly IN-02 R +4.3 1st 54% No Yes
Edwards TX-17 R +17.7 9th 58% No No
Ellsworth IN-08 R +8.5 1st 61% No Yes
Ethridge NC-02 R +2.7 6th 66% Yes No
Gordon TN-06 R +3.8 12th 69% No Yes
Herseth** SD-AL R +10.0 3rd 69% Yes Yes
Hill IN-09 R +7.1 1st / 4th* 50% Yes Yes
Lampson TX-22 R +14.5 1st / 5th* 52% Yes Yes
Lipinski IL-03 D +10.3 2nd 77% No No
Marshall GA-08 R +8 3rd 51% No Yes
Matheson UT-02 R +16.9 4th 59% No Yes
McIntyre NC-07 R +2.8 6th 73% Yes Yes
Melancon LA-03 R +4.8 2nd 55% Yes Yes
Peterson MN-07 R +5.6 9th 70% No Yes
Pomeroy ND-AL R +13.1 8th 66% No Yes
Rodriguez** TX-23 R +4 1st / 5th* 54% No No
Ross AR-04 D +0.5 4th 75% No Yes
Salazar CO-03 R +5.6 2nd 61% No Yes
Shuler NC-11 R +7.1 1st 54% No Yes
Snyder AR-02 R +0.1 6th 61% Yes No
Space OH-18 R +6.1 1st 62% No Yes
Tanner TN-08 D +0.1 10th 73% No Yes
Taylor MS-04 R +16.3 10th 80% No Yes
Walz** MN-01 R +0.9 1st 53% No No
Wilson OH-06 D +0.4 1st 62% No Yes
Medians / Totals -- R +4 3rd 62% 13 30

Notes
PVI = Partisan Voting Index, produced by Cook Political Report
* = Non-consecutive terms in Congress
** = Received significant national blogosphere support
Also, Tim Walz did vote in favor of the McGovern amendment. All others voted nay on that amendment, and are clearly ideologically opposed to progressives in this area.

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