OPINION:
There are not many Blue Dog Democrats, that old redoubt of moderate liberals, left these days. As our colleague David Sherfinski reported last week, this once influential voting bloc has been diminished to about two dozen members. Like strangers in a foreign land, these days they appear out of step with party aims, and relegate their “serious” actions to letter writing and, we imagine, various forms of hand wringing.
Take, for instance, their recent missive to President-elect Joe Biden. The group alternates between demanding that within the first 100 days of his administration Mr. Biden “pass more robust measures that are commensurate with the ongoing health and economic crisis,” while also decrying that the national debt is now more than $27 trillion. They make it plain that they want Mr. Biden to get America’s “fiscal house in order after the current health and economic crisis subsides.” But the numbers don’t support how new spending to ease the economic crisis and fiscal restraint coexist.
It’s typical fuzzy math, of course. You cannot, after all, simultaneously demand $2,000 for every American and call for fiscal restraint without — dare we say it — cutting spending. The Blue Dogs are likely terrified to propose such a thing on the eve of what will doubtless materialize as a Biden spending spree. Always a sad thing to see a pup neutered, but the Democratic Party, it seems, has to keep the moderate population down.
But it’s not just the supposed financial responsibility Blue Dogs like to tout that places them outside the party norm, it’s their very self-definition. Their mission statement reads, in part:
“[We] are pragmatic Democrats, appealing to the mainstream values of the American public. The Blue Dogs are dedicated to pursuing fiscally-responsible policies, ensuring a strong national defense, and transcending party lines to get things done for the American people.” Not since President Bill Clinton, and not even then, were Democrats a party that could seriously be said to “pursue fiscally-responsible policies” or “ensure a strong national defense” or — our favorite — transcend “party lines to get things done for the American people.”
And there’s no way to avoid the fact that they are not calling on Congress to cut any spending to pay for those $2,000 checks. They can say they are in pursuit of fiscally-responsible policies in order to posture a noble frugality. But it’s just hot air. And worse they seem to ignore — or not realize — that without cutting spending debt will increase.
Every dog has its day, as the saying goes, and the arithmetic-challenged Blue Dogs had theirs — at a time long ago and far away.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.