On Blue Dogs

Daily Kos: State of the Nation: "Listen, one of the founding principles of the Blue Dogs is that they maximize their power by voting or threatening to vote as a bloc in opposition to the Democratic leadership. It should be understood that the Blue Dogs -- at least when in the majority -- actually calibrate the size of their caucus such that it's capable of thwarting Democratic initiatives unless they get their ransom. That's how they differentiate themselves, that's how they make the headlines ('Dems in disarray!'), and that's how they wield what little power they have left. When they were part of the majority party, that mattered a little more. You could stop things from happening unless you were granted concessions. As part of a minority, they're not so interesting, since things the majority wants are going to happen with or without them. But if your club is all about showing how much you hate the leadership ruggedly independent you are, you can't really expect anyone to care when you cry that they won't come to your Tupperware parties."