Gay Conservative

As you all know by now, yesterday’s stimulus bill passed the US House without a single GOP vote.  And we were joined in our opposition by11 Democrats.  As Rush and other conservatives noted – the only “bipartisan” thing that happened yesterday was a vote AGAINST this ridiculous bill.  This legislation was no more a “stimulus” bill than Hamas is a benevolent, community-centered organization in Gaza. It was a pork-laden omnibus spending bill filled with rewards for liberal interest groups.

So, to answer questions posed in response to my last post, I decided to profile the 11 Democrats who reached across the aisle in order to do the right thing.  I researched these folks.  I know who some of these guys are but not all.  It’s interesting to see who helped us out in our unsuccessful struggle against this crap.  Here they are:

Allan Boyd (Florida):  Leader of the Blue Dog Democrat caucus.  Enough said.

Bobby Bright (Alabama):  Former mayor of Montgomery and a freshman.  Anti-abortion, progun and in favor of drilling in ANWR.

Jim Cooper (Tennessee):  Member of the Blue Dog Caucus

Brad Ellsworth (Indiana):  Member of the Blue Dog Caucus.  Former sheriff recruited by House Dems to run against a vulnerable GOP incumbent.

Parker Griffith (Alabama):  Freshman replacement for Dem. Rep. Bud Cramer – a longtime conservative Dem rep.  He favors off-shore drilling and border fences. Might be vulnerable next time around.

Paul Kanjorski (Pennsylvania):  Appears to be a moderate Dem.  Told CNBC that he didn’t think Republicans were consulted enough about the stimulus bill.  Apparently, he is a vulnerable Dem facing a tough reelection battle.

Frank Kratovil (Maryland):  A freshman who replaces Republican Wayne Gilchrest (who was defeated in the primaries by a conservative GOP candidate).  He won by just over 2000 votes in a GOP district.

Walt Minnick (Idaho):  A freshman who defeated a highly unpopular one-term GOP incumbent idiot.  Will likely face an uphill reelection battle in one of the most conservative districts around.

Collin Peterson (Minnesota):  One of the 7 original founders of the Blue Dog Caucus.  Represents a rural district and often votes with the GOP on guns, abortion, etc.

Heath Shuler (North Carolina):  Asked Pelosi for permission to vote against the stimulus because of bad reaction back home.  Former U. of Tennessee football star.  Member of the Blue Dogs. [Note: This guy is a self-interested joke]

Gene Taylor (Mississippi):  Blue Dog.  Pro-life, pro-gun – voted to impeach Clinton.  Regarded as one of the most conservative Dems in the House. [Side note:  He should just switch parties.  We'll trade one of our New England RINOs for Taylor]

So there you have it.  A quick glimpse at the folks who joined us.  There are actually about 50 members of the Blue Dogs with more applications pending.  So I am suprised at how few of them joined us.  But be assured that there is some potential there.  Don’t take this post as an endorsement of any of these folks (except maybe Taylor who just needs to come out of the political closet and run as a Republican).  A lot of these guys are being politically expedient. The rest should just run as Republicans and be true to themselves.  And note that I would eventually like to purge RINOs from the GOP.

The Blue Dogs, however, are very critical to the GOP.  If the Republican leadership really wants to reach across the aisle, I suggest that they reach out to these folks to create a “coalition of sanity.”  I am familiar with many of the Blue Dogs, and I can’t imagine most of them being happy with the socialist agenda that Pelosi will be pushing.