Blue Dog Democrats are social and economic conservatives and moderates in the United States Democratic Party. In the United States House of Representatives, Blue Dogs are an actual coalition of likeminded Democrats organized as the Blue Dog Coalition, rather than just an expression such as "Yellow Dog" Democrats. The term is a reference to the "Blue Dog " paintings of Cajun artist George Rodrigue of Lafayette, Louisiana: the original members of the coalition would regularly meet in the offices of Lousiana representatives who had Rodrigue's paintings on their walls.
They were notably successful in a special election of February 2004 in Kentucky, to fill a vacant Representative's seat. They were also successful in the November 2004 elections, with three of the five races where a Democrat won a formerly Republican seat in the House won by Blue Dog Democrats. Freshman Blue Dogs in the House are sometimes known as "Blue Pups."
Blue Dog Democrats tend to differ ideologically from another coalition of moderate Democrats, the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC). The DLC describes itself as new Democrat and positions itself as centrist while taking liberal positions on social issues and conservative positions on economic issues and trade. Democrats who identify with the Blue Dogs, on the other hand, tend to be economic populists and social conservatives. For example, most Blue Dogs are strong supporters of gun rights and get high ratings from the National Rifle Association, many have pro-life voting records, and some get high ratings from immigration reduction groups, which cannot be said for most members of the DLC. On economic issues, Blue Dogs span the spectrum from fiscal conservatives to supporters of labor unions, protectionism, and other populist measures, while the DLC tends to favor free trade. Blue Dogs share with the DLC a desire to keep the Democratic Party grounded in the political center, and to ensure that the party does not drift too far left that it no longer appeals to the majority of U.S. voters.
Despite Blue Dogs' differing degrees of economic and social conservatism, they share a strong orientation toward fiscal responsibility, and as a rule work to promote positions within the House of Representatives which bridge the gap between the two extremes. Blue Dogs are an important swing vote on spending bills and, as a result, have gained an influence in Congress out of proportion to their small numbers. They are frequently sought after to broker compromises between the Democratic and Republican leadership.
If the DLC are the "new Democrats", the Blue Dogs are almost surely "old Democrats", hearkening back to the party's past during the eras of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman, and to the party's former electoral stronghold in the southern United States (see also: Boll weevil and Dixiecrats). Most members of the Blue Dog Coalition in the House represent rural districts, and a large proportion of them represent Southern states.
A prominent Blue Dog Democrat was Gary Condit, a Congressman from California and subject of a high-profile sex scandal in 2001-2002.
External links
