Blue Dogs put down

I've long maintained that Blue Dogs were a detriment to progressive progress within the Democratic party. I endured years of no little criticism for suggesting that even though they often voted with the party on the small stuff, too often on the high profile issues they defected and gave Republicans bi-partisan cover. It made it nearly impossible to make GOPers own their policy and draw the bright line between the parties that had been too long lost.

So I was thrilled to see two more Blue Dogs go down in the Pennsylvania primary yesterday. I'm hearing the guy who beat Altmire isn't all that much better, but any small improvement is better than none in that district. Altmire joined Bart Stupak's stupid pack of fools in the health care fight. It's heartening to see him lose when he was he was projected to win, especially because his loss was greatly assisted by organized labor flexing some serious muscle.

The guy who beat Holden was the better victory. Don't know much about him, but he's a progressive and apparently willing to stand up for environmental realism since the League of Conservation Voters invested heavily in that race.

Unlike 2010, where the Blue Dogs lost because of Tea Party fanaticism, these defeats were clearly caused by progressive organization. I've been saying for years that liberals and progressives needed to stop obsessing over the Oval office and focus more on the Congressional races. Not that I think I had anything to do with it, but good to see it finally happening. This is how we will eventually change the world.



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