The Blue Dog Extinction watch continues:
Of the 24 remaining Blue Dogs, five are not seeking reelection. More than a half-dozen others are facing treacherous contests in which their reelection hopes are in jeopardy.
It’s a rough time to occupy the right wing of the Democratic Party.
“It’s a tough environment out there,” said former Alabama Rep. Bud Cramer, a longtime member of the House Blue Dog Coalition. “Their numbers are down. Redistricting has not been kind to them.”
The article, from Politico, mistakenly claims that Chandler’s redistricting problem is compounded by running in a state in which Obama is wildly unpopular. The redistricting plan passed in Kentucky was actually mostly kind to all incumbents and Chandler’s position was strengthened. He does of course still have the Obama problem, but then he also has the problem that he’s consistently voted against his own consistuents on environmental protections, women’s rights and providing aid to starving children and HIV-infected women around the world.
In terms of fundraising, Chandler came out a bit on top of his Tea Pandering opponent, Garland Barr IV in the latest report:
Rep. Ben Chandler (D-Ky.) raised more than $220,000 and has just over $1 million in the bank. That’s slightly more than the $180,000 raised by Republican Andy Barr, who lost to Chandler in 2010 and is seeking a rematch.
Getting back to the Blue Dogs, an internal party soap opera finds one of their members, Jason Altmire of Pennsylvania, locked in a primary fight against Democrat, Mark Critz. The Blue Dog Altmire is unfairly attacking Critz as — get this — less of a Democrat:
Rep. Jason Altmire (D-Pa.) has exasperated a number of senior House Democrats by running attack ads against his primary opponent, Rep. Mark Critz (D-Pa.), that they see as unfair distortions.
Altmire voted “no” instead of “present” on a conservative budget proposal in April 2011, splitting with party leaders on a tactical vote they were using to embarrass the GOP. Critz joined the majority of Democrats with his “present” vote. But now Altmire is running ads saying that Critz “failed to stand up to the Tea Party” on the bill.
The move angered a number of senior Democrats. House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) put out a statement defending Critz on the vote, and Reps. Robert Brady (D-Pa.) and Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) hosted a conference call defending him.
The Hill goes on to report that the only people supporting Altmire’s sad attacks are, of course, his fellow Blue Dogs:
All of Altmire’s backing comes from fellow Blue Dog Coalition members: Reps. Heath Shuler (D-N.C.), Ben Chandler (D-Ky.), Jim Matheson (D-Utah), Mike Ross (D-Ark.) and Dan Boren (D-Okla.).
Dogs of a feather.
