The Democratic party found its way back into the congressional majority by playing on the mistakes of the GOP and by drafting more conservative candidates to take them back to power. Conservative values and beliefs aren't as unpopular as the Republican party is. This group, called the Blue Dogs, claims to be conservative. They tend to favor social conservatism, and fiscal moderation with an emphasis on reducong the deficit.
Sounds good, right? After all if the Democratic party were to take a major right turn we might actually get some things accomplished in Washington. But the problem is that they don't vote conservative, especially on the big votes. So what good is a conservative that votes like a liberal?
These blue dogs might bark and make a lot of noise but they don't have any bite. They're too loyal to the party line which is decidedly left wing. Rather than vote their principles, and therefore with the GOP occassionally, they do as their told and give Speaker Pelosi the majority she needs to keep up her political farce.
And a farce it is. She continues to exploit moderate and conservative Democrats to increase her majority, while refusing to give them any leadership role, and knowing that they won't break ranks with the leftist leadership to oppose her. It gives the illusion to the people Pelosi so despises- you know normal people in middle America and the south-that the Democratic party is tolerant of different ideas and is the big tent.
It's using candidates like this, Heath Shuler, and the recently elected Don Cazayoux in Louisiana, who tout conservative positions to push a left wing agenda. Cazayoux, who now represents the Baton Rouge area(an area the Democrats haven't won in decades) ran, like other Democrats, as pro life and pro gun. Senator Casey got elected over a real pro lifer, Rick Santorum, mostly by using the memory of his late father, but also claiming to be pro life. Where are all these pro life conservative democrats at voting time? They're voting the left wing party line.
The GOP needs to clean up its act and reclaim the conservative name. We need to remember what it means to be conservative, and we have to stop letting the Democrats drag the conservative name through the mud.
