Bye-Bye Coke, Hello Pepsi
Anatomy of the Midterms
by Joshua Frank
www.dissidentvoice.org
November 10, 2006



 

It’s going to take a little time to get used to it. The Republicans will no longer control Congress come January. Voters on November 7 stormed the polls to denounce the Bush administration’s scandal-laden entourage and the occupation of Iraq. One by one they went down. Even so, the defeat of the neo-cons certainly doesn’t mean Republican values are on the skids.

You would guess that with the massive anti-Bush uproar the Democrats would now possess a progressive mandate to reshape the corruption that engulfs Washington. But you’d be wrong. Many of the Republicans’ substitutes are anti-choice, pro-war, socially conservative centrists. Of the newly elected House Democrats at least 9 will be joining the conservative Blue Dog caucus. According to the coalition’s spokesperson Vicky Walling, the organization had endorsed 16 new candidates this year.

The difference between the Democratic Leadership Council liberals and the Blue Dogs is marginal. Whereas New Democrats tend to be socially liberal, Blue Dogs maintain traditionally conservative ideals. They may oppose free trade but the majority, like the DLC patrons, voted to limit access to bankruptcy protection and see social programs as expendable in the quest to balance budgets.

Of the 37 current Blue Dogs in Congress, 36 were reelected with the exception of Rep. Harold Ford Jr. of Tennessee. Not one had opposed the invasion of Iraq. All supported the Bush tax cuts, as well as the wall along the border of Mexico. None support impeachment. All support Israel unequivocally, and if Bush moves ahead with a military intervention in Iran, they’ll all be on board.

Rahm Emanuel, head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, had chosen 22 pro-war candidates to run this election season in open districts or against Republican incumbents, 9 of which were victorious. Of the 9 winners, 4 are Blue Dogs: Brad Ellsworth (IN), Kirsten Gillibrand (NY), Baron Hill (IN), and Heath Shuler (NC).

That means of the 29 new Democratic Representatives, 13 are staunchly pro-war. Of the rest, only a handful hold moderately decent positions on US foreign policy, yet the small group will continue to remain a minority within their party. Not surprisingly, none feel our relationship with Israel should be altered. Clearly, that is the direction the Democratic leadership in Washington is looking for in its candidates.

The Blue Dog caucus will no longer have minority status in the House, and will bump their numbers to at least 45 next year. If Christine Jennings wins her recount in Florida that total could reach 46. To put this in perspective, the Blue Dogs are on their way to being on par with DLC’s strength in the House and could outnumber the Black Caucus. The Blue Dogs will soon make up at least 20% of the Democrats in the House of Representatives.

The future looks bleak for progressives in the Senate as well. Of the 6 new Democrats who won Senate races, none plan on challenging the Bush administration’s war on terror. Aside from Jon Tester of Montana who supports Murtha’s call for redeployment, virtually every new Democratic Senator-Elect opposes a timetable for troop withdrawal and believes the Bush administration, not the Democrats, should come up with an alternative course for Iraq.

Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island was quoted in October 2005 by the Brown Daily Herald as saying, “[by] disclosing an exit strategy . . . US leaders would be compromising troops’ safety.” Senator-Elect Jim Webb of Virginia, who served as Secretary of the Navy under Reagan, “opposes a timetable for withdrawal.” Democrat Bob Casey, who knocked off Sen. Rick Santorum in Pennsylvania, does not support a timetable to get troops out of Iraq. And while Sherrod Brown of Ohio supports a timetable for Iraq, he believes Bush should put more pressure on Iran, noting that while we’ve been occupying Baghdad, Iran has “gained ground in their effort to posses weapons of mass destruction.” And if you think Vermont's big Bernie Sanders has what it takes, don't forget he supported the bombing of Serbia.

Every new Democratic Senator-Elect also supported Israel’s invasion of Lebanon.

From the Blue Dog take over of the House to the Democratic saturation of the Senate, Election Day 2006 may have brought change to Washington. Sadly it was only in name, not in policy.

Joshua Frank, author of Left Out! How Liberals Helped Reelect George W. Bush (Common Courage Press, 2005) edits www.BrickBurner.org. He can be reached at: BrickBurner@gmail.com.

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