The Dems Now Have Some Dogs in the Fight
Blue Dogs and New Dems are flexing their muscles
Headaches aside, Ross says the Blue Dogs will stand firm. "There's going to be a natural conflict," says James Thurber, a political scientist at American University, "between Blue Dogs and the old bulls that are chairs."
Even in the more moderate Senate, a new middle may be emerging. Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine is overhauling the long-standing Senate Centrist Coalition to create a less formal atmosphere for Republicans and Democrats to talk over a weekly lunch or breakfast. Even the word centrist is likely to go in order to avoid any ideological association. New independent Joe Lieberman and Republican Lamar Alexander, meanwhile, are creating their own weekly, bipartisan breakfast group. Cynics note that bipartisanship and moderation always sound good at the beginning of a new Congress. And Pelosi's plan to kick-start the Democratic majority is mostly "low-hanging fruit," Thurber says. "The hard stuff comes with tax reform, Iraq, immigration, and healthcare." That's when we'll see just how well these Democrats can get along.
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