With all the talk about superdelegates, I've been wondering "Where are the Blue Dogs throwing their support?" At first blush, It would seem the Blue Dogs would naturally gravitate towards Clinton, what with the propensity to move right of center and HRCs connection to the DLC.
This piece from yesterday caught my eye...Chicago congressman endorses Obama
(AP) March 26, 2008 — Chicago congressman Dan Lipinski is backing U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's presidential bid.
Lipinski had been one of the two remaining holdouts among Democratic superdelegates in Illinois' congressional delegation. He says he's endorsed Obama because of the candidate's emphasis on overcoming partisanship and uniting the country.
Lipinski's district in southwest Chicago and its southwest suburbs narrowly voted in favor of Obama over U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., in Illinois' presidential primary last month.
U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel of Chicago is a former White House aide to President Clinton and now the chairman of the House Democratic Conference, and he remains neutral in the presidential race.
Now we all know that many progressive groups, including Daily Kos, fought hard to have Lipinski defeated during the primary race. In the case of Lipinski, his opponent, Mark Pera, received tremendous support from the blogosphere. Lipinski simply does not hold the same progressive values as many of us. What might we read into his endorsement of Obama, a candidate that he shares little with philosophically?
Lipinski's subsequent endorsement of Obama seems to foreshadow a move amongst the remaining uncommitted super delegates. Lipinski's endorsement is pure self-interest and he sees that his self interest lies with Obama.
Some might argue that Lipinski had to endorse Obama because he's from Illinois, but if that were true (which I don't think it is) then the endorsement would have come months ago, well in advance of the Illinois Primary. Instead Lipinski held off his endorsement 1) so as to not alienate his potential primary voters be they Obama or Clinton supporters, and 2) to see how the remainder of the primary season played out. Lipinski will now support the candidate that he feels best serves his interests.
This is an act of political calculation that is no doubt playing out in many districts across the country. The Democratic Convention Watch estimates that 77 of the remaining unaffiliated superdelegates are Democratic Representatives. I would image many of the uncommitted Reps. are Blue Dogs. Lipinski’s decision is a harbinger of things to come.
UPDATE: Contact your Superdelegate
Thanks to Wisper for the following breakdown on the Blue Dog Reps.
Clinton: Mike Arcuri(NY), Joe Baca(CA), Marion Berry(AR), Leonard Boswell(IA), Dennis Cardoza(CA), Kirsten Gillibrand(NY), Jane Harman(CA), Steve Israel(NY), Mike Ross(AR), Loretta Sanchez(CA)
Obama: John Barrow(GA), Melissa Bean(IL), Sanford Bishop(GA), Jim Cooper(TN), Stephanie Herseth Sandlin(SD), Patrick Murphy(PA), Earl Pomeroy(ND), Adam Schiff(CA), David Scott(GA), Mike Thompson(CA)
Uncommitted: Dan Boren(OK), Allen Boyd(FL), Chris Carney(PA), Ben Chandler(KY), Jim Costa(CA), Bud Cramer(AL), Lincoln Davis(TN), Joe Donnelly(IN), Brad Ellsworth(IN), Gabrielle Giffords(AZ), Bart Gordon(TN), Baron Hill(IN), Tim Holden(PA), Nick Lampson(TX), Tim Mahoney(FL), Jim Marshall(GA), Jim Matheson(UT), Mike McIntyre(NC), Charlie Melancon(LA), Mike Michaud(ME), Dennis Moore(KS), Collin Peterson(MN), John Salazar(CO), Heath Shuler(NC), Zack Space(OH), John Tanner(TN), Gene Taylor(MS), Charlie Wilson(OH)
Contact your Reps. and tell them how you want the to cast their superdelegate vote.
Update 2: Blue Dogs in PA unsure of Clinton
From Bloomberg
March 27 (Bloomberg) -- The prospect of a Hillary Clinton victory in Pennsylvania's April 22 Democratic primary isn't swaying some of the state's superdelegates, who are hanging back while they calculate whether rival Barack Obama might prove a stronger draw at the top of the ticket in November.
While the New York senator is leading in polls, some undecided superdelegates -- elected officials who get an automatic vote on the party presidential nomination regardless of the primary's outcome -- say they are concerned that her nomination would motivate greater numbers of Republicans to turn out in November to vote against her, and other Democrats too.
``If we nominate Senator Clinton, it is possible we are going to stir up the passions of people on the far right who otherwise would not be very excited about this election,'' said Representative Jason Altmire, a freshman Democrat in a competitive re-election race. ``And I do have that concern.''
The issue is critical for Clinton, whose hopes of winning the nomination depend on sweeping up most of the superdelegates nationwide to offset her deficit among delegates picked in primaries and caucuses.
Altmire, 40, whose Pittsburgh suburban district gave President George W. Bush 54 percent of its vote in 2004, said he is struggling to determine whether either candidate would provide ``coattails'' in his race.
and this...
Representative Chris Carney, also a superdelegate and first-term Democrat, said he would make an endorsement after the primary if a candidate wins by a ``landslide'' in his northeast Pennsylvania district, which favored Bush with 60 percent of the vote in 2004. ``I'm going to wait and see how my district votes,'' he said.
Carney, 49, said he didn't know whether Obama or Clinton would be better for his re-election bid. Clinton's negatives are ``widely known,'' he said. ``What we don't know is whether the other shoe is going to drop for Mr. Obama.''
Another Democrat in a Republican district, eighth-term Representative Tim Holden, has told Pennsylvania newspapers he doesn't intend to endorse anyone now that the candidate he liked most, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, has dropped out.
Now that Richardson has endorsed Obama, will Holden follow?
Update 3: Rep Carney's mother actively supprots Obama
also from Bloomberg
Carney won his seat in one of the upsets of 2006, after the Republican incumbent, Don Sherwood, became embroiled in a sex scandal. His 2008 race is rated competitive by the Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan group in Washington.
Carney said Clinton appealed for his vote in a March 19 telephone call; Obama has called him three times since last summer. Obama has also recruited Carney's mother to help his campaign in Iowa, where she lives; she too is lobbying the congressman to back Obama. ``She said, `Chris, this is your mother talking to you now,''' Carney said.