As another diarist here, and various media are reporting, Congressman Gene Taylor, a conservative Bluedog from Mississippi, is now on record as publicly bashing Obama over the budget.
For news entities like CNN, the hiring agency of a neocon political editor like Wolfe Blitzer, this gives them an easy soundbite and a simplistic story, under the meme of "Democratic Party in fighting," for them to attempt to pry open
However, Gene Taylor is no ordinary Democrat. He is not even an ordinary Blue Dog Democrat. Gene Taylor is a pure DINO, i.e., a Democrat in Name Only. If he were representing a congressional district in my state, i.e., New York, he would likely be the state's most conservative congressional representative.
However, this description, courtesy of Wikipedia, pretty much says it all about this right wing blowhard.
Taylor is one of the most conservative Democrats in the House; In 2004 he voted with the Republican leadership 54.2 percent of the time. He voted for all four articles of impeachment against Bill Clinton — the only Democrat to do so — and has frequently skipped Democratic conventions. In 1998 he was one of only 18 Democrats in the House to vote to rename the Washington National Airport the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. He is pro-life, a supporter of the Federal Marriage Amendment and a firm supporter of gun rights. He had refused to vote for Nancy Pelosi as the Democrats' candidate for Speaker of the House until the party regained power in 2006, instead casting a protest vote for Jack Murtha. He did, however, join the other Democrats in voting for Pelosi in 2006.
Taylor is a strong opponent of affirmative action and opposes some anti-discrimination laws. He was one of only 15 Congressional Democrats to cast a vote against the Civil Rights Act of 1990.
Throughout most of his career, Taylor has voted against many bills and amendments supported by labor unions. In 2002, he was one of only five Democrats to vote against an amendment submitted by Connie Morella (R-MD) to secure workplace rights for employees in the Department of Homeland Security and in the 1990s he voted against the Family and Medical Leave Act. In 2007 he was one of only two Democrats in the House to vote against the Employee Free Choice Act.
Hmm, let's see, Anti-Union, check. Anti-GLBT, check. Anti-choice, check. Siding with the GOP on nonsense wedge issues, such as a bogus witchhunt against the Clinton Administration, check! Opposed to the Civil Rights Act, check.
Where was he - having voted for Clinton's impeachment - in terms of holding the criminal Bush regime accountable to the rule of law?
And also, surveillance without a warrant, check. intelligence gathering without civil oversight, check. SDI, check. making the PATRIOT Act permanent, check. Constitutional Amendment banning same-sex marriage, check. opposing the Kyoto Protocols, check. being loved by the Christian Coalition, check.
Anyway, as with many, his record is, upon close examination, a bit more mixed. He's actually been okay on a number of issues. Nontheless, when looking at the big picture, I am not happy to have this guy a member of my party. Especially not when he is giving the opposition exactly what they want, which is an apparent wedge in this party. If he wants to do that, then he needs to join them and go the way of Richard Shelby, and/or other outright racist Dixiecrats. To which, I would say, simply, good riddance!