Blue Dogs About to Stab Democrats in the Back?

Tomorrow the House will vote  for a new Iraq finding bill that employs the "short leash" approach. Regardless of how we may feel about this plan, it is absolutely the next best approach considering the current circumstances. It's unclear whether the Senate will go along with the plan (as has been reported in plenty of diaries), but if the House were to pass such a measure tomorrow it would put immense pressure on the Senate to act.

But even before the Senate gets a chance to look at this, it appears that the House may not pass the bill because of....you guessed it: Blue Dog "Democrats." According to Aravosis :

It's time to replace some conservative Democrats in Washington, DC. I just heard from an impeccable source that there is serious concern on the Hill that conservative Democrats in the House will vote with the Republicans to strip any and all restrictions from the Iraq supplemental tomorrow, effectively giving Bush all the money he wants with no restrictions and no effort to hold either him or the Iraq government accountable for anything. I.e., they will vote to continue this war along the same disastrous course because they're too afraid to challenge George Bush and his failed leadership.

Let me reiterate: This isn't some idle rumor. The concerns are coming from Hill sources themselves.

Even though this isn't coming from a "news source" it sounds entirely plausable. And fucking scary.

If the Blue Dogs are going to vote with the Republicans to kill this bill it would send the worst kind of message to the public about the Democratic Party. At a time when 57% of Americans side with the Democrats' approach on Iraq and the Dear Leader has tied Carter for the worst approval ratings in a generation, a divided Democratic Party that caves to Bush and the GOP would be a terrible signal to send. These Blue Dogs have an obsession with looking "weak on defense" and have had that obsession that permeated every facet of the Democratic Party since Vietnam--what the hell do they think it looks like when they cave to Mr. 28%? Strong on defense? Are they fucking joking?!

This is unacceptable, a defeat of this bill would be disastrous. We must pressure the Blue Dogs and all Democrats to vote for the bill tomorrow.

If your Congressman is a Blue Dog make sure you call and send an especially strong worded warning.

Here is a list of all the Blue Dog members and where you can reach them

Mike Arcuri (D-New York)
Joe Baca (D-California)
John Barrow (D-Georgia)
Melissa Bean (D-Illinois)
Marion Berry (D-Arkansas)
Sanford Bishop (D-Georgia)
Dan Boren (D-Oklahoma)
Leonard Boswell (D-Iowa)
Allen Boyd (D-Florida)
Dennis Cardoza (D-California)
Ben Chandler (D-Kentucky)
Jim Cooper (D-Tennessee)
Jim Costa (D-California)
Bud Cramer (D-Alabama)
Lincoln Davis (D-Tennessee)
Joe Donnelly (D-Indiana)
Brad Ellsworth (D-Indiana)
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-New York)
Jane Harman (D-California)
Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-South Dakota)
Baron Hill (D-Indiana)
Tim Holden (D-Pennsylvania)
Steve Israel (D-New York)
Tim Mahoney (D-Florida)
Jim Marshall (D-Georgia)
Jim Matheson (D-Utah)
Mike McIntyre (D-North Carolina)
Charlie Melancon (D-Louisiana)
Mike Michaud (D-Maine)
Dennis Moore (D-Kansas)
Patrick Murphy (D-Pennsylvania)
Collin Peterson (D-Minnesota)
Earl Pomeroy (D-North Dakota)
Mike Ross (D-Arkansas)
John Salazar (D-Colorado)
Loretta Sanchez (D-California)
Adam Schiff (D-California)
David Scott (D-Georgia)
Heath Shuler (D-North Carolina)
John Tanner (D-Tennessee)
Gene Taylor (D-Mississippi)
Mike Thompson (D-California)
Charlie Wilson (D-Ohio)