Buses versus Blue Dogs

No, MeanMesa isn't going to tell any tear jerky "dog stories" about Blue Dogs getting run over by buses.

Well, maybe just one short one.

MeanMesa recalls clearly the rehabilitating words we heard when Whinin' Joe Lieberman whimpered back to the Democratic caucus after thoroughly soiling himself as the lap dog of the McCain Campaign. It was suggested then, by, of course, brilliant pundits and other objective observers, that his votes could be counted on for good, solid Democratic proposals in the Senate.

Wow! What a difference a few months makes!

Now, probably thanks to the BIG MONEY he has been sucking into his re-election war chest from his health insurance corporation sponsors in Connecticut, he's about as welcome as the smelly drunken uncle at the Chanukah party. That would be the smelly, drunken uncle even before he starts trying to drag the little girls into the cellar.

Now that his "possible assistance" in passing Democratic legislation through the Senate's quagmire of special interests has, well, lost its sheen, Old Joe's latest ambition has everything to do with his self-conversion and resurrection to become the stinkiest Blue Dog of them all.

Likewise, the flowing apologetics for the remainder of the Blue Dogs offer up flowery "softeners" about the fact that they were just barely elected in the first place. Oh my! Those deeply red states, staggering under the soul wrenching embarrassment of the Republican fostered autocracy, slipped just enough in 2008 to elect a few brave Democrats -- temporarily tolerated with the quiet promise that each of them would act like a Republican.

We could simply never expect these battered Blue Dogs to stand up for the country and act as if they were actually Democrats! Why, they'd lose those seats faster than Glen Back could start sniveling!

Oh sure, a bunch of the Blue Dogs really don't have as much concern about getting re-elected as they do about getting their checks from the insurance companies. After all, if you were a one term Democratic Senator -- a Blue Dog -- wouldn't it make sense to pile up as much "campaign war chest dollars" as possible before you returned to the old home state to run against the new, bright, shiny neo-con those folks picked as they returned to their right minds while you were gone?

You know, the pimply little neo-con lizard with darting, paranoid eyes and $10 million dollars in his, uh, campaign account.

It's possible that some of the "overly cautious" Blue Dogs are actually worried about getting re-elected, but most of them just seem to be shopping the boutiques in D.C. grabbing up new outfits for their next careers as health insurance lobbyists.

So, where do the "buses" come into the fray? What's the plan?

Well, New Mexico -- the home base of MeanMesa -- has two pretty good Democratic Senators, Jeff Bingaman and the newly elected Tom Udall. They're not Blue Dogs. They support the President, health care reform and vote conscientiously with their party. After the last "rough and tumble" election, they'd better.

That means that lots of New Mexican Democrats will be free to lease buses and travel off to those states where the Blue Dogs are doing whatever it is that they are doing. We can knock on doors and talk to people about all sorts of common interests, but especially about cleaning house in the Senate. And, it's not just going to be New Mexicans on those buses, either.

MeanMesa has to assume that most Americans are pretty well over the idea that we must agonizingly continue with the fruitless work of trying to persuade these "old style," "bought and paid for" Blue Dogs. No more persuading! They need to "move on" to their post term, lobbying jobs!

Don't worry about this herd of has-beens. They'll still have their health plans.

There are plenty of buses to lease -- everywhere! There are plenty of real Democrats ready to go to the Senate -- everywhere! Let's get busy and elect them -- everywhere!

That's how it works. After all, this is America!