Anatomy
Of The Midterms:
Bye-Bye Coke, Hello Pepsi
By Joshua Frank
10 November, 2006
Countercurrents.org
It’s
going to take a little time to get used to it. The Republicans will
no longer control Congress come January. Voters on November 7 stormed
the polls to denounce the Bush administration’s scandal-laden
entourage and the occupation of Iraq. One by one they went down. Even
so, the defeat of the neo-cons certainly doesn’t mean Republican
values are on the skids.
You would guess that with
the massive anti-Bush uproar the Democrats would now possess a progressive
mandate to reshape the corruption that engulfs Washington. But you’d
be wrong. Many of the Republicans’ substitutes are anti-choice,
pro-war, socially conservative centrists. Of the newly elected House
Democrats at least 9 will be joining the conservative Blue Dog caucus.
According to the coalition’s spokesperson Vicky Walling, the organization
had endorsed 16 new candidates this year.
The difference between the
Democratic Leadership Council liberals and the Blue Dogs is marginal.
Whereas New Democrats tend to be socially liberal, Blue Dogs maintain
traditionally conservative ideals. They may oppose free trade but the
majority, like the DLC patrons, voted to limit access to bankruptcy
protection and see social programs as expendable in the quest to balance
budgets.
Of the 37 current Blue Dogs
in Congress, 36 were reelected with the exception of Rep. Harold Ford
Jr. of Tennessee. Not one had opposed the invasion of Iraq. All supported
the Bush tax cuts as well as the wall along the border of Mexico. None
support impeachment. All support Israel unequivocally, and if Bush moves
ahead with a military intervention in Iran, they’ll all be on
board.
Rahm Emanuel, head of the
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, had chosen 22 pro-war candidates
to run this election season in open districts or against Republican
incumbents, 9 of which were victorious. Of the 9 winners, 4 are Blue
Dogs: Brad Ellsworth (IN), Kirsten Gillibrand (NY), Baron Hill (IN),
and Heath Shuler (NC).
That means of the 29 new
Democratic Representatives, 13 are staunchly pro-war. Of the rest, only
a handful hold moderately decent positions on US foreign policy, yet
the small group will continue to remain a minority within their party.
Not surprisingly, none feel our relationship with Israel should be altered.
Clearly, that is the direction the Democratic leadership in Washington
is looking for in its candidates.
The Blue Dog caucus will
no longer have minority status in the House, and will bump their numbers
to at least 45 next year. If Christine Jennings wins her recount in
Florida that total could reach 46. To put this in perspective, the Blue
Dogs are on their way to being on par with DLC’s strength in the
House and could outnumber the Black Caucus. The Blue Dogs will soon
make up at least 20% of the Democrats in the House of Representatives.
The future looks bleak for
progressives in the Senate as well. Of the 6 new Democrats who won Senate
races, none plan on challenging the Bush administration’s war
on terror. Aside from Jon Tester of Montana who supports Murtha’s
call for redeployment, virtually every new Democratic Senator-Elect
opposes a timetable for troop withdrawal and believes the Bush administration,
not the Democrats, should come up with an alternative course for Iraq.
Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode
Island was quoted in October 2005 by the Brown Daily Herald as saying,
“[by] disclosing an exit strategy ... US leaders would be compromising
troops’ safety.” Senator-Elect Jim Webb of Virginia, who
served as Secretary of the Navy under Reagan, “opposes a timetable
for withdrawal.” Democrat Bob Casey, who knocked off Sen. Rick
Santorum in Pennsylvania, does not support a timetable to get troops
out of Iraq. And while Sherrod Brown of Ohio supports a timetable for
Iraq, he believes Bush should put more pressure on Iran, noting that
while we’ve been occupying Baghdad, Iran has “gained ground
in their effort to posses weapons of mass destruction.” And if
you think Vermont's big Bernie Sanders has what it takes, don't forget
he supported the bombing of Serbia.
Every new Democratic Senator-Elect
also supported Israel’s invasion of Lebanon.
From the Blue Dog take over
of the House to the Democratic saturation of the Senate, Election Day
2006 may have brought change to Washington. Sadly it was only in name,
not in policy.
Joshua Frank is the author of Left Out! How Liberals Helped Reelect
George W. Bush, and edits
http://www.BrickBurner.org
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