Did you expect anything different? Oh, those Blue Dogs, the “fiscal conservatives” who cry rivers of tears for the poor, put-upon millionaires and insurance profiteers.
The Blue Dog Political Action Committee has collected $1.1 million for the 2010 election cycle, more than any other leadership political action committee on Capitol Hill, according to CQ MoneyLine.
The total includes about $300,000 from health care interests, including $158,000 from doctors and other provider groups; $87,000 from makers of drugs and medical devices; and $50,000 from health insurance interests.
For the comparable period in the 2008 cycle, the PAC collected slightly less overall: $875,000, including $218,000 from health care political action committees.
Raúl M. Grijalva of Arizona, co‑chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and other liberal lawmakers have criticized Blue Dogs for not backing a top priority for Obama.
“Whose interest do the Blue Dogs serve if they vote no?” Grijalva said. “They should check with uninsured families and other interests that go beyond K Street.”
A coalition of interest groups has complained about the obstructionism. TPM explains:
Right now, one of the key sticking points in House negotiations between Blue Dogs and health care leaders is the question of financing–how to pay for the bill? Leaders had initially endorsed a surtax on high income earners to cover about half the bill’s cost–but, under pressure from Blue Dogs, they’re now walking that back. The original proposal had been to initiate the tax on families making over $350,000 a year, or individuals making over $280,000 a year. But now, they say, they might limit the tax to millionaires only.
But that creates a cost hole that needs to be filled. And Blue Dogs have suggested extracting it from working- and middle-class Americans. The bill, as proposed, would have provided subsidies for people living under 400 percent of the poverty line to buy health insurance–and Blue Dogs are suggesting that the line be lowered to 300 percent.
Right now, the average national premium for family coverage is $12,600–or $1,050 per month. Presumably, over time, reform legislation would lower that cost, but in the interim, it will continue to cost nearly that much. House legislation would help more middle-class people cover that cost–unless Blue Dogs get their way.
Those affected by the change would be people and families living between 300 and 400 percent of the poverty line, who don’t already have employer-provided health insurance.
Didn’t someone ask about the Blue Dogs? Well, here’s your answer.