Of course, you need only follow the money. Campaign contributions are the problem.... the ONLY problem.
Jack Lohman
http://tinyurl.com/ytgyf7

Thank you David for that informative article. I had heard of blue dog democrats, but didn't know much about them. I followed up by going to their website to see which congressmen belonged to the group. Then I did some digging and found articles in Open Left about the "bush dog democrats", which I assume is the same group you are referring to.
Also an interesting DailyKos concerning one of the blue dog democrats, Daniel Lipinski - http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/11/28/182343/66

Authority intoxicates
And makes meer sots of magistrates
The fumes of it invade the brain
And make men giddy, proud, and vain;
By this the fool commands the wise,
The noble with the base complies,
The sot assumes the role of wit,
And cowards make the brave submit.

Hudibras, Butler 1680

Some think that they know they are right, despite the fact that all empirical evidence proves otherwise.
The only advancement man has made in the progress of humankind has been to increase the number of negative words in the language we speak today. But, we are still as savage as any cavemen!

David:

Once again you have educated us. Thanks for your great belief in the rest of us.

Meanwhile; many of us (well, maybe just me...lol) would be better able to respond if you would provide clickable 'references'.

I know this is an added burden on you. But the effect will be greatly magnified if we can quickly educate ourselves, for example, as to who these Blue Dogs are and who were the ones who voted for this latest example of 'screw the people'.

In any case, keep on fighting the good fight.

One of your many friends.

Jim

Here's where we get some milage out of Michael Vick!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's only recently that i viewed a number of congressional reps websites to press for impeachment = i got all the C's, well i was shocked to see that these Blue Dawgs have a decal on their webpage and they're somehow proud of this miasmic trough... so i was thinking like that decal where you see the Big Darwin Fish eating the fish with a cross in it's eye ...we'd have Michael Vick working over a useless Blue Dawg. (in someways not so funny) But it could be.

Too right David. It's not a matter of ideology that's driving these folks. It's greed and dishonesty, plain and simple.

In juxstaposition to your "in the back row" column about "conservation of scarce or valuable resources," I think that some of us "conservative" Democrats see the sub-prime mortgage mess becoming an opportunity to bail out predatory lenders, by their rich uncle Sam, in the name of helping out the working class. Unfortunately, the type of borrowers living beyond their means are probably the ones who used their homes as an ATM to buy earth killer SUVs and a bunch of crap made in China by slave labor. I have little sympathy for those who live beyond their means or the filty enablers that thought flipping houses and mortgages was going to go on forever (like Niel Bush and the Silverado crowd a couple of decades earlier). I generally find myself nodding in agreement when I read your material, but I disagree with intervening against the folly of both irresponsible lenders and borrowers. Indeed, W's "Ownership Society" is exactly what got us into this mess ... and it's about time this over-heated-wasteful-consumerism slowed down. Otherwise, I appreciate your insights about corrupt pols (democrats and republicans).