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blue dogs

The Blue Dog Coalition has built a reputation as a serious player in the policy arena, promoting positions that bridge the gap between ideological extremes. Many of the group's policy proposals have been praised as fair, responsible, and positive additions to a Congressional environment often marked as partisan and antagonistic.

The 35 conservative and moderate Democrats in the group hail from every region of the country, although the group acknowledges some southern ancestry that accounts for the group's name. Taken from the South's longtime description of a party loyalist as one who would vote for a yellow dog if it were on the ballot as a Democrat, the "Blue Dog" moniker was taken by members of the Coalition because their moderate-to-conservative-views had been "choked blue" by their party in the years leading up to the 1994 election.

The Coalition now represents a critical voting block within Congress. With the Republican majority holding a slim margin in the House, the Coalition is often courted by the leadership from both parties as the key to passing major legislation through the House of Representatives.

The Coalition was formed in the 104th Congress as a policy-oriented group to give conservative and moderate Democrats in the House of Representatives a common sense, bridge-building voice within the institution. Most agree that, since then, the Blue Dogs have successfully injected a moderate viewpoint into the Democratic Caucus, where group members now find greater receptiveness to their opinions. In fact, the continuing political success of new Blue Dog members in the 1998, 2000, 2002 and 2004 elections points to the public's approval of the centrist, fiscally responsible message represented by the Coalition.

Blue Dog Membership - 109th Congress (2004/2005)