Rachel Maddow explains the emerging dynamic that is sadly happening within the Democrtaic Party. A handful of Democrats are banding together to try and hijack President Obama's agenda. They actually are voting with the minority party Republicans who were voted out of office by the people.
On MSNBC’s Morning Joe last week, Bayh unveiled a centrist group of 15 Democrat senators whom he described as “pragmatists” and “not ideologues” and “not strident partisans.” Three of the 15 are up for election next year -- Bayh himself, Michael Bennet of Colorado, and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas. Bayh has a history of sparring with the left in his party. As chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council in 2003, he warned of then-rising presidential campaign of Howard Dean. “The Democratic Party is at risk of being taken over by the far left,” he told DLC members in 2003. “We have an important choice to make: Do we want to vent, or do we want to govern?”
Even the twittering McCaskill is doing her part to align herself very badly.
Three Democrats, Sens. Evan Bayh, Russ Feingold and Claire McCaskill "opposed the bill as wasteful," and those "defections were small but could signal problems for Mr. Reid as he tries to hold his troops together as Congress faces an array of complex bills."
Maddow talked to Jane Hamsher about why the Conserva-dems are bucking their own party and siding with the Republicans. From Firedoglake:
Why is Bayh bucking his party—and, more importantly, his own state’s population—to go to the mat for the banks?
As noted Bayh's campaign contributions may have a lot to do with it.
FDL is working with Campaign for America's Future and US Action to target "conservative" Democrats who are taking lobbying money and blocking President Obama's agenda. I'm sure many more groups will follow. As Rachel said with friends like these...
(h/t John Amato)
