Blue Dog Days of Summer

Not to put to fine a point on it, I think the Blue Dogs' main aims are 2) to get attention and 1) to get money. They made a deal with Waxman in which they provided the necessary vote (plus one more) for a compromise including a public option under one key condition -- no floor vote before the recess.

Why would they want the question to remain open during the recess ? Do they enjoy being verbally abused by wingnut teapartiers ? I'd say it's because the flood of cash from special interests in August will much more than pay for the bother.

See Blue Dogs rake in the cash and
a Blue Dog declares delay to be the key victory.

Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-S.D.) said she believes the Blue Dogs have scored a major victory by getting leaders to back away from their goal of having the House vote on a healthcare bill before members return home for the month of August.

“We’ve achieved the victory of not having a vote on the House floor that will give every member a chance to digest what’s in the bill, whether it’s in a markup that occurs in Energy and Commerce or whether it’s as the bill exists right now,” she said. “It is because of the Blue Dog Coalition that there is no floor vote before the August break.”

Notably Herseth Sandlin is not meeting her constituents, just not the ones who ought to have a chance to fork over the cash express their concerns.