Ideology
Blue Dogs purport to have an agenda that protects the interests of the vulnerable while also respecting traditional cultural values and keeping taxes low. Others, including fellow members of the Democratic Party, have questioned the veracity of this mission statement.
The Blue Dog Coalition is often involved in searching for a compromise between liberal and conservative positions. The Blue Dogs are viewed by some as a continuation of the socially conservative wing of the Democratic party, however, the only stated policy position of the Blue Dogs is fiscal conservatism.
Despite the Blue Dogs' differing degrees of economic and social conservatism, they claim they generally work to promote positions within the House of Representatives that bridge the gap between right-wing and left-wing politics. Blue Dogs are an important swing vote on spending bills and as a result have gained influence in Congress out of proportion to their numbers. They are frequently sought after to broker compromises between the Democratic and Republican leadership, generally lending a more centrist character to US politics.
Read more about this topic: Blue Dog Coalition
Famous quotes containing the word ideology:
“Xenophobia looks like becoming the mass ideology of the 20th-century fin-de-siècle. What holds humanity together today is the denial of what the human race has in common.”
—Eric J. Hobsbawm (b. 1917)
“Commerce is greedy. Ideology is bloodthirsty.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“The ideology of this America wants to establish reassurance through Imitation. But profit defeats ideology, because the consumers want to be thrilled not only by the guarantee of the Good but also by the shudder of the Bad.”
—Umberto Eco (b. 1932)