The time was that U.S. Representative Jim Costa paraded the label of Blue Dog Democrat with pride. He thought that if he demonstrated his independence from Democratic leadership, he would earn points with Republican voters.
In 2009, however, it’s become clear that the Blue Dogs are not really independent at all. They’re dependent – upon the Republican Party.
In the 2008 elections, voters gave Democrats the White House and both houses of Congress because they wanted change from the years of failure under George W. Bush, but the Blue Dogs have been fighting against change. Jim Costa and the other Blue Dogs have been working to scuttle climate change legislation and health care reform.
Jim Costa himself has earned a progressive rating of just 19 out of a possible 100 for the 111th Congress. The Democrats of California’s 20th district have watched Costa pal around with the Republicans over and over again this year, and cringed.
That’s why this bumper sticker has been created as a protest against Jim Costa – not from a Republican perspective, but on behalf of the Democrats in Costa’s district. Democrats, we can do better than Jim Costa.
