Death to Blue Dogs Coming From Both Sides

Actually, I thought leftist Ari Berman made a perfectly good attack on centrist Democrats in Sunday's New York Times, "Boot the Blue Dogs." He's a little hypocritical on GOP "ideological purity," since his push to purge the Blue Dogs amounts to a de facto endorsement of the right's resurgence and unity at the conservative base. And thus for the Blue Dogs, with the clear loss of support among progressives, these centrist Democrats in Congress are taking fire from both sides. Why should voters reelect a waffling Democrat when they can get a real fighter in a conservative GOP partisan? The Wall Street Journal has more, with a piece mentioning former Democrat star Stephanie Herseth Sandlin of South Dakota, now expected to fall to Kristi Noem, the Assistant Majority Leader in South Dakota's House of Representatives. See, "Blue Dogs Face Sharp Losses in Midterms":

WASHINGTON—More than half the members of the Blue Dog Coalition—the organization of moderate to conservative Democrats in the House—are in peril in next week's election, a stark indicator of how the balloting could produce a Congress even more polarized than the current one.

The Blue Dogs are often seen as a kind of human bridge, connecting left and right in the House. But that bridge is imperiled by the coming Republican wave in midterm elections, the most stark example of how the midterms are likely to weaken Capitol Hill's political center.

Of 54 Blue Dogs in the House, six already have retired or decided to seek other offices. Of those trying to stay, 39 are in competitive races, according to the Cook Political Report, and 22 of those are in pure toss-ups.

Among those facing the toughest races are some of the Blue Dog Coalition's leaders. Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin of South Dakota, one of the co-chairs of the group, is locked in a contest with State Rep. Kristi Noem; in the most recent polling earlier this month, conducting by Rasmussen Reports, Ms. Herseth Sandlin trailed 47% to 43%.

Similarly, Rep. Baron Hill of Indiana, a fellow Blue Dog leader, is battling Republican attorney Todd Young in a deadlocked race both parties see as an indicator of the size of the GOP wave.

The bottom line is that the Blue Dog population could be cut significantly, conceivably by half, in next week's voting.

More at the link.

And obviously, there's no sanctuary for Democrats, Blue Dog, Harry-Pelosi dawg ... it's the same thing.