First he brags to the Wall Street Journal that as one of the leaders of the Blue Dog caucus, he could join with either Republicans or Democrats to pass legislation, which is pretty much an open threat to House leadership.
Then he boasted that his first vote against the House stimulus package was done at the encouragement of the White House, who told him to stand up to Nancy Pelosi.
Nancy Pelosi’s outfit, Americans United for Change, began running ads against seventeen Republicans and one Democrat in their home districts who had voted against the stimulus. The one Democrat — Jim Cooper.
So Cooper backed down and voted for the bill on the second go-round.
Now the Tennessee GOP is taking a swipe at him for voting for the bill, which they call "a $787 billion package stuffed with earmarks, pork projects and payoffs to Democrat-friendly special interest groups."
So Cooper seems to be looking for support wherever he can find it, even if it dare not speak its name:
U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.) says he talked with 10 or 15 Republican colleagues in the House who were in favor of the $787 billion federal economic stimulus bill, but feared Republican leadership too much to vote for it.
Must suck to be Jim Cooper. Maybe that groovy Pete Peterson thing to gut Social Security will work out for him.
Related posts:
- White House Calls Kyl’s Bluff on Canceling Stimulus, Republicans Whine About It
LeadershipWhite House Threatens Freshmen Who Won’t Vote For Supplemental- Jim Cooper Catches #rahmflu, Loves Him Some European Banks
- NYT Can’t Recall that Republicans Who Demand “Where Are the Jobs?” All Voted Against the Stimulus
- Jim Cooper Discusses Stupak Amendment Without Revealing He Voted for It
Spotlight
Support this site!
Subscribe to the newsletter
Advertise on Firedoglake
Send
us your tips
Make us your homepage
About Firedoglake
Advanced search
Cooper is beginning to look like he’s to clever for his own good.
He plays both ends against the middle, winds up p*ssing everyone off, then wonders why he has no friends.
to clever = too clever
life is not necessarily supposed to be a multiple choice test with unlimited do-overs until you please teacher.
at some point, the buzzer goes off, and time’s up.
Fixed it for you.
I think it’s time for us to go after the blue dogs. They are really working against our interests and maybe a full push is going to be needed. Concentrated letter writing etc?
What could Cooper be thinking. Seems like he’s competing for a political Darwin Award.
page is a keeper
mods, please feel free to shorten paste if it’s too long but this needs to be on everyone’s list
The reason he has no friends is because his chin looks like a hairless goatee.
AND THE KILLIN’ GOEZ ON AND ON AND…
Citizen Hamsher and the Firepup Freedom Fighters:
“Nancy Pelsosi’s outfit, Citizens United for Change, began running ads…So Cooper backed down and voted for the bill.”
Now THAT’s change I can believe in…Blue Dogs, meet the mistress of the House!
KEEP THE FAITH AND PASS THE AMMUNITION, THE STRUGGLE GOEZ ON AND ON!!!
Is cooper one of the creatures rahm put into office?
Not mutually exclusive. Cooper appears to be to the House what Lieberliar is to the Senate.
The thing that dogs my heels (an FDL pup?) is my wonderment at how much information people like Cooper and Lieberman have access to when caucusing with the Dems. I don’t know how that works, but it seems like having the enemy embedded with the troops.
lol
Democrat-friendly special interest groups
“Democrat-friendly” Love it.
but feared Republican leadership too much to vote for it.
Party over country!
I live in Cooper’s district, and the very sight of him makes me queasy. He’s so imbedded in the provincial Nashville political culture that there’s little chance we’ll ever be able to unseat him with someone more liberal. Much a I’d love to see it, this town may vote blue, but it’s not very progressive.
The key is to primary them, which is what Howie Klein is working hard at doing. Even, if we don’t beat them, it costs them in money, time, and reputation.
don’t really get why these 10-15 schmucks would be scared. i dunno. bucking the party now and then might be a good way to survive. i could see if they were from deeply red districts and the stimulus just didn’t play at all back home. But afraid of the leadership. How can you be ascared of somebody named Boner? And that Cantor guy? Well, he sure strikes fear into me. Buncha wussies.
“All Hail Rush!”
or is it Newtie this week? — wouldn’t want to hurt his feelings
It’s an old and “honored” tradition. Think of Phil Gramm, nominally a Dem representative in the early ’80s feeding Dem information to the Ray-gunz WH.
If we’re gonna ‘take names’ . . . please add my own dear Allen Boyd (D-Fla) to the list of Blue Dogs who need a serious challenger come 2010. He, like Cooper, voted against the stimulus before he voted for it. Enough already.
That’s what I was afraid of. In the final analysis, it seems there are places that will give us Blue Dogs at best. So maybe the task at hand is to ferret out better Blue Dogs to run in those districts? (Don’t yell at me, please. I haven’t had enough coffee yet!)
Yeah, I get that. And short of a purity test and oath of allegiance, not likely to change. It just seems like . . . cheating! *g*
The blue dogs are an irritant but the focus should be on the Senate. If the stimulus even has a modicum of success 65 in the senate could be doable. At that point they could say Collins and Lieberman FY
Citizen TwoMildreds:
“…ther’s little chance we’ll be able to unseat him with someone more liberal.”
That’s why the sting of the lash is sometimes the only way to get a dumb (Blue) dog’s attention. And remember that Southern economic populism grew up in the last Great Depression and actually reflects the political mentality of the “sans culotte” of the old Confederacy…Huey Long is a good example. If you folks could get some good ol’ class conflict (without the racism) added to the recipe for yer politics down there, we might ta get somethin goin in Dixie.
Yep. Make the Blue Dogs pay a price for their misbehavior. I’m in favor of that.
And that Cantor guy? Well, he sure strikes fear into me.
The Democrats should have a standing policy to, whenever Cantor opens his yap, arrange for mass re-airings of Cantor being reduced to absolute rubble by Chris Matthews – twice.
This guy gives “stupid” a bad name.
Or maybe he’s raising it to an art form – I’m not really sure….
The Blue Dogs say that before they will vote to spend money, money must be removed from somewhere else. So, I don’t think there are any ‘good’ Blue Dogs.
***********
” The 47 conservative and moderate Democrats in the group hail from every region of the country, although the group acknowledges some southern ancestry which accounts for the group’s nickname. Taken from the South’s longtime description of a party loyalist as one who would vote for a yellow dog if it were on the ballot as a Democrat, the “Blue Dog” moniker was taken by members of The Coalition because their moderate-to-conservative-views had been “choked blue” by their party in the years leading up to the 1994 election. “
Blue Dog Coalition proposals have served as middle-ground markers which laid the foundation for the bipartisanship necessary to bring about fundamental reforms, and helped set into law policies reflecting the “common sense, conservative compassion” so often attached to the group’s efforts. “
http://www.house.gov/melancon/…..rship.html
That will only work if they’ve thoroughly torqued both Dem and Rep leadership. Given the numerical logistics of the House, it seems to me the Blues still have the whip hand.
In order to get a toe-hold in the south it will take one-on-one work from within. Southerners don’t like people from “outside” to tell them what to do. They need to be talked with by someone they feel comfortable about. I have said before that southerners realize that people from “outside” think they are stupid and ignorant and they resent it.
This is interesting. Thanks! So, does “bipartisan” mean “I’m gonna reach across the aisle and lock on to your gonads until you turn blue and say you’ll do it my way”?
Not sure that this is quite true. If the money can be found elsewhere they may be ok with it. ie raise taxes on cigarettes s-chip expansion ok. Raising taxes on the wealthy???????
I’m thinking more about external punishment, like primary challenges, making them look foolish on TV, including having a rapid response team to counter their false talking points. I agree that when it comes to a vote, they must be catered to, but there’s so much more to politics than just the vote.
they “resemble” it
fixed it
I totally agree. But the rapid response on TV thingie seems to be the missing element. This from the woman who doesn’t watch it. But that’s my over-riding sense of things. Where is the outrage on the left? Where is the truth squad?
Sorry, Jane, for OT, but i’m so upset – there is an injured fawn in my backyard – i think coyote injuries, as i heard a bunch of them yipping this am. I called animal rescue but they don’t rescue deer, the stress is such rescue doesn’t work. They recommended i leave it for the coyotes to come back and get. Or call an outdoor club to get for venison. My heart is going out to the poor thing and i don’t really want to view a pack feeding. Maybe a hug or two? Or suggestions?
Ding
Yeah. The Ds are not good at that. Don’t get me started. I’m beginning to think it’s because the Ds consider their side so obvious that they don’t need to explain, educate.
Oh, no! I’m so sorry. For you, for the fawn. Thinking…
(((Kathryn in MA)))
So sorry about the fawn, but that’s part of nature. Ask your local police to come & shoot it so that it doesn’t suffer. I did that once for a deer that was hit by a car but not fatally.
And therein lies the fatal flaw. Not obvious at all. Not even to our own people. Progressive 101. As has been noted many times here and elsewhere, it’s high time (right now) for Dems to enumerate (in simple language and short paragraphs) what we’re for vs. what we’re against. The big shift from reactive to proactive. THis is a major missing piece, IMO.
Is there a compassionate vetinarian in your area?
Thank you, Barbara. I called Animal Rescue and Mass Div Fish & Wildlife. Nor do they haul deer carcasses off of private property.
Thanks, that answered my question. Living in Texas, I fully understand. If you think he’s a nasty piece of work, you ought to see his constituents.
Great idea! Likely any veterinary office could give you a next step.
FHMike – i’ll call vets next, thanks. Then i might have to call someone to put it down, eCahn. Thanks for hugs.
(((kathryn)))
don’t know if this is a stupid idea or not….. but the stone zoo is not, i think, very far from you and they may be able to advise?
http://www.stonezoo.org/index.cfm
Citizen Twain:
Yes dear, maybe my use of the pronoun “we” was misleadin’…of course Southerners resent bein’ seen the way they truly are… so get ‘em ta focus on takin down the Northern banks that have caused all the injustice in their lives and they will end up votin’ with their brothers and sisters in the North against the interests of the old slavocracy that has been shillin’ for those Northern banks for lo these last 130 years.
Oh, man. I’m from NJ, so no experience with stuff like that myself so I don’t have any suggestions. But sounds awful. ((((KATHRYN)))) Best of luck with that.
You betcha. Haven’t figured out a way of getting them to do it. Obama started to figure it out when he took to the hustings to sell the stim, but that was done only out of desperation. Ds need to go to the schools the Rs have set up to learn messaging. SCHIP, indeed, what a dumb name for a worthy program.
I think this is bedrock. What can we do? I mean, really DO? For starters, send copies of George Lakoff book(s), highlighted for easy scanning to . . . whom? And then create a draft document ourselves? Where to start? I’m not savvy enough to do this myself, but I’m in if anyone is game to go with this. Our national and local reps/senators would say this is one helluvan idea, but no time to say hello, goodbye, I’m late, I’m late, I’m late.
Not my area of expertise, so I have no clue as to what we can do. When it comes to clever names, I’m a dud.
I did my little contribution last night. Josh Marshall was on 1600 PA Ave. He wandered all over the place (excuse: Shuster’s Qs were really dumb). So I sent Josh a short email with TV tips. He responded well. It is very important not only to get more progressives on TV, but also to make sure they are articulate.
Booyah!! Ya done good.
I’m envisioning a short document/booklet titled something like: “I’m a Democrat because…”
RE the naming thingie (SCHIP et al), there are those among us clever enough to work that part of the equation. They just…don’t.
i called the environmental police. oh, my.
Hang in there! You’re doing more than most people would do!!
Does anyone know if there is a viable progressive in Cooper’s district that can primary him? The Blue Dogs have to go along with all Republicans if this country and it’s people have any chance of moving forward.
The comments by barbara and eCAHNomics have been spot on. The messaging by Democrats is abysmal. Because the Republicans have such a lousy product they have recognized that if packaged properly they can always find a buyer. Dems have a far superior product hands down yet they hven’t realize the importance of packaging or as Lakoff would say, framing.
But if the progressive wins the primary, can (s)he win the election? This half a loaf thingie is crazy-making, but it seems to be the only viable option in some parts of the country.
Dems from conservative districts and goopers from liberal ones have a tough time of it in this partisan political world.
I suppose that they are all endangered and gradually goopers will take all the seats in conservative districts and dems will run the table in more liberal areas. Until then, we will continue to see these oddities and congresscritters who don’t know whether to shit or go blind.
hahahaha…maybe..
**********
” With such substantial congressional wins has come a swelling of the Democratic caucus’s moderate flank, an entire cast of characters who won their seats by opposing huge chunks of the party platform, by distancing themselves from rather than embracing Obama. Now, in light of a stimulus debate in which many Democrats worked with Republicans to cut major progressive spending, from education construction to energy efficiency and healthcare, they have left little doubt about their intent and potential influence. “
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comm…..-democrats
The strategy should be a national truth squad to debunk the Rs garbage. Let the locals come up with a viable alternative and support if we concur.
I’m thinking about taking a stab at doing a diary about this. (How’s that for non-committal?) I feel so strongly about this. We talk and talk and talk about it, but what to do? Did you ever notice how our elected officials hold “listening sessions” and spend most of that time talking? My favorite guy, Tim Walz (CD1 rep in MN) was the most accessible, down-to-earth, willing to listen to the little people candidate I have ever encountered. (Sadly, not my rep.) A friend and I went to see him several months after he was elected to Congress, and I could see that the somewhat hierarchical shift had already begun to take hold. He’s still one of the best, but something happens when they all get stirred together in one pot.
That’s where the importance of messaging, packaging, framing, whatever you call it, becomes critical. A coherent, unified and compelling narrative is what has been lacking consequently Blue Dogs (Republican Lite)are able to pull the wool over their constituents who by and large prefer “Democrats” to the Republicans.
Turns out that this guy is in a safe dem district- Cook has it plus six for dems. Yeah- he could probably be primaried into an early retirement-
” For years, the Blue Dogs have pushed for a law requiring Congress to pay for new spending with cuts elsewhere in the budget, a concept known as “paygo,” or pay-as-you-go. President-elect Barack Obama has signaled his support for the idea and has courted the coalition. “
http://www.usatoday.com/news/w…..edog_N.htm
Michels Iron Law of Oligarchy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_law_of_oligarchy
And they can start with the bloated, wasteful Department of Defense. The U.S. already spends more on the military than the rest of the world combined. The sacred cow of the DOD is the first place to look at paygo.
The blue dogs are concerned about deficits. They can be placated by finding additional sources of income. On;y two of them voted against s-chip because additional funding was found through a tax on cigarettes.
And then some moron lumps all of us together as “stupid” and creates new resentment among your very few progressive comrades in the South. Nice going, asshat.
Very, very interesting. I’ve observed this in organizations large and small, for-profit and not-for-profit. Heck, in families. Just didn’t hae a name for it. A strong case for term limits in Congress?
Reply meant for foothillsmike @ 34. Apologies, eCAHNomics.
I suspect Christy would second that, being a WVa denizen. So how does the South step out from under this meme? I’m serious. How?
I am not sure how calling Jim Imhoff the stupidest person in the Senate and saying that the people who elected as stupid can do anything but reinforce the perceptions of the progressives.
ahh..now I get what you meant..I’d interrupted their words literally..my mistake..