The big-business-worshipping Blue Dogs are (along with Big Media allies like Lawrence O’Donnell) trying to push the myth that they lost big, not because they pressured Obama to go with a stimulus package that every economist worthy of the name said was too small, but because of (get this) Nancy Pelosi.

This is the first major news of the day. Allen Boyd, a Blue Dog from the Florida panhandle, will vote for the health care bill. U.S. Rep. Allen Boyd, who voted against national health care last November, said today he will vote for the new bill when it comes to the House floor. The Monticello [...]

Still lots of work for the leadership to do. And where’s that CBO score?

Thanks to a coordinated effort to paint a strategy long used by both parties as secretive and unconstitutional, Democrats have bungled their preferred “deem and pass” strategy for health care reform with just one vote, leaving it with pretty much no political utility.

While lots of House Blue Dogs say they’re keeping an open mind on the final vote, nothing has changed on the political landscape where the same people continually worried about challenges from their right and habitually unwilling to take stands on Democratic priorities and principles would suddenly change their worldviews. I would be surprised if more than a handful changed their vote. Which means that Speaker Pelosi will have a difficult job getting to 218, no matter what comes out of the conference committee.

Jason Altmire seems to think that if Democrats get their asses kicked today, it just proves he’s right about everything: Rep. Jason Altmire (D-Pa.) argued that an election night rebuke for Democratic candidates across the nation could lead some in the party to rethink their plans on healthcare reform and other issues. “It looks as [...]