Saturday, August 01, 2009

OP ED: Obama Failing to Make Plan Deficit-Neutral

LINK

Obama Failing to Make Plan Deficit-Neutral
By Matt Mackowiak
Philadelphia Inquirer
Sunday, July 26, 2009

There is an important thread that connects the failed stimulus bill and current efforts to reform health care: the federal deficit. And there is only one group on Capitol Hill with the commitment, credibility, and political mind-set to block the current health-care legislation.

The Blue Dog Coalition is currently made up of 52 conservative and moderate Democratic members of Congress and has been in existence for 15 years. The organization exists, primarily, to join politically vulnerable Democrats and serve as a moderating influence on the larger and more liberal Democratic caucus.

On the organization’s Web site, you’ll find the following figured prominently: “Currently, the U.S. Debt is estimated at: $11,226,807,380,955.11. Your share of today’s public debt is: $36,683.01.” The Blue Dogs have kept a laserlike focus on the federal deficit in recent years.