The word out of Washington is that Nancy Pelos’s formerly lapdog Blue Dogs are about to bite their master’s hand. And, it all stems from Ms. Pelosi’s televised admission that she may have to cave in on her “No Drilling” declaration.
For any who may have been preoccupied with the China Olympics, Ms. Pelosi, Monday night, did a few back-flips of her own when she told CNN talk show maven Larry King, “They [the House Republicans] have this thing that says drill offshore in the protected areas,” Pelosi said. “We can do that. We can have a vote on that.”
For Blue Dog Democrats, already feeling the lash for knuckling under to Her Speakership’s draconian drilling ban, this was about as welcome as a visit to the vet. For weeks, they had been prancing and dancing like performing poodles, vacuously attempting to curry favor with local yokels – while scrupulously kowtowing to Ms. Pelosi’s mean-spirited dictates.
Then, wham, like a cruel kid with a sick obsession for inflicting pain, Madame No, right there on prime time TV, yanked their leash and sent them sprawling, in full view of the home folks.
So now, the Dogs are yapping.
At least some of the Blue Dogs, such as New York 24’s Michael Arcuri, had already sniffed out that Madame No’s intransigence was untenable, and had begun digging himself out of the Pelosi hole well before the late night cave in. Perhaps sensing impending doom, Mr. Arcuri, in a July 21 Waterloo photo op, had announced to the locals:
“Local families and businesses are struggling to stay afloat with skyrocketing fuel prices that affect every part of our daily lives. We must embrace new, independent solutions from both Republicans and Democrats that will bring immediate relief and invest in long-term answers to end our energy crisis once and for all. I have consistently supported bipartisan calls to increase drilling and production on existing, open lands and voted just last week to expand domestic drilling in Alaska – increasing supply and bringing prices at the pump down.”
“Bipartisan” … “increase drilling” …” expand domestic drilling in Alaska” – those aren’t words often heard from the quivering lips of Blue Dogs Democrats chafing under whip of Madame No. But, apparently, Mr. Arcuri had sniffed the air and come to realize that if he wanted his Waterloo to have a happier ending than that of le petit caporal, he’d better at least start mouthing the sentiments of his angry, oil-starved constituents.
Pretty strong words from a Dog who had spent most of the past two years rolling over on his back and baring his throat to the Majority Party Queen of Mean.
As might be expected, right now, the leaders of both the Blue Dog Coalition and the Boehner Boycott Brigade are refusing to comment on the record about any impending deal. And that, of course, is par for the political course. When grown men are jumping through hoops, it’s only polite to avert your gaze.
But, with nearly 100 Republican House members having already returned to Washington to call for an end to the House vacation and a quick vote on HR 6566—and with Blue Dog Democrats scurrying about for protective cover—a compromise of major proportions may well be in the offing.
It was once said of Sam Houston by a decided detractor, “He has all the qualities of a dog, except loyalty.” Ms. Pelosi, having now shown the same on nationwide TV, shouldn’t expect her once-servile Blue Dogs to do any less than behave in kind. Pay back is hell, Madame No.
http://www.getliberty.org/content.asp?pl=37&contentid=37#Biting_Back_at_Madame_No
