Bush Democrats

While Democrats control the House of Representatives by 231-202, they cannot pass progressive bills on health care, the environment, jobs, justice, and impeachment - or even stop horrendous Republican bills on Iraq, torture, and warrantless wiretapping - because a few dozen "Bush Democrats" usually vote with George Bush.

One solution is to elect more Democrats to increase our majority so "Bush Democrats" matter less, and many netroots groups like Moveon.org, DailyKos.com, and Blue America are doing this brilliantly.

The other solution is to support progressive Democrats in primaries against "Bush Democrats," and that's why we launched this effort, drawing heavily on the excellent advice of Blue America's Howie Klein.

The main reason progressives have avoided primaries against Democratic incumbents is the fear that a divisive primary might help turn a "Bush Democratic" seat into a Republican seat. Realistically, there may be a few "Bush Democrats" who are uniquely able to win in Republican districts and therefore should not be challenged in a Democratic primary. But those are the exceptions, not the rule - especially in an election like 2008 where Democrats have a large lead due to widespread disgust with Bush and the entire Republican Party. We will not target incumbents who are truly exceptional.

While we focus on replacing incumbent Bush Democrats, there are two other situations in which progressive Democrats face Bush Democrats:

• Open seats where progressive Democrats are running against Bush Democrats
• Progressive Democratic incumbents who are being challenged by Bush Democrats

You can help all of our progressive Democratic candidates through our Actblue page:
http://www.actblue.com/page/bushdemocrats

1. Incumbent Bush Democrats who deserve primary challenges

Below is a list of Democrats who voted wrong on one or more crucial votes. Some are hard-core "Bush Democrats" while others simply join them from time to time.

Steny Hoyer

By publishing this list, we hope to accomplish several goals:

1. Persuade these Democrats to stop voting with Bush so we don't have to challenge them in a primary. Democrats who reverse their bad votes and genuinely embrace progressive positions will be crossed off our list
2. Encourage progressive Democrats to run primaries against those who keep voting with Bush

This list began after 59 Bush Democrats voted against the McGovern Amendment on 5/10/2007 on the first key vote to end the war. Those 59 Bush Democrats voted for an endless occupation of Iraq despite overwhelming opposition from Democrats, Independents, and even many Republicans. The list has been modified since then to take account of other key votes since the original Iraq War vote on 10/10/02.

Key to Column Headings:

"B/R" ranks each district on a "Blue/Red" scale where 1=Strong Blue, 2=Leans Blue, 3=Tossup, 4=Leans Red, 5=Solid Red. In theory there is less "risk" in challenging an incumbent in a Blue district than a Red one, because the seat should stay Democratic regardless of who wins the primary. But each district and each race is unique, so that general theory may or may not apply.

"Incumbent" links to a page for each incumbent where you can discuss progressive Democrats who could challenge them in a primary, and other topics related to local political organizing.

"B/N" identifies Members who join the "Bluedog" (B) or "New Democrat/DLC" (N) caucuses. "Bluedogs" claim to support "fiscal responsibility," but these Bluedogs support a war that has already wasted an incredible $434 billion and driven budget deficits to record levels. "New Democrats/DLC" claim to support "national security" but the Iraq War has severely damaged our armed forces, undermined military recruitment, increased global terrorism, and alienated our allies. Those who play a leadership role with either group earn an asterisk (*).

"BDI" is the "Bush Democrat Index" which ranks all Democrats on their overall voting support for George Bush and the Republicans. It is the reverse of the Progressive Punch Index.

"Votes" identifies key votes where these Members voted wrong:

• ?: (Not in office when vote occurred)
• A: Authorization for Use of Military Force in Iraq on 10/10/02 (bad=support)
• B: Bankruptcy Bill on 5/14/05 (bad=support)
• M: Military Commissions Act on 9/27/06 (bad=support)
• I: Iraq Supplemental McGovern Amendment to end the war by 4/08 on 5/10/07 (bad=oppose)
• R: Andrews Amendment to block Iraq/Afghan funds for military strike on Iran on 5/16/07 (bad=oppose)
• X: Iraq Supplemental with unenforceable timetable on 7/12/07 (bad=oppose any timetable)
• W: Warantless Wiretapping on 8/4/07 (bad=support)
• C: Bi-Partisan Compact on Iraq to oppose any funding cuts 9/26/07 (bad=support)
• P: "Protect America Act" letter co-signer 2/08 (P voted against Democratic alternative 3/14/08)
• Q: Iraq $163B on 6/19/08
• F: FISA wiretapping immunity on 6/20/08

"Primary Nominees" lists people whose names have been mentioned. If they are running and have a web site we link to their site. If we consider them priority candidates (whether or not they are running) we make them bold.

2. Republican districts and open seats where progressive Democrats are running against Bush Democrats

3. Progressive Democratic incumbents who are being challenged by Bush Democrats