Blue Dogs
I first heard the term "Blue Dogs" on a Season 5 West Wing episode. The intern, Pierce (Pearce?), asked Josh, who had recently been grounded from legislative affairs due to losing an Idaho Democrat, why certain members of Congress were called Blue Dogs. Unfortunately, Josh never answered the question in the episode.
My curiousity did what it has frequently been doing recently, i.e., just languished, until I heard the phrase again in some of the post-inauguration commentary yesterday. And then I remembered an earlier post where I linked to a website of dog metaphors. Which eventually led me to the actual website for the Blue Dog Coalition.
The home page for the coalition says that they want to show that common sense, economic conservation, and compassion are not mutually exclusive. It's amazing what the internet has done; 10 years ago, I'd probably still just be wondering what "blue dogs" meant in a political context. However, while their website seems reasonable enough, I think I need to do more research to see if they really do what they claim. Back to the tubes I go.... If I'm not back in a few years, send out a search party.