By Chris Stirewalt Democrats are clearly facing a terrifying reign of their own as liberal activists and unions keep hounding moderate members out of office. In Tuesdayâs Pennsylvania Primary, two members of the Blue Dog Coalition, the Clinton-era House caucus of moderate Democrats came up short against more liberal opponents. Rep Tim Holden, who has represented a district stretching east from Harrisburg for a decade, lost to a personal injury attorney, Matt Cartwright. Rep. Jason Altmire, who snatched a Republican-held seat in suburban Pittsburgh during the Democratic wave election of 2006, lost in a member-on-member primary to Rep. Mark Critz, the labor-backed successor to the late Rep. John Murtha. Redistricting is in large part to blame for both defeats. Pennsylvania lost two seats in the 2010 reapportionment and the Republican-controlled state legislature redrew the map to make it harder for moderate Democrats. Holden saw his district shift north and west into more liberal, more pro-union counties to the northeast. And the mash up of Altmire and Critzâs districts meant one Democrat was sure to lose. But thereâs more at work here than just redrawn district lines. Democrats have become less tolerant of the moderates in their midst, and the growing influence of unions, especially government worker unions, is a big part of the reason. The Obama era has been murder on the Blue Dogs. There were 54 members in 2009 but only 26 in 2011. Obamaâs health law is one of the main culprits. After the president made promises about fiscal constraints, most of the members signed on to his health law. Those votes proved fatal to the careers of several members from red-leaning districts who either retired in the face of impossible odds or were beaten. Altmire and Holden survived by voting against the health law and survived the Republican wave of 2010. But, they paid the price for disloyalty last night as Democrats picked backers of the Obama law over opponents. Labor groups started their campaign in 2010 with anti-incumbent efforts against Democrats in Arkansas, Pennsylvania and elsewhere. To get a sense of the power unions hold in the new Democratic Party, not one endangered Senate Democrat could be enticed on Tuesday to vote for a Republican-backed measure that would have blocked a move by the National Labor Relations Board creating snap elections. A vote for that bill could have been a big help to red-state Democrats, but none would buck the unions on the issue. Three consecutive wave elections have left Americans with the most conservative House since the 1930s, the most liberal president since Lyndon Johnson and the Senate at a standstill. With so little middle ground, voters will face a stark and decisive moment this fall. The idea of a Clintonian âThird Wayâ for Democrats is a distant memory and with government unions playing an increasingly important role for the party, leftward seems to be the only available direction. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/04/25/moderate-democrats-vanishing-breed/
...not one endangered Senate Democrat could be enticed on Tuesday to vote for a Republican-backed measure --------------------------------- Oth, this is why we are seeing Dems walk out, on voting. Perhaps they agree on principle with the Reps but choose to walk out...rather than vote. This still gets them an "amen" for union money.