VOTE 2010: Blue Dogs or Lap Dogs? McIntyre cited in new report

WASHINGTON (NEWS RELEASE) – The Club for Growth today released a report studying the economic voting records of the House Blue Dog Coalition, including North Carolina Congressmen Mike McIntyre. “All Bark and No Bite” exposes the true economic liberalism of the Blue Dogs, putting the lie to their oft-repeated but unearned reputation for fiscal conservatism.

The full report includes detailed individual pages for each of the 54 current Blue Dogs. Rep. McIntyre’s page is available here: http://www.clubforgrowth.org/bluedogs/?id=811

“The evidence is overwhelming: the Blue Dogs are not fiscal conservatives, and only a few of them can credibly claim even to be fiscal moderates,” said Club President Chris Chocola in an op-ed in this morning’s Wall Street Journal.

“The Blue Dogs have become Nancy Pelosi’s lap dogs,” Chocola said on upon releasing the report. “This report clearly shows the Blue Dogs have become part of the problem, not the solution.”

Among the report’s findings:

· Average Blue Dog scores on the National Taxpayer Union’s annual congressional score card have fallen precipitously since the Coalition’s founding, and has collapsed altogether since Democrats reclaimed the House majority in 2007.

· Blue Dogs have voted with Nancy Pelosi 80 percent of the time on economic issues this Congress.

· 100% of Blue Dogs supported the Fannie/Freddie bailouts.

· 63% of Blue Dogs supported the TARP Wall Street bailouts.

· 91% of Blue Dogs supported the 2009 stimulus.

· 85% of Blue Dogs supported cash-for-clunkers

· 74% of Blue Dogs supported President Obama’s debt-tripling 2010 budget.

· 73% of Blue Dogs supported the auto company bailouts.

· 54% of Blue Dogs supported Obamacare.

Even on the Blue Dogs’ signature legislative priority – the “Paygo” pay-as-you-go budgeting rules, the Blue Dogs have failed to live up to their own standards. Since the House adopted Paygo in 2007, House Democrats have voted 31 times to waive or ignore Paygo and allow new, unpaid-for spending. Blue Dogs voted with them 86 percent of the time!