And Now, Put Your Hands Together...

Ladies and gentlemen, here they are, your Senate moderates who will take a Democratic mandate and water it down to ensure a lack of progress and continued alienation in the electorate! At forward, from Indiana, the captain, Senator Evan Bayh!

“The group’s goal is to work with the Senate leadership and the new administration to craft common-sense solutions to urgent national problems,” Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.), a co-founder, said in a press release from the group.

At the swing positions, from the First State and the Deep South...

Along with Bayh, the group also is headed by Sens. Tom Carper (Del.) and Blanche Lincoln (Ark.).

And rounding out this group of far-shooting low achievers...

Other members of the group are Sens. Mark Udall (Colo.), Michael Bennet (Colo.), Mark Begich (Alaska), Kay Hagan (N.C.), Herb Kohl (Wis.), Mary Landrieu (La.), Joe Lieberman (Conn.), Claire McCaskill (Mo.), Ben Nelson (Neb.) , Bill Nelson (Fla.), Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.) and Mark Warner (Va.).

Give it up for your Moderate Dems Working Group!!!!

Now, Evan Bayh has put together umpteen moderate groups over the past several years. They always fall apart due to a lack of cohesion. In short, nobody votes as a bloc. Heck, three or four additional Senators who attended meetings of this group refused to identify with it. But that's probably not the point of this working group. Bayh just wants to be SEEN as leading something, so the fawning DC establishment can glorify him, so press reports back in Indiana can tout him, so he can be viewed as a PLAYER. I mean, these progressive policies aren't going to obstruct themselves.

The problem is that Indianans live outside of Washington, DC, and while Bayh is locally popular, so is the President. And the public face of obstructing his agenda is bound to draw some fire.

Progressive groups have pressured Republican lawmakers to support President Obama's economic agenda since he first announced his stimulus intentions before the new year; now the pressure is on Blue Dog Democrats.

Liberal activist group USAction will air TV ads pressuring four Blue Dog Democrats on the House Budget Committee to support President Obama's budget, the group announced today. It also started robocalls targeting the members last week. The members are Reps. Marion Berry (AK), Allen Boyd (FL), Charlie Melancon (LA), and Chet Edwards (TX).

Evan Bayh, incidentally, runs for re-election in 2010. Just sayin'.