Washington (By Anne C. Mulkern, Denver Post) March 24, 2007 — Most people outside the nation's capital have never heard of a politically powerful group called the Blue Dogs. But America is starting to feel its influence.

When a controversial bill with a deadline for pulling out of Iraq passed the House by a thin margin, it did so in part because of the Blue Dogs.

A caucus of conservative Democrats that includes Colorado Rep. John Salazar, the Blue Dogs agreed to support the bill only after forcing key changes. To further woo Blue Dog votes, Democratic leaders added $24 billion in financial incentives that could help many of the group members' home districts.

It's the latest example of the 43-member Blue Dog group's increasing sway in the new Congress, where Democrats control the House by a 15-vote margin.

"We're a force to be reckoned with," said Salazar, of Manassa.

Blue Dogs over the next two years plan to scrutinize everything from the budget to the deficit to the lack of visibility on how tax dollars are spent in Iraq.

The caucus unites fiscal conservatives. Many of the members are from rural areas, and most come from districts with a slim divide between numbers of Republican and Democratic voters. Quite a few Blue Dogs are pro-gun rights and believe in policies that allow hunters to use federal lands, Salazar said.

More muscle with majority

There are two answers to why the group calls itself the Blue Dogs. The first is that so-called Yellow Dog Democrats - a long-standing nickname for fierce party loyalists - were choked until they turned blue in the face. The other is that the Blue Dogs sometimes met in the office of a member who had a painting by George Rodrigue, who popularized a blue dog in different scenes.

Started in 1995 after Republicans seized control of the House, the caucus' main goal was to steer Democrats down a moderate path.

While the group had a voice before November's election, it lacked any muscle. Once Democrats took control, the Blue Dogs emerged as the conservative wing of the party determined to push, pull or drag it to the middle.

"In this new majority, you'll find our fingerprints on most legislation," said Rep. Mike Ross, D-Ark., co-chairman of communications for the Blue Dogs. "We're perceived as the balance of power in the House, and we're consulted on most controversial measures that come to the floor."

The first hour the new Congress was in session, it passed a Blue Dog top priority - requiring that new spending or tax changes not add to the federal deficit.

A spokesman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi agreed that the group has been influential.

"She's really gone out of her way to listen to their concerns and address them," spokesman Brendan Daly said. "She wants to lead the caucus from the middle. We want to appeal to the moderate voter."

At the same time, Daly said, Pelosi needs to consider the wishes of more liberal groups such as the Out of Iraq Caucus and Progressive Caucus, which each have about 70 members.

"It's a balancing act," Daly said.

"A tremendous amount of influence"

But because many of the Blue Dogs come from vulnerable districts, the Democratic leadership needs to keep their needs in mind with every position it takes, said Ross Baker, political science professor at Rutgers University.

That gives individual Blue Dogs "a tremendous amount of influence," Baker said.

Belonging to the Blue Dogs provides some political insulation, Salazar said.

"We're able to talk about issues without fear of ramification, fear of someone coming down on us saying we're not Democrats," Salazar said. At the same time, he said, "it's a tough place to be because you get beat up by both the right and the left."

Salazar's district has more Republicans than Democrats - about 152,000 to 135,000, according to the Colorado secretary of state. But about a third of the voters (130,000 people) are unaffiliated, he said.

"I figure being in the center is exactly where that district needs to be, and it fits with where I am," Salazar said.

The Blue Dog caucus doesn't twist arms on votes, Salazar said. But because the members have similar ideologies and backgrounds, they tend to stick together.

In negotiating the Iraq war funding bill, Blue Dogs successfully insisted the Democratic leaders remove language that said none of the money in the war funding bill could be used to fight Iran, Salazar said.

The Blue Dogs also successfully lobbied for language that would require benchmarks the Iraqi government would have to meet, to show that it is starting to take control of the country.

When the vote came, 36 of the 43 Blue Dogs, including Salazar, voted yes. It passed 218-212.