Two Blue Dogs, Tim Holden and Jason Altmire, lose primary

[ProSense]

Pa. Rep. Tim Holden Loses Dem Primary

Pennsylvania Rep. Tim Holden, the longest-serving member of the state’s House delegation, has lost the Democratic primary for the newly redrawn 17th District, according to the Associated Press.

With 91 percent of precincts reporting, lawyer Matthew Cartwright had won 56.5 percent of the vote.

Holden is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition of moderate House Democrats, whose ranks have been decimated over the past two years.

http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entries/pa-rep-tim-holden-loses-dem-primary

Jason Altmire Concedes To Mark Critz In PA-12 Primary

Rep. Jason Altmire (D-PA) has called fellow Rep. Mark Critz (D-PA) to concede their primary match in the state’s 12th district, according to multiple Pennsylvania reporters. The two were forced into the same district by a newly redrawn Congressional map following the latest census.

The race was marked by a battle of competing Democratic factions. Altmire, a conservtive Blue Dog elected in 2006, angered many progressive and labor groups by voting against President Obama’s signature health care reform law. Unions rallied behind Critz in the primary, helping put him over the edge in the extremely close race.

http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entries/jason-altmire-concedes-to-mark-critz-in-pa

[ProSense]

1. Kick! n/t

[Tx4obama]

2. K & R :) n/t

[DesertDiamond]

3. Good-bye, DINOs!

[AllyCat]

4. Way to go progressives! The Blue Dogs can kiss my grits

Out with them all!

[tblue]

5. Thank you for the good news!

Rmoney's speech tonight made me gag and want to cry.

[coldbeer]

7. I tried to wait him out, but I had to change stations .... sorry rachel

Rmoney sounded like the executioner at Bain.
He was talking to his cohorts, we duers know
better.

[Poll_Blind]

6. Great news!

PB

[Zorra]

8. "Blue Dog Coalition of moderate House Democrats, whose ranks have been decimated"

One of the sweetest phrases I've ever had the pleasure of reading.

Things are getting interesting.

[alp227]

9. See? This is what GETTING ACTIVE does. Please keep working hard til Election Day!

It will be a hard battle, as PA-17 has been Republican for all the 20th century until 2002.

[gateley]

10. +1

[Ruby the Liberal]

11. Good riddance, Jason Altmire

Wanted to straddle that fence, eh?

Congrats PA-12 and well done.

[ProSense]

12. Yup, bye! n/t

[mathematic]

13. Critz is NOT a Progressive

Just posted in the LBN version of this one...

He's against environmental protections. He's pro Marsellas Shale natural gas development. He's stridently pro life. He's pro war. He was against the repeal of don't ask don't tell. These are all things that he's more to the right of Altmire on. Nevertheless, Critz and Altmire are substantially similar. If you hate one you probably hate the other. This is NOT a case of throwing out a "DINO" or some power to the people type of political revolution.

This district was a merge between two D held districts. Both Critz and Altmire are currently Representatives.

I'll also add that he's against ACA but wasn't in congress at the time to vote on it.

[ProSense]

14. Here's the deal

Altmire votes with Dems 61 percent of the time, Critz does so 76 percent of the time. That's worth dumping Altmire.

[mathematic]

16. That's a fairly meaningless distinction

When party compliance is low, as it is with both of these guys (Critz has the same compliance as Holden!), it's important to make a more considered evaluation. After all, there are hundreds of votes in a legislative session and most of them are meaningless or have certain outcomes. I mentioned a few of the important classes of issues that Critz is to the right of Altmire on, despite Critz's slightly better compliance.

The reality is that two conservative D-held districts were merged and, as a result, one conservative D will lose his seat. This is sort of like a mirror image of the OH merge. It's not a victory to lose a D congressman, even one with a low compliance.

By the way, these compliance %s are all-time? I was trying to find the % starting from when they were both in congress (for an apples to apples comparison) but I didn't have any luck.

[ProSense]

18. Actually,

"That's a fairly meaningless distinction"

...in this case it's not. It was a statement worth making. Critz can also be held accountable. He has two years.

[mmonk]

15. Excellent. Thanks.

[Scurrilous]

17. Kick