Has the time come when moderate Democrats can no longer straddle the fence?

A topic I have been talking about is the so called Blue Dog, or conservative, Democrats.  These are Democrats that come out of districts and states that typically vote Republican for president, and where the voter’s values are typically aligned with the Republican Party.  In many of these areas, voting Democrat is an old tradition, dating back to our fathers and grandfathers.  So much so that the ‘real’ voting for state and local elections is the Democratic primary.  In many areas, the winner of the Democratic primary will run unopposed in the general election.

While tradition dictates that people that rise up the ranks of state and local politics in much of the south will be Democrats, the voters expect them to vote in line with their conservative constituents.

Dick Morris discusses the problem facing moderate and conservative Democrats from areas that typically vote Republican:

Parker Griffith’s decision to step out of line and refuse to drink the Democratic Kool-Aid illustrates the Achilles Heel of the Democratic regime in Washington: The radical reign of Pelosi and Reid is held up by pillars of moderate and conservative Democrats who come from districts that regularly vote Republican. To survive in these red precincts, Democrats must act like Republicans, advocating a balanced budget, opposing big spending, and fighting against socialized medicine. But, in Washington, Pelosi and Reid use their backing to bring a radical left leadership to Congress.

Once it sufficed for a moderate Democrat merely to vote “no.” But American voters are onto their tricks and realize that a Democrat — any Democrat — will vote “yes” when his party leaders need it. The unanimous Senate Democratic support for Obamacare shows that there are really only two types of Congresspeople: Democrats and Republicans. All other shadings and adjectives are mere decoration.

Once these ‘conservative’ Democrats get to Washington, they often trade in their conservative roots in order to insure future support from Democratic Party in their re-election bids.

As Morris says, people are going to have to learn that they can only vote for one party.  No longer will they be able to vote for a Republican President, while putting Democrats in the House and Senate, and expecting those Democrats in Congress to vote their constituents conservative values.  If there was any doubt before, 2009 has shown that when push comes to shove, the Blue Dogs vote along party lines, not the way their constituents want them to vote.