Blue Dog Democrats are social and economic conservatives in the United States Democratic Party. In the United States House of Representatives, Blue Dogs are an actual coalition of likeminded Democrats organized as the Blue Dog Coalition, rather than just an expression such as " Yellow Dog" Democrats. The term is a reference to the "Blue Dog" paintings of Cajun artist George Rodrigue of Lafayette, Louisiana; the original members of the coalition would regularly meet in the offices of Louisiana representatives who had Rodrigue's paintings on their walls.
The Blue Dog Coalition is a group of moderate to conservative Democrats in the United States House of Representatives; it currently has 35 members.
The coalition was formed in the 1994 104th Congress as a way for more conservative congressmen of the primarily liberal Democratic party to have a unified voice in Congress. The group's name came from the older description of many in the South who "would vote for a yellow dog if he ran as a Democrat" combined with the feeling that moderate-to-conservative views had been "choked blue" by the Democratic party in years prior to the election.
They were notably successful in a special election of February 2004 in Kentucky, to fill a vacant Representative's seat. They were also successful in the November 2004 elections, with three of the five races where a Democrat won a formerly Republican seat in the House won by Blue Dog Democrats. Freshman Blue Dogs in the House are sometimes known as "Blue Pups."
Often, the group will be instrumental in striking a balance between liberal and conservative ideas. Despite Blue Dogs' differing degrees of economic and social conservatism, they share a strong orientation toward fiscal responsibility, and as a rule work to promote positions within the House of Representatives which bridge the gap between the two extremes. Blue Dogs are an important swing vote on spending bills and, as a result, have gained an influence in Congress out of proportion to their small numbers. They are frequently sought after to broker compromises between the Democratic and Republican leadership.