New Dems hope to be a force in 113th CongressBy Mike Lillis
- 11/17/12 09:00 AM ETThe
New Democrat Coalition has swelled in numbers and hopes to fill the power vacuum created by the recent and rapid decline of the Blue Dog Coalition.
The group — whose members advocate a free-trade, business-friendly agenda that sometimes bucks the party — is hoping to emerge as a powerbroker in the 113th Congress.
Although the 15-year-old group of centrists has been frequently overshadowed by the conservative-leaning Blue Dogs and the liberals of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, New Democrats say their growing membership — combined with the looming debates over economic issues they see as their bread and butter — will give them greater sway in the fights that will almost certainly define the coming months on Capitol Hill.
"We've got a group of members that is well-represented from throughout the country who are willing to roll up our sleeves and work with anyone to try to find some common-sense and balanced and fair solutions to the fiscal hole that we're in right now," Rep. Ron Kind (D-Wis.), the newly-elected chairman of the coalition, said Thursday. "We hope in the days to come to play that constructive role."
