Blue Dog leader: Don't question our credentials as Democrats

People should be wary of questioning Blue Dogs' credentials as Democrats, one of the group's co-chairmen said Tuesday.

Rep. Jim Matheson (D-Utah), the co-chairman of the 52-member coalition of centrists in the House, defended Blue Dogs' place within the Democratic Party, arguing that the group of lawmakers often takes greater risks thank other rank-and-file Democrats do.

"I'll tell you what, by Blue Dogs running as Democrats, we face a handicap running in our districts," Matheson told CBS News's "Washington Unplugged" webcast.

"There are other people who, by running as Democrats, they automatically win," he said. "So I think that Blue Dogs are true Democrats because we wear that label even when it may actually affect us in a negative way in our elections -- we still wear that label."

Some more liberal activists and lawmakers have castigated Blue Dogs for having at times opposed the party on healthcare, climate change, or other key issues. But those breaks with the party, Matheson argued, doesn't make those lawmakers any lesser of Democrats.

"I'm very resistant to anyone questioning the Democratic credentials of a Blue Dog," he argued. 

Throughout this year, Matheson supported the stimulus act, but opposed cap-and-trade legislation and the healthcare bill.

Many Blue Dogs are members elected from centrist or conservative districts in the 2006 and 2008 election cycles, where Democrats made inroads (in part) by running centrist candidates in Republican-held districts.

Matheson chalked up those Democratic victories to Blue Dog candidates being able to articulate their more centrist credentials to voters.

"Blue Dogs are used to running uphill in elections; we come from districts where the party identification runs against us," he said. "So I think we've proven the the track record in the past of convincing people to vote for us because of who we are."