Blue Dog Days, and More

A couple of items worth noting:

• The Hill says the "Blue Dog Democrats" are "hopeful on the deficit" even if the federal budget barely registers as an issue for the Democratic presidential candidates. The Blue Dogs say they'll push for more attention on this.
• The CBO releases testimony on the pros and cons of writing "pay-go" into law as it was in the 1990s, instead of just into House and Senate rules. One big point to consider: "Although PAYGO may help to prevent a deterioration in the fiscal picture, it only applies to new policy changes rather than the effects of existing policy. Consequently, PAYGO by itself does not address the nation’s long-term fiscal imbalance, which is driven mostly by growth in the cost of health care." In other words, pay-go doesn't change the fact that entitlements are still running on autopilot, and Washington will still have to make specific choices about how to change their direction.