Jim Costa

News that Rep. is retiring is particularly good news for those of us who want to see the end of the pernicious influence of the biggest band of self-defeating Democrats in Congress—the Blue Dogs.

In 2008, they numbered 54 members, and bragged that they were turning away Democrats clammoring to join their caucus. After 2010, they were 25—a silver lining to an otherwise bleak year. It turned out that pretending to be Republicans and undermining their party was not a path to self-preservation. Indeed, the Blue Dogs accounted for half of the party's House losses that year. Yet they didn't really learn their lesson, and have continued to undermine President Barack Obama and the Democrats.

But their caucus continues to be decimated—this time by retirements. Already, Reps. Dan Boren and Mike Ross, both in the Blue Dog leadership, have announced their retirements from Congress. Good riddance. With Costa's announcement, that brings them down to 22.

Rep. Joe Donnelly will be running for Senate in Indiana, so that's 21. Georgia's John Barrow is being targeted by Republicans drawing up new congressional districts, and likely faces a tough slog back to the House. Pennsylvania Rep. Jason Altmire will be forced by Republican map drawers into the same district as either Dem Rep. Mark Critz or Mark Doyle, giving us a chance to get rid of yet another Blue Dog.

In Utah, map drawers targeted Rep. Jim Matheson, slicing his current district into parts of three new ones and making them all more Republican (from 59 percent GOP to 65 percent). He is deciding whether to run in one of those three districts, or to run for Senate or governor. North Carolina's two Blue Dogs—Heath Shuler and and Mike McIntyre—have been drawn into brutal districts.

It doesn't take much effort to see a Blue Dog caucus well under 20 members, and that's including half-assed Blue-Dog-In-Name-Only members like Reps. Loretta Sanchez, Adam Schiff, David Scott, and Gabby Giffords who generally vote the right way, without the theatrics and rhetoric that undermine the party. Here's party loyalty scores for Blue Dogs, with those definitely gone next year italicized:

50% Dan Boren (OK)

54% Jason Altmire (PA)

56% Collin Peterson (MN)

56% Mike Ross (AR)

59% Jim Matheson (UT)

62% Jim Costa (CA)

68% Heath Shuler (NC)

68% Joe Donnelly (IN)

70% Dennis Cardoza (CA)

71% John Barrow (GA)

72% Tim Holden (PA)

72% Ben Chandler (KY)

73% Henry Cuellar (TX)

74% Mike McIntyre (NC)

78% Kurt Schrader (OR)

79% Jim Cooper (TN)

83% Sanford Bishop (GA)

83% Gabrielle Giffords (AZ)

87% Mike Michaud (ME)

84% Leonard Boswell (IA)

90% Mike Thompson (CA)

91% Joe Baca (CA)

91% Loretta Sanchez (CA)

91% David Scott (GA)

94% Adam Schiff (CA)

As you can see, the worst of the lot are already on their way out or are among the most endangered. If all that's left of the Blue Dogs after 2012 are a bunch who vote with the party over 70 percent of the time and don't take the microphone to punch hippies, then House Democrats will be far more cohesive and effective as a result.

Will newly elected 2012 Democrats want to join the caucus? Some might, but for a group that is closely associated with Wall Street and Corporate excesses, the benefits aren't as obvious in this era of Occupy.