Blue Dogs In The Red Light District.

There's a Russian proverb that says, "If the pocket is empty, the judge is deaf."

With their PAC pockets bulging and their role as health care reform's hanging judges increasing, Blue Dog Democrats hear health care insurers loud and clear.

From the Washington Post:

On June 19, Rep. Mike Ross of Arkansas made clear that he and a group of other conservative Democrats known as the Blue Dogs were increasingly unhappy with the direction that health-care legislation was taking in the House.

"The committees' draft falls short," the former pharmacy owner said in a statement that day, citing, among other things, provisions that major health-care companies also strongly oppose.

Five days later, Ross was the guest of honor at a special "health-care industry reception," one of at least seven fundraisers for the Arkansas lawmaker held by health-care companies or their lobbyists this year, according to publicly available invitations.

The roiling debate about health-care reform has been a boon to the political fortunes of Ross and 51 other members of the Blue Dog Coalition, who have become key brokers in shaping legislation in the House. Objections from the group resulted in a compromise bill announced this week that includes higher payments for rural providers and softens a public insurance option that industry groups object to. The deal also would allow states to set up nonprofit cooperatives to offer coverage, a Republican-generated idea that insurers favor as an alternative to a public insurance option.

At the same time, the group has set a record pace for fundraising this year through its political action committee, surpassing other congressional leadership PACs in collecting more than $1.1 million through June. More than half the money came from the health-care, insurance and financial services industries, marking a notable surge in donations from those sectors compared with earlier years, according to an analysis by the Center for Public Integrity.

The Post points out that conservative Democrats are closer to Republicans than their own party when it comes to industry dough; the average Blue Dog receives 25 percent more money from health care and insurance interests than do typical Democrats. Drug makers, insurers and health plan organizations throw more money around than do born-again Republicans at a whorehouse. And Blue Dog Democrats lay down, too.

Read the whole piece here for another primer on why politics may be this country's brand of legal prostitution, but it's the rest of us who are getting screwed.