Evan Bayh to retire

Source: Politico

Evan Bayh to retire

Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh will not seek re-election this year, a decision that hands Republicans a prime pickup opportunity in the middle of the country.

"After all these years, my passion for service to my fellow citizens is undiminished, but my desire to do so by serving in Congress has waned," Bayh will say.

Bayh will announce the decision at a press conference later today. He was first elected to the Senate in 1998 and was re-elected easily in 2004. National Republicans had recruited former Sen. Dan Coats to challenge Bayh in 2010 although polling suggested Bayh began the race with a 20-point edge. He also had $13 million in the bank at the end of the year.

Prior to being in the Senate, Bayh served two terms as governor of the Hoosier State. He also served briefly as Secretary of State.

Read more: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/senate/evan-bayh-to-retire.html

I hope to hell they have a good progressive on tap to replace him.

in a fairly conservative state. Is that possible?

Remember Harry Truman's principle.

With incredibly high unemployment, people's retirements down the tubes, housing dead, health care a disaster, etc., and all of this demonstrably attributable to 8 years of Republican mismanagement, I think true progressives have a pretty good chance almost everywhere.

Haven't you noticed that the new meme is the incompetence of Obama and his mismanagement of a terrible economy. Granted the electorate acknowledges that Bush turned over a terrible watch but they also admit that Economically only the last 2 years of Bush's regime were demonstrably terrible and remember the media is running cover on 6 years of the Bush presidency giving him credit for keeping the country afloat after the trillion dollar disaster of 911 and the trillion dollar disaster of katrina. What disaster has added to Obama's deficit? None yet. If the country actually believed what your post states then we would be seeing more good will toward Obama in fixing the problems of the past and we don't.

Next: The repukes fully intend to turn the narrative into an incompetent congress that was elected in 2006 and left Obama a mess, remember only the Congress can appropriate money, democrats controlled Congress starting in Jan 2007, Obama's inherited claim is about to be put to the test that he actually inherited this defecit from fellow Democrats...

There is a Tsunami coming and the sooner we get the pollyanna glasses off, recognize it and come together with some type of plan to counter it the better.

Your words are true.

Could not agree with you more .You have correctly read the zeitgeist of the country.

That's different than actually having it.

The media is pushing all the ideas you state, but most people I talk to don't buy it.

The Tsunami you talk about is in the hands of corporations that own voting machines, and out of the hands of the voters, we haven't had a say for over a decade.


Bill

of no doubt like minded individuals.

If you were correct that majority felt that way then why is the President's approval on various items in his agenda terribly low?

The Repubs are on a crusade to destroy the Credibility of the President.

The Problem for the President is making his rhetoric match his actions.

This is crunch time he must step up and lead. Enough talk.

When you can adequately explain how a Repub won the governorship in NJ and Scott Brown won Ted Kennedys seat only 1 year after Obama won large majorities for Democrats and all this only 1 year after the worst President in our history and please don't bore me with how bad a candidate the Democrat was.

When you can explain to me how with majorities in the House and Senate Democrats fail to produce any meaningful legislation on Healthcare, Jobs or Environmental issues then we will talk
If you want to continue to bury your head and look at the electorate with Rose Colored glasses fine, but you do it at a detriment to us all.


The Repubs are running a game plan to paint Obama and most of the Democrat party as far Leftwing radicals, socialists and communists that are creating an intrusive big government so they can rule you in a totalitarian state. In case you haven't been paying attention there is a large grass roots uprising going on and it is not in favor of any Progressive legislation.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x141094

but of course you think polls are meaningless.

Bill

While the HCR is a pitiful excuse for a bill, what with the full court press from insurance companies, there was this thing called a stimulus bill, which economists largely agree has worked up to a point but needs to be bigger next time. The environment is an example of the Obama administration at their best. Rather than waiting for congress, our president has put teeth back into the EPA. Does that address the issues in your second paragraph?

As for the grass roots, a clear majority has been in favor of government paid health care for quite some time. If there were any progressive legislation with that as it's aim, then it would be mainstream. Obviously then, any "uprising" counter to single payer is not grass roots, but astroturf.

Why are you so concerned with repeating the lies told by the repukes? Perhaps you might spend time countering them instead of repeating them.

Bill

Now he can go sign a multi-million dollar contract with some healthcare corp and not have to worry about reporting all that he is due for his part : (

What a fucking joke

.. seem to think that the electorate will be "fair" and remember who caused this meltdown.

LOLOLOLOL. That's not how American politics works. After two years you are suppposed to have at least made strides in correcting the problem. People are catching on to the FACT that all of the recovery talk is 100% bullshit.

And they are pissed that Obama has done nothing about the bankers. NOTHING. So trust me on this, we as the party in power in bad times getting worse will be PUNISHED in November, the only question is just how much.

And if the DLC and blue dog bastards had let us take advantage of the great blue wave and institute a little progressive reform we might not be in this mess.

When given the opportunity to lead, lead you must, bold changes were required. The electorate understood it gave obama a super majority specifically to pass progressive legislation and we got hijacked by a bunch of so called centrists that were nothing more then GOP lite corporate shills.

there must be a clean break there must be concrete reform real actions...

Just ask yourself this simple test.... Why was Single Payer not even discussed in Healthcare? Are there actually Democrats that are adverse to this method of fxing the Healthcare system? If there are then they should become Repukes because that this the platform that will not recognize what this country needs.

Sometimes the government must take charge and create programs and manage the needs of the people....

That was the message of the 2008 election but it appears to have fallen on deaf ears.

I am so tired of fighting the good fight, I am truly about to say FUCK IT.

It would be hard to put a bigger corporate shill in his place without the guy actually being a republican. Someone has to come out with a hard as nails grass roots campaign. Surely there was someone in the background that was plotting a primary challenge against him.

Don't they usually vote for the party not in power?

Though now that Dems have been re-financing the wars for three years --

and escalating in Afghanistan . . . hmmm....???

stake in all of this --

and with Rahm Emmanuel and Keane, it's doubtful that's going to happen!

That's where the problem lies -- with leadership --

we have none!

If the electorate perceives that the economy has turned around and their jobs are secure, Democrats will do well. If they perceive things are going badly, not so much.

In my experience, the bulk of American voters are bread and butter voters. By 2006, the cracks in the economy were already plain to see, and Dmeocrats were returned to power. Perception is everything.

I cant think of any off the top of my head.

:shrug:

Perhaps . . . Birch Bayh

Well for starters primary challenges are few and usually not so successful.

Of course there is also the matter that incumbants always have a huge (and statistically provable) advantage in elections.

Honestly I am having difficulty ascertaining your point.

...and everybody here knows it.

A good economic progressive that goes to church, likes guns, and doesn't want government souvereignty over a person's body (pro-choice) or marriage (pro-marriage-equality) might work.

are gun owners.

You can't get elected to anything without at least feigning some degree of religiosity. Pro-choice, pro-marriage equality? Natch.

Sounds like a plan to me.

Also pro-labor/jobs, pro-health care reform (TRUE reform), etc. I think the public is more ready for progressivism than at any time in the last 30 years.

..not whack-you-in-the-head-with-the-Bible religious. Get a guy who's religious but keeps it to himself, ignores the Brady Campaign, and talks about the two previous items AND pro-choice, pro-marriage-equality, pro-labor, and pro-HCR in terms or protecting individual rights, and we have someting.


Of course, all democratic candidates should be close to this way IMO. :shrug:

Maybe something like this...

"For a long time now we have tried to treat the symptom of violence through trying to control weapons in the hands of our own citizens. But the truth is that crime and violence is more a function of poverty and deprivation than it is armaments. As such the Democratic party will return to the tradition of FDR and seek to treat poverty and its causes rather than the symptom of crime"

A Fire Breathing Populist Democrat who is unafraid to channel some Huey Long/FDR,
and avoids the social Wedge Issues CAN WIN ANYWHERE.

Unfortunately, this person would NOW be forced to Run AGAINST Obama and the Centrist Democrats.

1st Campaign Bumper Sticker:



"There are forces within the Democratic Party who want us to sound like kinder, gentler Republicans. I want us to compete for that great mass of voters that want a party that will stand up for working Americans, family farmers, and people who haven't felt the benefits of the economic upturn."---Paul Wellstone

Its a republican seat now.

Bayh was mostly reelected due to name recognition anyway. His dad was a big politician, and Bayh has served as Governor and Senator for decades.

So a no name progressive won't get anywhere.

remember (late 60s, early 70s) the elder Senator Bayh going around the Indy 500 track in a VIP car during pre-race festivities - he was resoundingly booed. Evan, who I knew when we were kids (67-67) in the Culver Academies Woodcraft Camp , on the other hand has consistently been uber-popular in the state, second only to Dick Lugar, a moderate repug. Indiana, historically a red state that voted Obama in 2008, is generally a conservative enclave behind the cornsilk curtain and Bayh reflected the state's positions (not our state anymore since we are in the DC burbs - but we have lots of relatives in Ind). Major deviations from the state's mood included votes against Justices Roberts & Alito. At the time Bayh was jockeying for the Presidential nomination and supporting either man would have doomed his already pre-doomed effort.

His re-election was going to be no contest. Although a hoosier, he grew in in the DC area. I doubt he wanted to go to Indiana University for undergrad, but it was necessarily. His law degree was from University of Virginia, a solid program. His wife, Susan, is smart & friendly.

His Senate seat is exceptionally like to go repug - and a repug more to the right than Bayh.

With a seat on both the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the Armed Services Committee, he has routine access to the most highly classified Intelligence and Blue Force Information, including waived Special Access Programs, he is one of the most cleared people in Congress and knows where a shit-load of bodies are buried.

If Evan is retiring from the Senate for a Presidential run, it anomalous for Evan who always played not to lose rather than lay it all out, take risks and play to win.

I'll grant him this - his announcement surprised me.

She is also on the boards of several health care companies.

:rofl:

I have wondered if a big democratic lose wouldn't actually improve the DLC's prospects more than a continuing win. I mean if we keep winning and occasionally improve or pick up seats than the DLC doesn't have a strong Repuke party to 'triangulate' with.

With Kane in charge I'm sure we will continue to see worthless blue dogs and dlc wastes put forth and given money.

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

nice and hard! :spank:

He wasn't going to win anyway

i think that we have a better chance without him. no progressives were gonna get out and work for him.
i think there is probably a good populist somewhere in indiana that can will. a brian schweitzer type.

I still remember what a fighter Birch Bayh was and what a tough liberal he was.

The son is nothing like his dad was. Good riddance wimp!

Many who ride on their parents' coattails turn out to be lightweights. Evan Bayh is a "weak-son" poster child. A cheap imitation of the original. Self-serving. Stands for nothing.

.....and as for a progressive replacement, the filing deadline is Friday. Better get cracking on finding one.

Might explain why he waited so long. Hamstring the replacement!

Hope Lieberfuck and Baucdork follows him.

.... why 'work' anymore when he's already a very well-kept man? Why bother with trying to hide the conflict of interest?
He's such an empty suit, I wonder if his father is ashamed of him.

... in fact I wouldn't be surprised if he took a seat on their Board in the near future.

+1000

From Americablog--looks like Bayh is setting it up so there is NO Democratic candidate for Senator. Nice Job, DINO!

http://www.americablog.com/2010/02/senator-evan-bayh-d-in-not-running-for.html

UPDATE @ 11:47 a.m.: Via Ben Smith, if no candidate can file the required paperwork by this week, looks like the Indiana Democratic State Committee can name a replacement. But, I still think Bayh screwed the Democrats. He really is a putz.
____________________________
Bayh may have really screwed the Democrats here. I just looked up the filing requirements for Senate primary candidates in Indiana. The CAN-4 form, which can be located here, titled, INDIANA PETITION FOR PRIMARY BALLOT PLACEMENT AS A CANDIDATE FOR UNITED STATES SENATOR, states:
INSTRUCTIONS: This petition is used to nominate candidates for placement on the May 4, 2010 Democratic or Republican Primary Election Ballot for the office of United States Senator. Petitioners are not required to provide precinct and congressional district information. The county voter registration office will complete this information after the petition is filed. Each candidate must also complete a Declaration of Candidacy for Primary Nomination form (CAN-2). This petition must be filed with the appropriate county voter registration office for processing beginning January 4, 2010, and no later than NOON, February 16, 2010.
That means Democrats might only have until tomorrow at noon to get a candidate on the ballot. I'm going to check further on this.

UPDATE: Another form, CAN-2, DECLARATION OF CANDIDACY FOR PRIMARY NOMINATION, the states:
This form is used by an individual who is seeking the Democratic or Republican party nomination to an elected office in a primary election. A declaration of candidacy must be filed no later than NOON, February 19, 2010, and no earlier than January 20, 2010.
Based on the 2010 Indiana Candidate Guide, it looks like the petitions must be completed and filed with the Declaration:
1. Declaration of Candidacy

A candidate for the nomination of United States Senator by the Democratic or Republican Party must file a declaration of candidacy with the Election Division. (IC 3-8-2-5)
The declaration of candidacy form (CAN-2) is available from the Election Division’s office, on the Division’s website and is in this Guide under the Candidate Forms tab.

2. Petition of Nomination

The declaration of candidacy must be accompanied by a petition of nomination signed by at least 4,500 registered voters of the state, including at least 500 registered voters from each of Indiana’s 9 congressional districts. (IC 3-8-2-8 and IC 3-8-2-9)

Each petition must request that the candidate’s name be placed on the ballot at the primary election and must contain the following: (a) signature of each petitioner, (b) name of each petitioner printed legibly, and (c) residence mailing address of each petitioner. (IC 3-8-2-8 and IC 3-8-2-9)

The petition of nomination form (CAN-4) is available from the Election Division’s office, on the Division’s website, or in included in this Guide under the Candidate Forms tab.

For the Election Division to consider a petition valid, the county voter registration office in each county where a petitioner is registered must certify whether each petitioner is a registered voter in that county. This certification must accompany and be a part of the petition. If a county is a part of more than one congressional district, the certificate must indicate the number of petitioners from that county who reside in each congressional district. (IC 3-8-2-9)

At least if a good candidate had the awareness they would had been fundraising for a couple of years and gotten their name out there more in the public.

He screwed anyone who didn't have advance inside knowledge of his decision to drop out. We'll know soon enough if that list had one person on it or not.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/15/indiana-senate-democrats_n_462655.html

Still, it's a real screw job by Bayh and I hope the hideous scandal and/or massive ego that drove him to this last-minute act ruins him forever.

Where Bayh will give press conferences or write books blaming the left wing of the democratic party for everything.

before he even got out of the starting gate.

Who do we have as a good candidate who could win?

now his bosses can shovel their thank you money to him directly instead of through his wife.

I think he was dumber than Dan Quayle.

I smell lotsa money for Bayh, perhaps in the same health industry which he represented in the US Senate.

Don't let the door hit you in the ass!

This prick was on Obamas short list for VP.

Why did he wait til the very last second to announce his retirement? He really couldn't give a shit about the people in his state, his party or people in general.

If he had a spine and general compassion, he would of at least announced early enough to give another good Democrat a fighting chance. Instead he screws the whole opportunity. In essence just giving it to the Rs.

What a worthless piece of crap this guy is. :grr:

Sonia

to the best of my understanding, he is retiring out of protest over the way-too-partisan atmosphere in D.C.

And he did vote for the Health Care Compromise, and for quite some clotures.

since he is in hock to Big Pharma and his whore of a wife sits on the board of WellPoint, which just raised premiums by 34 percent.

Quite the contrary.

But the point is: maybe he genuinely disliked the atmosphere in which Democrats were no longer at liberty to disagree with the party line because Republicans no longer are at liberty to disagree with the party line?

and that he is sincere in his reason. BUT - WHY ANNOUNCE now with only one week to get another D candidate filed. It seems to me he is pissed off more about the Jobs bill than anything else and wanted to screw Harry Reid. All in all it seems rather spiteful timing and I suspect he will do quite well as an ex-politico and a big hypocrite.

Susan

It seems he is 'screwing' - as you put it - McConnell rather than Reid

he is one of the people who created that atmosphere in D.C.

I thought he was reaching across the aisle a lot? Notorious for it, if I am to believe the other posts in this thread?

agenda.

Partisanship would have been for either party to demand either full conservatism or full progressivism.

I think Mr Bayh, for all the special interests that he tendered to, and for all the conservatism he is known for, would genuinely prefer to be at more liberty to disagree with the president. The only way for him to be so, is for republicans to be at liberty to disagree with Mr McConnell. Since they are not, Bayh isn't either.

(But really, could Mr Bayh not have realised this a tad earlier? Or did he keep hoping things would turn around before the Friday deadline?)

His district offices didn't respond to constituents in a timely fashion or reasonably. One time I got 3 letters back from him that was months and months after I had sent a fax to his office. The letters had nothing to do with the content in my fax and they were identical.

Blue Dogs enable Republican partisanship. By having 'even a Democrat _______' for cover, they are able to ratchet up the partisanship.

By having a Liberman or a Bayh agreeing with them, the Republicans can claim their hyper-partisanship is reasonable.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/2/15/837264/-IN-Sen:-Did-Bayhs-timing-limit-GOPs-options

Apparently, Mr Bayh did not exactly enable the GOP this time.

I find it odd that you are bending over backwards to support the motivations Byah MAY have.

It seems you have some strong interest in making Byah look like a good guy...why is that???

It's that whole paradigm I reject.

Just because someone is progressive on 9 issues out of 10 doesn't make him good. And when someone is progressive on only 1 out of 10 issues, that alone doesn't make her bad.

Is it impossible to believe that moderates/ centrists and other people on the right wing of the Democratic Party can have a genuine motivation for that position, other than 'being a bad guy'?

If Mr Bayh would deplore (as I suggest) his ever more limited possibility to stray from the party course, that is neither good or bad. It's just his opinion.

I have no interest whatsoever in portraying him as 'good'. I just question the received wisdom that everything he does is bad/ detrimental for the Democratic Party.

This is not a plea for DINOs. Rather, I would encourage moderates AND leftists to tolerate each other. I'll give you that some really left wing Democrats are long overdue - to give the core base of the Democratic Party a voice. But in the case of Indiana, we may have to settle for a more conservative kind of candidate.

Allow me to quote a former Ohio governor at a recent convention of the GOP, who complained about their fringe right taking over the party: "I'm not saying that there is no place for conservative evangelicals in our party; but they should stop saying there is no place for me in it."

Please continue to post these reasonable arguments here - we need all we can get :hi:

It makes others, and me, feel continously welcome.

(waving back at you)

Is that Bayh actually was a centrist and in fact that there is a 'center' with which to identify him. The existance of a center is a convenient and often manipulated non-existant postion that is thrown out by pundits and PR firms as spin. There is no center. It does not exist. There are issues and stances on issues and points of compromise. None of which denotes or suggests some existant center, merely points between various arguments.

To suggest that there is a middle suggests that there are either politicians of such fluidity that they are useless or that politics is a fixed unchanging thing wherein there is a center ideology that has its own functional positions.

We have moved to the right to the point where many Democrats pine for a candidate as liberal (economically) as Eisenhower.


Bayh was not some reasoned 'centrist' he was a bought and paid for corporate stooge. The occasional burp or noise of purported populism or illusory liberal leaning by the man was burned out of existance when he decided to form an organized block of senators to thwart any attempt to move to the progressive side of the table.

You're literally arguing that having a smoke-filled back room choose is better than an election.

The argument was whether or not Mr Bayh was enabling the GOP by the late announcement of his retirement. Whether or not that was a democracy-enabling move was not part of this particular line of discussion.

The link I gave you argued that having no primary would increase the chances of the Democrats holding on to the seat. How this is "screwing the party" is not apparent to me.

The argument they are making in order to claim Bayh's sudden retirement is a good thing is the avoidance of a primary. The GOP is doing one and the Democrats are not.

That means in their minds, a back-room deal where the candidate is chosen by party bosses is better than an election, where those icky voters get to have a say.

In other words, their argument is "We don't believe in democracy. We think the elites should run things for all those icky little people." Also known as the DC disease, where the villagers insist they know what the little people really want despite the polling and elections that show otherwise.

This disconnect is EXACTLY why the tea party folks have such a movement - the belief that some far-away elites are helping themselves and ignoring the 'little people'. A back-room deal by the "far-away elites" for the Democratic candidate will be a major weakness in November. That is just one way how Bayh is screwing the party.

The other way he's screwing the party is he's already received donations for his re-election, and once people have donated for one race, it's a lot harder to get them to donate again. And Bayh isn't committing his war chest to a D holding his seat.

Their argument is idiotic. But idiotic arguments should be expected from Bayh and his supporters.

The argument that is being made is merely a counter-argument to Bayh being some centrist superhero.

The only good is sort of a bittersweet- finally getting rid of an obstructionist GOP covering dem but only at cost of losing that senate seat.

It creates a false center as well.

Sonia

That'll show 'em!

The Dems just won't listen to all the good GOP ideas! Right?

:eyes: :eyes: :eyes:

Mr Bayh might genuinely deplore the loss of moderate republicans. (I know I do - if only because it moved the political centre to: where once was the left wing of the right.)

Election law allows the state party to place a candidate on the ballot if no one does so independently. The state party is run by people loyal to Bayh. The chairman of the state party, Dan Parker, is his campaign manager.

By announcing late, Bayh has insured that the next nominee will be chosen, in private, by party operatives that are loyal to him. Any other candidate will have to round up 4500 signatures, 500 from each district, by noon tomorrow in order to even get on the ballot.

There is a silver lining.

Guessing he pulls a Billy Tauzin for HC (instead of for oil co.s)

Good f'ing riddance! Perhaps this should be a message to other states where there's a DINO running for reelection this year. You BETTER get a reasonable challenger to them in the primary with the proper forms and signatures ready to go by deadlines, or you might get screwed the say way that Bayh screwed the state of Indiana...

I wonder if my old high school next door neighbor Rethuglican who's now the head of Club for Growth who used to be South Bend's congress critter before 2006, Chris Chocola, will try running for this seat now... I guess he has a slim deadline too if he wants it.

:thumbsup:

Seems like a pretty petty move and lousy timing on his part, but is it likely we can find anyone better to replace him that could actually win in Indiana? Especially w/ the likely climate of that state in the midterm elections?

Glad to see the back of him. Showed his true colors during the Bush nightmare years.

for the wealthy.....buh bye asshole

Don't know, but it's clear the only Hoosiers he's represented lately are CEOs...

Although I agree his youth indicates he is up to something

As he himself said - his desire to serve was undiminished...I'm wondering if he's thinking about a challenge to Obama from the right of his own party....

Or there is some revolving door that awaits his walk through

Everything to the right of Mr. President is a Republican, or a Tea-Bagger.

or conferences and heard him speak. He just didn't have the energy. Never did.

Good for them, They deserve it after all of this blue dog bull shit.
And good for democrats who are tired of being governed by repukes who
call themselves democrats.

He already nixed a run for the Senate.

according to some local reports.

The filing deadline for ballot access in the Indiana primary is tomorrow (2/16) at noon. In order to get on the ballot, you need 500 signatures from each of the state's nine congressional districts. No one is currently challenging Bayh on the Democratic side.

happens next?

The State party declares that there's a vacancy on the ballot because no one has filed in time, at which point state law allows them to nominate someone by convention. This will very likely not be open to the press or the public, and will be populated by party operatives who owe their positions to Bayh. Example: Dan Parker, the state chairman, is Bayh's longtime campaign manager.

My operating theory is that Bayh wanted to retire but didn't want the contest to replace him to be messy, messy being defined as more liberal Democrats in the state putting up a candidate that would challenge his legacy as a craven, conniving shitbag. With a vacancy on the ballot, Indiana Democrats will have no say on who the nominee will be, period. He or she will be chosen for them.

Personally, my money's on Brad Ellsworth. Moderate/Conservative and with decent name recognition, but will vote with the party so long as he gets his pork. Exactly like Bayh.

The state central committee makes the decision. They are made up of Chairs from each of the 9 districts and other officers.

he's a DINO and I didn't like that his wife was so closely tied to health care in this state. I agree with the poster above who guessed that his wife's 1099 made the decision for him. Here in Indianapolis that's about 80% of the job postings - mostly health care related.

Good riddance - bub bye Bayh. I hope he stays far away from politics.

Since she has no chance of being re-elected.

Update 1: Thoughts on who will run. I think Indiana Democrats best bet would be Congressman Brad Ellsworth. The Conservative Democrat from the 'bloody eighth district,' and is the former Vanderburgh County Sheriff. He would be the most electable in the state with his blue dog credentials. I have met him quite a few times and he is a great guy, even if I don't always agree with his stances on the issues.

Another great candidate would be Congressman Andre Carson. With him on the ballot, Progressives would be fired up to hit the polls helping the Party in other tough Election races. It would open up a can of worms in the 7th District for a potential successor.

Via Facebook, Jon is tossing out the idea of Joe Hogsett for Senate. Others are also mentioning Baron Hill, who was tossing around the idea of running for governor in 2012.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Update 2: Also, don't forget the filing deadline is this FRIDAY! That's alot of signatures to gather in a very short amount of time!

And a source of mine thinks that there is more to this than what we are being let onto. Without naming my source(s), there could be a potential 'statement' from the White House following Bayh's press conference.

http://indydemocrat.blogspot.com/2010/02/evan-bayh-to-retire.html

Per the FEC: http://www.fec.gov/pubrec/fe2010/2010pdates.pdf

Anyone who wants to run has 24 hours and 20 minutes, as of this post, to collect 500 signatures from each district to get on the ballot.

An impossible task on the fly in 24 hours.

Does the Repuke Govoner seat the rep?

The state party has a private convention to pick the nominee. Indiana Democrats almost did the same thing in 2006 when no one bothered to run against Dick Luger, but decided not to waste the money. Only the Libertarian party bothered to run someone against him.

Though this is speculation, I think this is the reason why Bayh is announcing today. That no other Democrat decided to challenge him openly means that anyone and everyone who wants a shot at the seat will have to go through the party apparatus and not a primary election, because collecting that many signatures on such short notice will be next to impossible (and it may be the 19th, the Indiana SoS office says it's the 19th while the FEC says its the 16th, but either way it's not going to happen).

So, basically, Bayh has assurances that his successor will likely be similar to him politically, because they'll be picked by the party chiefs, and that there won't be a public fight over it because it'll be done behind closed doors.

Form for Ballot access says 2/16. 2/19 is for House candidates.

http://www.in.gov/sos/elections/files/CAN-4.pdf

Fuck you too, Evan.

...of being a slave to his alarm clock. He was only in politics to rise to the upper echelons. He knows
he has gone as far, in politics, as he will ever go. He's not going to be President. Obama passed him up
as vp. Spoiled little aristocrat wants off the merry-go-round.

His timing is revealing. The DLC/neocon wing of our party doesn't want a real race. They want to appoint
someone who will keep the corporate takeover/greedmongering/war profiteering going. So, he announces his
exit at a time when it is impossible for any Progressive to coalesce a campaign.

The DLCers will declare a Bayh clone to the position.

Also, the Brown nomination was as much about dissatisfaction on the right--as it is on the left. Progressives,
at the time of that election--were distraught with Obama's unwillingness to fight and with the lack of progress
on healthcare. They stayed home in protest. No one is talking about that though. Can't let anyone know that
Progressives are unhappy and able to affect elections. It has to be ALL about the tea partiers and their power.

That way...when our party shifts right--they have an excuse, "Well look at the Scott Brown election! We must
move farther to the right!" Whatever.

They have to stomp all glimmers of a Progressive movement. Believe me, we're ready to revolt. We're just as
motivated, disgusted and upset as the tea partiers. But we must be squelched and our voices must be chilled.

We won't get a fair election now--with time to further a Progressive candidate. We'll get a back-door appointment
of a DLC scumbag.

Cowards.

SSSSSSQQQQQUUUUUUEEEEEEAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!

I dont like it.

But I think dems can just kiss the seat goodbye. Indiana is just too GOPpy.

I heard she was at the podium for his announcement.

.... to toss her hat into a race that would take her out of Indy, should she win.

I think there is something in Bayh's connection to WellPoint (wife) that is forcing him to do this. I don't buy his explanation.

:crazy:

I think Bayh is jumping at the prospect of a better financial deal.

Lugar a free ride last election. Under the current leadership
and the timing of this announcement it looks as if they will give
the Republican candidate (whoever) a free ride this time also.
A real piece of work and their way of showing their gratitude for
all the work put forth in electing and reelecting pathetic
representatives of this political party.

since Bayh made it impossible for someone else to meet tomorrow's deadline for filing.

She was collecting signatures. 500 short in the 8th District I am hearing, and I am not sure about elsewhere.
But if she got the signatures in, and was the only candidate in the primary then she goes to November, right?

But, I was standing outside a DMV office in Florida, not on a holiday during an Indiana winter.

If she had enough staff and volunteers, it's doable.

She really should collect about 600 per district to cover rejects.

He wants to replaced by someone who will do Bayh's bidding for the health industrial complex, As an observer noted yesterday, Bayh is simply crossing the aisle to be a lobbyist.

He may look pretty but he doesn't have personality that should attract women. IMO

Indiana CAN go Democratic with a newcomer, but only with a candidate that is convincing.

The Democratic candidate for Senate in Indiana will either inspire or retire.

It's Kaine's job to find him/her, recruit him/her, and give him/her the resources to win.

the Dems could have found someone else to take his place. This seat is going to the GOP thanks to Bayh. The blame falls on him.

Here are some famous ones: bargaining the 2002 Corp accounting reform to prevent effectiveness (only the second round of corporate implosions got him to stop blocking the effort altogether); The famous Rose Garden speech with Lieberman and Gephardt to flank bush and scuttle all last truely bipartisan efforts to slow down the march to war in Iraq (on the eve of the vote.)

Thanks for those "highlights."

And let us not forget these recent gems:

“It’s why moderates and independents even in a state as Democratic as Massachusetts just aren’t buying our message,” he said. “They just don’t believe the answers we are currently proposing are solving their problems. That’s something that has to be corrected.”

“ The only we are able to govern successfully in this country is by liberals and progressives making common cause with independents and moderates,” Bayh said. “Whenever you have just the furthest left elements of the Dem party attempting to impose their will on the rest of the country -- that’s not going to work too well.”

---

As if that were happening.

We didn't realize when he spewed this bile that he had already decided not to run and to screw the party. This is pretty much the same talking point he's using today.

:hi:
Hi, Salin. (From the DUer formerly known as soonerhoosier.)

sorta makes you wonder ....

:hi: Nice to see you again!

Streaming on wishtv.com

??

The Democratic candidate will be picked, in private convention, by the state party due to a vacancy on the primary ballot.

The DNC can allocate resources to the campaign once the candidate is picked, if it so chooses. If they follow Howard's
50 State strategy, we can hold the seat with a sharp candidate. If they write Indiana off as unwinnable (Rahm's strategy),
then the seat is lost. Obama carried Indiana in 2008. If he shows up periodically, and not in the last 48 hours, and has
something to show for himself, the seat can be saved with the right candidate.

Kaine can have input into who his picked up front, but its mostly going to be minimal. The person with the most influence over the process will be Indiana Dem Chairman Dan Parker.

Dan Parker is also Bayh's longtime campaign manager.

The Democratic nominee will be in the same mold as Bayh. That's why he announced 24 hours before the deadline for turning in petition signatures for ballot access in the primary. It insures that Indiana Democrats will have no say over who their nominee is, and gives all the power over that process to people who are in their position because of Bayh. Even if Kaine balks, they'll just say that he is trying to exert out-of-state influence over a state process and jeopardizing a Senate seat at the same time, and they'd likely win. Unfortunate as it is, Democratic officeholders and functionaries owe more to Bayh than they do to the DNC.

The fix is in.

Indiana Shocker: Bayh Not Seeking Re-Election

By Greg Giroux | February 15, 2010 10:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) will not seek re-election this year, a stunning decision that gives Republicans a prime opportunity to win a seat they had no expectation of winning at the beginning of the election cycle.

"After all these years, my passion for service to my fellow citizens is undiminished, but my desire to do so in Congress has waned," Bayh said in a statement that was reported by several media outlets.

Bayh, 54, will hold a news conference at 2 p.m. in Indianapolis.

I can't blame him for being disgusted with the stupidity in Washington, even if he was part of it.

Good riddance to bad trash.

But a majority Republican U.S. Senate is almost a certainty now.

And do you think having fifty-one votes will stop them from passing whatever they want?

Blame this snowballing debacle on Harry Reid and the Democratic leadership that would not kill the filibuster rule.

The last seat to move to a likely "R" made a republican senate possible (not likely).

This moves the center of mass to about a 5-6 seat republican pickup.

That assumes that nothing changes (which, of course, it will).

It would still take Republicans basically running the table to take the senate (particularly with the VP tiebreaker).

that something most people just don't get

I'm hoping Tamyra d'Ippolito can get on the ballot and I'll be writing her in if she doesn't. Any Democrat is already always hanging by a thread in this dumbfuck state, so this seat will definitely be going to the Repukes in November, along with who knows how many others. Not that this one will make a difference anyway, there is no daylight between Bayh and the GOP.

A Link:

http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/23436

:sarcasm:

maybe he can run as a republicant in the next office he seeks. It would be more honest.

Not that Bayh was ever one of my favorites, but I still place value in having folks in House and Senate w/ a d-behind their name.

Good bayh

Now he'll go to work as a health care lobbyist and double his salary.

You must think health care lobbyists work pretty cheap. I think "quintuple his salary" would be a closer guess.

In terms of policy, very little difference!

:toast: :bounce: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :kick:

And get your red ass out of our party.

We'll end up with a republican majority in the Congress and a President *shudder* named Palin. And guess what? I won't even bother voting. Why? Because my Democratic Party is filled with corrupt pansies who don't know what the hell they are doing. We the voters, gave our party the majority and the White House, and they blew it.

Voting for a third party is better than sitting it out. Sheesh.

Thank the gods!

For some of the important democratic agendas he may as welll have been a Repug.

For those that would like to say Buh-Bye-to-Bayh! And
depending on your view, good bye or good riddance.

http://bayh.senate.gov/contact/email/

Washington, DC
131 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
(202) 224-5623
(202) 228-1377 fax

Indianapolis, IN
1650 Market Tower
10 West Market Street
Indianapolis, IN 46204
(317) 554-0750
(317) 554-0760 fax

He was a DINO sellout, no big loss. They ought to find a progressive firebrand to run against Coates but I'd be shocked if they did. They'll dig up a blue dog wannabe so in the end it will be neither a plus or a minus for true liberals.

and the voters of his own state--IN went for Obama, don't forget. He seems more upset with the progressive wing of his own party than he is with the loopiest wingnuts of the far right. What a limp dishrag this fucking guy is. Good riddance.

I actually hope it's a really embarrassing scandal, but he's too fucking boring for that. Probably just a nice, juicy lobbying gig, with the proviso that he announce at the latest possible date. Jesus--it's always the most sanctimonious who are the most corrupt.

Which of his current paymasters will he serve after leaving the Senate?

http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?cid=N00003762

Amazing how many friends he has in big law firms considering that most of those firms do relatively little business in Indiana.

Susman Godfrey -- Seattle, Houston, Dallas, L.A., New York -- No Indiana here

http://www.susmangodfrey.com/?id=73

Goldman, Sachs - New York and Salt Lake City but otherwise vague about their locations except that they are where their interests are

http://www2.goldmansachs.com/

Orrick, Herrington -- New York, D.C., Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, Sacramento, Silicon Valley, Los Angeles, Orange County and overseas

http://www2.goldmansachs.com/

ActBlue -- That's us? Oh, No!

Latham & Watkins -- Los Angeles, New Jersey, New York, Houston, Orange County, Silicon Valley, San Francisco, San Diego, Chicago -- at least Chicago is kind of close. It's in the midwest at any rate. That's the closest any of the firms of any of these donors come to Indiana.

http://www.lw.com/

Who does Bayh represent anyway?

Bayh's retirement is not a problem. Doing so without giving the Dems a reasonable chance at finding a replacement candidate is unprofessional and seems like Bayh's revenge. Revenge for what? I don't know....

The filing deadline is Friday, but the signatures must be in on Tuesday. So effectively, the deadline is tomorrow.

Presuming nobody files, then the IN Democratic leadership picks a candidate....which will go over fantastically in an environment where lots of people are yelling about back-room deals.

It also allows Bayh to control who replaces him, in that most of the state leadership were once on his staff. If Bayh had allowed a primary, one of the DFHs might have won, and we can't have that!

Mike Pence decided against a Senate run when he thought he'd have to face Bayh. The timing of Bayh's withdrawal means that Pence has almost no time to get the signatures to get on the Republican primary ballot against Dan Coats.

A Hoosier friend of mine suggests that this may have motivated Bayh's timing. Bayh and Coats aren't far apart ideologically, while Pence is a rabid right-winger.

Maybe Pence could pull off a petition drive anyway. It might be fun to watch a fratricidal Coats-Pence primary.

If it's someone good, you know they had a heads up despite denying it. If so, probably a good strategy.

How did Obama carry this Republican only state?

lots of minorities taking the time to vote for the 1st time because the man on the ticket looked like someone that could be a relative. It was a liberating feeling for many to vote for someone merely who looked like them for once. I don't blame them. But that's how Obama won states like this, along with Cheney & Dumbya screwing the economy so badly. Oh, and Sarah Palin scared the shit out of Independents...

His delivery was Bobby Jindal-like.
It was pathetically reminiscent of Sarah Palin's resignation speech.

who else am i forgetting?

He the best we can do in Indiana

John Mellencamp was born in Indiana, and I believe is still a resident.
He is Progressive politically and already has GREAT Name Recognition.

The unfortunate REALITY is that the majority of American Voters DO in fact have an American Idol Mentality.
It is time WE started using that.



Anybody have his number?

But he's too good for Washington. They would ruin him.

I could get behind that.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7719573

I would be orgasmic if he stepped forward.
I would go to Indiana to help him get elected.