I have to say that there's still some level of shock still being felt in Indiana over Evan Bayh's stunning announcement yesterday. I mean this guy has made more news in the last 24 hours than he did his entire career. And.... he has the country asking the questions that we here at PYY and other blogs have been asking all along.
If you haven't been here before, you may not be aware that I ran this piece awhile back, called On Notice: Evan Bayh. In it, I describe how I once thought I knew the Senator but how I found out that I really didn't think I did.
So as you may guess, there are a lot of thoughts running rampant right now. Here are some that I have heard..... and some that are my own:
1. Why didn't he make this known sooner... when the bad legislation was being handled? On several occasions, he had a chance to take better control of the debate and possibly get more cooperation from the other Blue Dogs. They had to know the bills being forced down our throats were crap.
2. He must really be angry to have left the party so high and dry. With the deadline only 24 hours from his announcement, he left the Dems in a major panic. They were just as floored as the rest of us were, but they were the one who suffered the damage... much worse than us.
3. He may truly be sincere about wanting to leave for the right reasons. I am not usually apt to trust politicians, but who knows?
4. If he is doing this for the right reason, he could help the country by getting a message out there for the remainder of his term, and beyond.
5. He'll never leave the Democratic Party, mainly because of his father. But I wonder, would he consider working for TEA Party causes as a Democrat? I doubt it. But that's the only thing that has a chance of rendering some kind shift back to common sense.... anytime soon.
6. As a disenfranchised Democrat who embraces the values of common sense accounting, other centrist Democrats may feel more liberty to buck the progressive power base..... without becoming a member of the GOP. (Plus: Since the TEA Party is not about political party, he could really help on the solutions end of the problems. He's not dumb.)
7. Some people may be thinking that Coats had some inside information, which is why he so suddenly jumped into the GOP race, just before the big news.
8. I am not supporting Coats. I will work in the primaries as a Republican for whoever adopts the ideology of following the Constitution, and nothing but the Constitution. He will be the one who believes in termlimits and states' rights. I will not support Coats because he has been working as a lobbyist and represents the old guard GOP establishment. And if that isn't enough, he doesn't even live here.
9. All of this could be wrong. He may have read my "On Notice" post and realizes that LA Sunsett was ready to work against him.... feverishly. But I doubt it.
So there you have it folks, I wrote this as a public service to you all. To those who are far removed from the area, I am your source... your man on the street pounding the pavement to get you these bits of hard data.This is why we have become most trusted name in Indiana political news and one of the most reviled.
We are PYY.
11 comments:
Ok, here's my Evan Bayh conspiracy theory. I think he's leaving now for one reason only, because he plans a run against Obama in 2012. Think about it. If he sticks around, he will be labeled as part of the Obama Dems who brought the country down economically. He doesn't want his name on any form of that health care bill they are trying to pass...he needs to distance himself.
Then, after Obama totally blows his first term, Bayh will decide he's going to run against him. He will be known as the guy riding in on the white horse who walked away from the corruption in the White House, looking squeaky clean.
Or...he'll just get a job working as a lobbyist for a Pharmaceutical company. ;-)
//Or...he'll just get a job working as a lobbyist for a Pharmaceutical company. //
Eli Lilly? Corporate HQ is right here in downtown Indy.
I think him taking a shot at a sitting President within his own party is a long shot, but not altogether impossible. If Obama has tanked us out by then, he might have a shot at the nomination.
Thanks for the update. I don't see him running for prez. As you said, he made more news the other day than during his entire career. He reminds me of Pawlenty--probably a nice guy but no pizazz. But then again, I figured O had no chance either.
Good post Sunsett. I am thinking myself that I really want to support Richard Behney, but he's just a business man from Fishers who organized the Tax Day Tea Party as far as I can tell, no political experience per se. That of course could be a stellar quality of course!
I really don't know much about Coates, but of course when he was in Indiana politics, I was still voting Democrat, so thanks for filling me in on him. I hear he is selling his house in NC... he's probably acting in haste! LOL!!!
HAM
I agree with AC ... Bayh won't run for the presidency. He's done that and no one knew who he was. Besides, have you even one instance of a democrat or republican successfully running against an incumbent of the same party?
This was such a well written essay that I almost wrote you a check for several hundreds of thousands of dollars; but then my attorney and CPA stepped in and told me you were not a registered PAC and it wouldn't be a tax deductible contribution. With that revelation, screw you.
Your friend,
Eric
Check this out by Andy Borowitz, I just about died laughing.
Evan Bayh Admits All-Consuming Farmville Addiction; Senator Enters Rehab
WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report) — Just hours after rocking the political world with his surprise retirement announcement, Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind) said that he would undergo treatment for an “all-consuming addiction” to the popular Facebook game Farmville.
“I realized that I had to make a choice between being a United States senator and tending my imaginary farm,” a tearful Mr. Bayh told reporters. “I had to look at myself in the mirror and acknowledge that I had a problem.”
Majority Leader Harry Reid said that he was shocked by Sen. Bayh’s admission, adding, “This is all the more surprising because he hails from a farm state, where there are plenty of actual farms he could take care of.”
In other news, an intelligence source downplayed the capture of the Taliban’s No 2, stating, “It sounds like a big deal until you remember that our No. 2 is Biden.”
Elsewhere, a New York Times reporter accused of plagiarism commented on the scandal, calling it “the best of times and the worst of times.”
I love the line about Biden. :-D
//I am thinking myself that I really want to support Richard Behney, but he's just a business man from Fishers who organized the Tax Day Tea Party as far as I can tell, no political experience per se.//
He sounds like a viable option. Hostetler was once a conservative Congressman from the Evansville area, and once redistricting gave him more area to cover, Terre Haute as well.
He's bit of a conservative maverick, the less government the better. He first got elected during the Newt Revolution, which failed because none of them kept their promises, among them term limits.
//I don't see him running for prez.
He's 54. I doubt he'll run in 2012. But in 2016, he'll only be 60. If the moderate Dems can excise the progressives from the Party by then, he'd have a chance.
As I said, he wasn't a bad governor. But that is before he became professional politician.
We'll see.
Eric,
I didn't know 10 year old pukes were allowed to have checking accounts.
ME, that was great. You are right, the Biden part was the best.
I think he saw a loss coming and did not want that on his resume for a Presidential run in 2016. He now has time to do speeches, etc in preparation.
Besides, don't worry. John Mellencamp is going to run for the Senate.
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