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Sen. Bayh Retiring
As retirement announcements go, this one is significant …
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.
Bayh was known as one of the most conservative Democratic senators, and one who was not shy about challenging the President.
In terms of what this means for Democrats, the dire predictions have already started …
[Bayh's retirement] almost certainly hands his seat over to the Republicans, and makes the prospect of the Democrats losing the Senate this fall seem more than a theoretical possibility.
7 Responses to “Sen. Bayh Retiring”
But wait. I thought the Left keeps telling us the public LOVES and wants ObamaCare, and that the Brown election was an anomaly. The way to continued Democratic dominance is to stay the course.
Seems like maybe the other shoe is not dropping, but being thrown at them (where could I possibly have thought of that analogy?)
Great catch, Pete! (a hot line drive)
He is young and had potential as a “safe and sane” centrist Dem for ages.
That he is retiring now is serious. The Dems' current problems? Not a reason; they'll get going again soon. Not only that, but the Dems are in real power. If this reveals anything about other Dems, perhaps he's one of the early retirees who sees current to short-term-future public anger at Dem overreach, the reality that this is not 1933 or 1965, and it's not going to be fun in the short term future — and that's before the serious problems begin, with Social Security and Medicare starting to fail. Not only that, but there are other failures coming due to massive overspending with an Obama budget that indicates deficits will continue indefinitely. That can harm our currency, could raise the specter more than before of a debt trap, inflation and dollar devaluation, other budget problems besides entitlements.
Perhaps Bayh is one of the early DC-fixture retirees who is going to leave before the big problems begin.
Yes but the right does not want gay rights, nor gays in the military, so I'm happy. You should be too.
Clearly bad news for the Democrats as they do not seem to have a strong replacement in the wings.
Bayh may well run for Governor in 2012. Mitch Daniels is term limited and word is Bayh liked being Governor much more than being Senator.
Gotta love horserace journalism.
Sen. Bayh is equally as frustrated with Republicans as he is Democrats. It's the partisan loggerhead in Congress—by the right and the left—that is chasing moderates like Bayh out. At some point you have to wonder if it's worth it anymore. I've pretty much given up on the whole American form of gov't altogether. So, I don't blame Bayh one bit.
[...] Pete and Patrick have already posted on Evan Bayh’s retirement from the Senate. Yet the responsibility falls on me to employ one of the most obvious and predictable puns of the season: Bayh-Bayh, Evan. [...]
Seeking the Presidency? He faces not only Obama but Clinton in 2012. That means poor chances.
Failure of health care reform, maybe? It's not so much for his party's sake but for his household's. (Susan Bayh — Wellpoint)
Meanwhile:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100014240527487…
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100014240527487…