Democrat Seantor Evan Bayh Retires

[yesboii]

Obama hit hard as Bayh bows out

WASHINGTON (AFP) – US President Barack Obama suffered another setback Monday as a fifth Democratic senator, centrist heavyweight Evan Bayh, decided not to run for re-election in dismay at the bitter political climate.
Obama, who reportedly tried to talk Bayh out of retiring, faces a looming Republican resurgence and risks watching strong majorities in Congress crumble in November mid-term elections, and with them his ambitious reform agenda.
With his tearful wife and two sons at his side, Bayh, 54, expressed disenchantment with excessive partisanship in the Congress as he announced his decision at a press conference in the state capital Indianapolis.
"For some time, I have had a growing conviction that Congress is not operating as it should. There is too much partisanship and not enough progress -- too much narrow ideology and not enough practical problem-solving," he said.
"Even at a time of enormous challenge, the peoples? business is not being done."
Democrats expressed shock at the development, seeing it both as the loss of a key consensus builder in the Senate and of a candidate strongly favored to win re-election in Republican-leaning Indiana.
A top White House official said Bayh, who called Obama on Monday morning, was "by nature a governor not a senator."
The New York Times reported that both Obama and White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel tried to convince Bayh to run again, but to no avail.
In a statement, Obama praised Bayh for "reaching across the aisle on issues ranging from job creation and economic growth to fiscal responsibility and national security.
"I look forward to continuing to work with him on these critical challenges throughout the rest of the year," he said.
Republican Dan Coats, a former senator who later served as US ambassador to Germany, recently announced he would challenge Bayh, who has never lost an election in Indiana and once considered running for the presidency.
The son of Indiana senator Birch Bayh, he was best known as a moderate who co-sponsored a 2002 Senate resolution authorizing the Iraq war.
"He is a centrist, and it seems that the center is not holding," said Diane Ravitch of the Brookings Institution in a posting on Politico.com. "If senators such as Bayh leave or lose, the rancor in Washington will get louder and meaner."
His decision not to run for a third term was the latest sign of trouble coming at Obama and his Democrats as they head into mid-term elections amid rising public anger over high unemployment and economic uncertainty.
Explaining his disenchantment, Bayh pointed to last week's collapse of legislation aimed at creating jobs and a Senate vote against a bipartisan commission to deal with the exploding deficit and debt, which he called "one of the greatest threats facing our nation."
"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.
"My decision was not motivated by political concern," he said. "Even in the current challenging environment, I am confident in my prospects for re-election."
Polls indicate that Bayh could easily have won re-election, making his decision all the more frustrating for Democrats struggling to hang on to the large majorities they won in 2008.
A poll last week showed Bayh, who is reported to have 13 million dollars in his campaign chest, with a 20-point lead over Coats.
"My decision should not reflect adversely upon the president," Bayh said, calling Obama's agenda "the right agenda for America."
But it follows the loss of the Senate seat in Massachusetts held for decades by the late Senator Edward Kennedy, which stripped Democrats of the 60-seat majority they need to override Republican delaying tactics in the 100-seat chamber.
Bayh is the fifth Democratic senator to opt not to run for re-election in 2010, a list that includes other party heavyweights Christopher Dodd of Connecticut and Byron Dorgan of North Dakota.
It was unclear who would succeed Bayh as the Democratic candidate from Indiana. Possible contenders include Representatives Baron Hill and Brad Ellsworth. The deadline for filing is Friday.
Coats, 66, faces a challenge for the Republican nomination from former representative John Hostettler.
Democrats had already mounted bruising attacks on Coats, casting him as a carpet-bagger who lives and votes in Virginia, a lobbyist for drug industry interests and a foreign agent for interests as varied as Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Yemen.

Another setback for Obama?

 

[MobBoss]

Heh, seems a lot of dems dont want to waste their money in a re-election bid...even if they are supposedly a lock.....they are dropping like flies out there.

 

[emzie]

Well that went from possible hold to +1 Republican.

 

[Karalysia]

Good. The sooner we purge the so-called "moderates" who are nothing more than a Republican 5th column the better.

I hope all the moderates lose their seats, every single one of them. Purge baby, purge.

 

[MobBoss]

Good. The sooner we purge the so-called "moderates" who are nothing more than a Republican 5th column the better.

I hope all the moderates lose their seats, every single one of them. Purge baby, purge.

Heh, the modern democrat mantra: "go left or go home'.

 

[Karalysia]

Whats the point of calling yourself a Democrats when not only do you not believe in liberal principles, programs, and ideas, but you actively seek to inhibit the implementation of them, and side with the Republicans more often than not? He might as well join the Republican party for all the use he's been. I hope Lincoln, Specter, and Reid all lose their seats. It's what they deserve.

 

[MeteorPunch]

He's doing a disservice by stepping down, which will replace him with some other tool. Stay and fight the system from the inside.

 

[sumit1207]

Whats the point of calling yourself a Democrats when not only do you not believe in liberal principles, programs, and ideas, but you actively seek to inhibit the implementation of them, and side with the Republicans more often than not? He might as well join the Republican party for all the use he's been. I hope Lincoln, Specter, and Reid all lose their seats. It's what they deserve.

Specter and Reid did not "side with the Republicans more often than not." Sadly, they're most likely losing because they're too liberal for their constituents. So many of the Democrats losing/giving up (Dorgan, Feingold, Boxer) are fairly liberal, considering who they represent.

 

[Miles Teg]

I'm kind of tripping over this. Bayh's an ambitious guy, and bad year or not, he really didn't have to worry about his election prospects. I mean, people retire all the time, but from what I hear, the guy was dead serious about staying in office just last week, and his polling hasn't dropped off since then. My first instinct is to say that someone's got some dirt on him. The idea that he's just bored with being a legislator is probably true, but Bayh's probable response to that boredom would be to try and stir up publicity, not drop out suddenly. There's some speculation that he plans to run for President, but I'm just not seeing it.

 

[mangxema]

Heh, seems a lot of dems dont want to waste their money in a re-election bid...even if they are supposedly a lock.....they are dropping like flies out there.

Meh. A lot of people are retiring, on both sides. Hard times are always bad news for incumbents, and if you're looking for a future in politics, it is much better to retire than be beaten by what's-his-name. I saw a poll somewhere that showed a ridiculous amount of anti-incumbent sentiment, so i am not surprised that many are conveniently finding an exit. Bayh though should have been fine. I am suspicious of some impending doom.

 

[negZero]

Good. The sooner we purge the so-called "moderates" who are nothing more than a Republican 5th column the better.

I hope all the moderates lose their seats, every single one of them. Purge baby, purge.

Yes purge the moderates it isn't like the other party tried that and failed... or wait it did. Maybe an electable third party would formed and Americans could finally see democracy working again. Note, yes I know Canadians shouldn't be saying that right now.

 

[BasketCase]

Heh, seems a lot of dems dont want to waste their money in a re-election bid...even if they are supposedly a lock.....they are dropping like flies out there.

The impression I'm getting is that a lot of moderate politicians, both liberal and conservative, are getting pissed off and calling it quits. Leaving a bunch of radicals on the left and radicals on the right behind. I'm actually okay with this, because it will result in total gridlock and leave all the radicals completely paralyzed.

Edit: Ah. Appears I'm not the only one thinkin' this.

 

[MobBoss]

Meh. A lot of people are retiring, on both sides.

Which republicans have said they are going to retire?

 

[mangxema]

Honestly I haven't been paying too much attention, but I have noticed a mix. The group of retirees does contain more Democrats, but there are more Democrats in both chambers of Congress, so I don't think that says much.

EDIT: I was wrong, it 6 Republicans vs. 5 Democrats, and when you account for the placeholders that are really stopgaps for vacated seats, 5 vs. 3:

Democratic Senate retirements:
Christopher Dodd of Connecticut
Ted Kaufman of Delaware*
Roland Burris of Illinois*
Evan Bayh of Indiana
Byron Dorgan of North Dakota

Republican Senate retirements:
George LeMieux of Florida*
Sam Brownback of Kansas
Jim Bunning of Kentucky
Kit Bond of Missouri
Judd Gregg of New Hampshire
George Voinovich of Ohio

EDIT2: Furthermore, it appears Republican House retirements outnumber Democratic ones too, although most, on both sides, are running for another office.

 

[JohnRM]

No matter who wins, we all lose.

 

[Karalysia]

Worry not. The Reveloution will come soon. Especially if the Republicans continue their current behavior.

 

[MobBoss]

Worry not. The Reveloution will come soon. Especially if the Republicans continue their current behavior.

Who are you going to elect next? Gozer the Gozarian?

 

[Karalysia]

Who are you going to elect next? Gozer the Gozarian?

 

[holy king]

stalin, baby.

 

[MobBoss]

Isnt that the guy that runs for president every year but he is a plumber or something? That weird looking dude that makes Dennis Kucinish look normal?