Undermining His Supposed Allies

by Deacon Blues

Before anyone gets too misty-eyed about Evan Bayh's decision to ditch the Senate today amid his lofty talk about how Congress is broken and should work more like his great relationship with fellow Hoosier Dick Lugar, someone needs to explain to me why this isn't really a digital salute to Bayh's own Democratic party.

Although he made his decision Friday and told his staff, he apparently instructed them to maintain silence until today so he could make his own statement. He didn't tell the DSCC or Harry Reid anything until today. And did I mention that the filing deadline for another Indiana Democrat to qualify for the ballot and jump in - is tomorrow?

Allow me to suggest that this timing and rollout is not an accident. Despite his typically lofty talk about wanting to pursue change from outside Congress, the truth is that Bayh has now ensured that the GOP will take his seat with a neanderthal who has no commitment whatsoever to Bayh's lofty vision of how Congress should work.

Bayh has been at least borderline hostile to the progressive wing of his party for years, and believes in a corporate-friendly middle road. He's always felt he was an obvious choice for national office, without wanting to make the full commitment to run for the job, preferring to be annointed as a Veep nominee. But we're asked to believe that now he's sick of the partisianship and gridlock?

Senator, the true proof of your convictions would be to get reelected and then push to be the next Majority Leader and put your talk about bipartisanship into action. But instead, you get out and cripple your party's chances to hold this seat and margins in the Senate. Frankly sir, you seem to be quite self-serving in all of this, and I would not be surprised to see you run for president in 2016, or even as an intraparty challenge to a Democratic president in 2012.