Senator Evan Bayh to retire

Sen. Evan Bayh, a leading moderate Democrat from Indiana who was once thought to be a rising national political star, won’t run for a third term, a decision which imperils his party’s hold on the seat. Bayh’s shock decision — to be announced Monday afternoon in Indianapolis — comes as he geared up for what may have been his most difficult campaign in an otherwise gilded political life.

www.politico.com...

The demoratic party is falling apart. I think Bayh is positioning for a future Presidential run. His language was pretty clear that he likes public service but is sick of the Senate. His poll numbers were good and likely would win reelection.

Odd how he blindsided everyone with this. I wonder if there is more to this story ?

Folks, we are going to witness the most lopsided off year election rebound in history!

Republicans rightfully have no faith in CSPAN Obama, the people have no faith in him, and now the Democrats are turning on him.

Republicans take over both houses of Congress, leaving Barack (CSPAN) Obama as a lame duck with 2 years left in office!

Seems to me lots of people are partying ways with the government. Ithink they absolutely know what is coming.

Um...exactly how is the democratic party falling apart? Democrats have 5 seats up and the republicans have 6 source

I do agree that there seems to be a higher than average number of reps "retiring" and that there is "something" in the air, but to assume what that may be has no basis as of yet.

I have been waiting for this moment.

If Bayh runs for President, I will come out of voting retirement to vote for him.
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And lets face it, he is THE best looking politician on the scene right now.

I can't believe it. The Dems have a clear MAJORITY and the WHITE HOUSE and not only are they still not getting their own agenda done, they are quitting!! I am stunned.

And really, you are going to vote for President a man who quits his job because of partisan bickering? That's all that happens in Washington. So A) he's a quitter and B) he doesn't like politicking. Yeah that sounds like he would be a great President.

The Democrats are going down a dark path. They contend that money is the God they worship, and if there is no money in it, they will not touch it. The real trouble is not with Democrats or Republicans. It is with the greed of the people we vote into office. Once the first lobbyist comes, and the new politician learns how much money is involved with a bill. Then he/she talks to others, and deals are made and broken. Ultimately, the Bottom Line is money. I think if the Dems and Reps are not real careful, the Tea Party candidates will make a good showing. We could see a real shake up like never before.

Originally posted by jjkenobi
I can't believe it. The Dems have a clear MAJORITY and the WHITE HOUSE and not only are they still not getting their own agenda done, they are quitting!! I am stunned.

And at the same time they blame the Republicans. Go figure.

And really, you are going to vote for President a man who quits his job because of partisan bickering? That's all that happens in Washington. So A) he's a quitter and B) he doesn't like politicking. Yeah that sounds like he would be a great President.

Isn't quitting one of the things the dems constantly bash Palin over? Just asking.

Good riddance. He's the poster boy for most of what is wrong with the system. His wife is on the boards of several corporations including pharmaceutical giant Lilly and health insurance behemoth Wellpoint. She (meaning "they") has raked in millions on just those relationships alone.

His stance is, it never affected his vote. Uh huh. How about as a public official in a position of trust, you eliminate even the appearance of trading influence for personal gain?

I've never liked or trusted this guy. He comes off (to me) as a complete phony and schemer. A stiffer and less comfortable version of John Edwards. I wouldn't vote for him as city councilman.

If anything, in my opinion his decision to not run for reelection is a sign there's something waiting in the background which will result in a much bigger payoff.

Link



[edit on 2/16/2010 by yeahright]

Originally posted by centurion1211
Isn't quitting one of the things the dems constantly bash Palin over? Just asking.

The difference being, Bayh isn't quitting, he's announcing he won't run for reelection. Palin bailed before her term was up. Now I certainly put her right at the top of the political babelicious list, but she's another one that wouldn't get my vote for anything other than prom queen.

Originally posted by yeahright

Originally posted by centurion1211
Isn't quitting one of the things the dems constantly bash Palin over? Just asking.

The difference being, Bayh isn't quitting, he's announcing he won't run for reelection. Palin bailed before her term was up. Now I certainly put her right at the top of the political babelicious list, but she's another one that wouldn't get my vote for anything other than prom queen.

You leave out why Palin quit.

Wall Street Journal article

Contrary to most reports, her decision had been in the works for months, accelerating recently as it became clear that controversies and endless ethics investigations were threatening to overshadow her legislative agenda. "Attacks inside Alaska and largely invisible to the national media had paralyzed her administration," someone close to the governor told me. "She was fully aware she would be branded a 'quitter.' She did not want to disappoint her constituents, but she was no longer able to do the job she had been elected to do. Essentially, the taxpayers were paying for Sarah to go to work every day and defend herself."

as compared with Bayh's reasons for not seeking re-election.
NPR article

Never a fan of overt partisanship in a Congress that has become more and more partisan, Bayh said he was tired of a system in which politics won out over progress.

IMO, they both quit for similar reasons - partisan politics. Palin felt she couldn't do her job because of politically motivated "investigations". And Bayh is weary of the same things happening IN Congress.

If you want to bring up the difference in timing. Bayh says that he wasn't doing this because he was afraid of losing. So, if he was assured of being re-elected, it is the same as quitting any job before you have to.

We disagree. I draw a clear distinction between fulfilling an expected obligation and not. If you're elected, appointed, hired, whatever, for a set term and you leave prior to that being up, you quit prior to the commitment you made being fulfilled. That is a failure to live up to a commitment.

Bayh is serving out his term. Palin didn't when there was a clear expectation by the people who voted for her that she would. Granted, accepting a position on the 2008 presidential ticket meant if McCain had been elected, she'd vacate the office. There's a world of difference, to me, between that and quitting because she couldn't take the heat, or it became too difficult. That's what it boils down to. If she can't take the heat and difficulty of governing Alaska, does she have a prayer of holding up to the rigors of arguably the most demanding job in the world? I'm not inclined to roll the dice on that. I know that isn't the topic of this thread, but there's certainly speculation about her being a candidate for POTUS.

Palin's a quitter. Bayh, for all his faults, isn't. As far as I'm concerned.

Originally posted by yeahright
We disagree. I draw a clear distinction between fulfilling an expected obligation and not. If you're elected, appointed, hired, whatever, for a set term and you leave prior to that being up, you quit prior to the commitment you made being fulfilled. That is a failure to live up to a commitment.

Bayh is serving out his term. Palin didn't when there was a clear expectation by the people who voted for her that she would. Granted, accepting a position on the 2008 presidential ticket meant if McCain had been elected, she'd vacate the office. There's a world of difference, to me, between that and quitting because she couldn't take the heat, or it became too difficult. That's what it boils down to. If she can't take the heat and difficulty of governing Alaska, does she have a prayer of holding up to the rigors of arguably the most demanding job in the world? I'm not inclined to roll the dice on that. I know that isn't the topic of this thread, but there's certainly speculation about her being a candidate for POTUS.

Palin's a quitter. Bayh, for all his faults, isn't. As far as I'm concerned.

I guess we will have to disagree. Because I also see that Bayh is quitting his reelection bid because he cannot take the heat in Washington any more.

Evan Bayh is a CORPORATIST in the mold of Bill Clinton.

He will be back. This isn't the last we'll hear from him.

BUT...I"m glad that the next leading candidate for his seat actually already held that seat and is right now currently A LOBBYIST.

DON'T DO IT INDIANA. No more establishment politicians who have been payed off by the corporations!

Originally posted by David9176
DON'T DO IT INDIANA. No more establishment politicians who have been payed off by the corporations!

We're currently conducting an exhaustive search under every bridge and behind every silo to find a person meeting that requirement. There's one possibility who says he might give it a go after he's done putting brakes on his '63 Dodge Dart.

reply to post by yeahright

We're currently conducting an exhaustive search under every bridge and behind every silo to find a person meeting that requirement. There's one possibility who says he might give it a go after he's done putting brakes on his '63 Dodge Dart.

Lol. I lived in Indiana most of my life and grew up there. I know live in Michigan but I know that many of my former friends/family/co-workers are out of work and desperately need a job. I told them to definitely NOT COME HERE!

It's worrisome to me though...in many of the congressional races there is just another former politician/lobbyist/establishment figure who has long been involved in politics running against the incumbent.

That won't change anything. Quite frankly, I was surprised that Indiana even went to Obama in 2008. The area I grew up in was pretty racist as much of Indiana is in rural areas.

BTW...moved from indiana because I lost my job to outsourcing. My former company is now located in Mexico paying someone just over a dollar an hour....all just to make the shareholders happy and have their stocks go up temporarily.

There have been a lot of people in congress “retiring” lately. I checked several of the prominent ones lately. Funny how they all chair or are on a financial committee. Wonder if they know something we don’t. I thought of doing a thread on this but haven’t had the time lately for the research. I do wonder if there isn’t more to the story of politicians retiring, buying properties, upgrading security, moving ect.

I'm not sure what will happen, but if anyone thinks the answer is Dan Coats, they're kidding themselves. It's going to have to be someone completely off the radar currently for me to consider them.

No doubt it'll be some party hack who already owes his soul to someone, or looking to sell it for the right price. I'll end up voting for a 3rd party candidate and moving on.

Originally posted by liveandletlive
There have been a lot of people in congress “retiring” lately. I checked several of the prominent ones lately. Funny how they all chair or are on a financial committee. Wonder if they know something we don’t.

They are also dieing to leave office.

Good Riddance to the lot of them.

Sad but true.


[edit on 2·16·10 by DrMattMaddix]