Frugal Café Blog Zone

Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on February 16, 2010

Sen. Evan Bayh announced he won't run for re-election... that noise you hear in the distance are Democrat leaders sobbing and gnashing their teeth

This jaw-dropping news broke over the weekend, and has left-wing pundits and Democrat leaders scrambling and screaming… zowie, those Democrat incumbents in Congress are dropping like meteors.

The Caucus, New York Times, Bayh Decides Against Re-election Bid:

Senator Evan Bayh, the Indiana Democrat, said today that he would not seek a third term in Congress, a move that gives Republicans yet another opportunity to pick up a Senate seat and gives Democrats some fresh anxiety about whether they are losing the party’s center.

The decision, which he announced at an afternoon press conference, came as a surprise to Democrats in his state who had already started working on his campaign.

Mr. Bayh, 54, made his decision even after entreaties by President Obama and White House aides, including the chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, who urged him to run.

In his remarks, Mr. Bayh expressed frustration at what he described as an increasingly polarized atmosphere in Washington that made it impossible to get anything done.

“For some time, I have had a growing conviction that Congress is not operating as it should,” he said. “There is much too much partisanship and not enough progress. Too much narrow ideology and not enough practical problem solving.”

And while he complimented his colleagues in the Senate, he said that “the institution is in need of significant reform.”

He cited two recent examples of the Senate not stepping up – the voting down of a bipartisan commission to deal with the federal deficit and the stymied attempt to craft a jobs bill.

Mr. Bayh, a former two-term governor and son of a former senator, has been a popular political figure in Indiana, winning both his Senate terms with more than 60 percent of the vote. In Mr. Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign, Mr. Bayh was considered a leading candidate for the role of vice president, which ultimately went to Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware.

Yet in what looks like a hard political year for Democrats, Republicans have thought the moderate Mr. Bayh’s hold on his seat could be vulnerable. This month, former Senator Daniel R. Coats, a conservative who served in the Senate for 10 years, began making moves toward making a run for the seat. Several other Republicans have indicated interest in the race as well.

Mr. Bayh’s decision comes one month after two other prominent Democratic senators, Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut and Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, announced within hours of each other that they would not seek re-election. Each faced potentially challenging campaigns.

From Centrist Net: UPDATED – Evan Bayh Will Not Seek Reelection – Dems Face Tomorrow Deadline for New Candidate:

The Scott Brown election to the Massactuetts Senate seat formerly held by Teddy Kennedy last month may have played a role in Bayh’s thinking. Considering the bankroll Bayh’s reelection campaign is carrying ($13 million) and his lead now in the polls, Bayh’s surprise announcement will surely be scrutinized by the political world for Bayh’s true rationale and the effects on politicians planning to remain in DC.

From VotingFemale: Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bayh, watchin’ incumbents roll a-Wayh:

Arm twist as many DEM incumbents as possible who are facing an uphill campaign battle to hold their seats in Congress. Better start on Harry Reid at some point… he is not long for further usefulness in the Senate. Just Sayin’

The self-denial of the Socialists-Progressives is breath-takingly self-defeating.

From Michelle Malkin, Reports: Bayh bows out:

Washington Post and Fox News carrying breaking news that Democrat Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana is bowing out and will not seek re-election…

Question: What’s Bayh going to do with his $13 million war chest?

Answer: Preserve his political viability.

***

Yikes, this wasn’t very considerate, was it?: “Bayh’s decision will set Dems scrambling for a replacement. The deadline to file to reach the ballot is Friday, meaning any Dem considering running for the seat must make a decision quickly.”

The last time so many congressional folks dropped out or announced retirement because of “partisan issues” was back in 1996 with a total of 13 retirements (we’re currently at 11, and it’s only February)… when we had another Democrat in the Oval Office. Not so many did so during Bush’s two terms… interesting. And what’s even more delicious is that Nancy Pelosi could lose her trachea-crushing grip on controlling the House of Representatives.

From Hot Air:

The only hope Democrats had in holding the Indiana seat was in keeping Bayh in the race. The state relies on coal energy anyway, and the upcoming cap-and-trade bill would have hammered a state already suffering more than most from the Great Recession. It usually skews conservative, and most certainly would have done so in the midterms, even with Bayh remaining in the race.

From CBS News:

Bayh did admit that he has no future plans. “I would tell you, but I don’t know. I’m going to — what we call in Indiana, in basketball — I’m going play until the final second ticks off the clock, and then think about what’s next.

“But if I could create one job in the private sector by helping to grow a business, that would be one more than Congress has created in the last six months.”

Additional:

Gateway Pundit: Indiana Dem Tamyra D’Ippolito Says She Has Enough Signatures to Run for US Senate (Video) and Breaking: Indiana Senator Evan Bayh to Retire
The Conservative Pup: The Beginning Of A Rebellion?
ON MY WATCH – the writings of SamHenry: Not Just Polls but Pressure on Select Dems Not to Run 2010
Patterico’s Pontifications: Another Obama Loss
Tennesseefree.com: Another Blue Dog Runs For Cover
National Review Online: Evan Bayh to Retire… The Deluge Continues

Categories: Business & Economy, Government, Social and Political Climate
Tags: 2010 election, Barack Obama, Bayh re-election, Bayh retirement, Bayh withdraws, Congress, Democrat, Democrat incumbent, Democrats, election, Evan Bayh, Evan Bayh retires, Indiana, liberal, November 2010 election, Pres. Obama, Rahm Emanuel, re-election, Scott Brown, Sen. Evan Bayh, Senate, Senator, Senator Bayh, Washington DC, White House