In what came as quite a shocker to much of the political community, Indiana Senator Evan Bayh announced that he will not seek a third term this November. In a speech delivered today, Bayh said “I love working for the people of Indiana; I love helping our citizens make the most of their lives; but I do not love Congress. I will not therefore be a candidate for re-election to the United States Senate this November.” He cited partisan politics and the ugly business of Washington as motivating factors for his decision, and reminded the audience that he was an “Executive at heart” – perhaps referencing his previous post as two-term Governor of Indiana or maybe just maybe hinting at a potential run at the White House. Pretty tough sledding it would be for a Democrat to run to the Right of President Obama in the primary, but who knows… I didn’t see this one coming either.
I had thought his drastic move to the center was an attempt to improve his chances for re-election to the Senate. Perhaps it was a precursor to something bigger. He did follow up that “Executive at heart” comment with a statement that he “valued his independence.” He may be considering a third party alternative ticket to really throw the 2012 election into a tailspin.
Noteworthy points to ponder on with this one…
Bayh is sitting on a $13 million war chest he raised for his re-election bid
Who will seek the Democratic nomination now that Bayh is out?
Full speech here…. via Breitbart TV via MSNBC
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The Other McCain thinks there might be something bigger at play here – not a run for the White House but a run for the hills…
The Lonely Conservative thinks that “If Republicans play their cards right, there’s a chance they can take control of the Senate.”
Another Black Conservative is adding Bayh to the “another Dem to the too chicken to face the voter’s wrath column.”
Ruby Slippers updates that Harry Reid didn’t know about Bayh’s retirement.
Gay Patriot says “you have to move this one from lean Democrat to lean Republican.”
Atlas Shruggs isn’t buying the Democrats’ retirement strategy - “See the new face, same as the old face. See the new left, same as the old left.”
via Memeorandum
Allahpundit points out
Red State’s got the right idea. She claims she needs 500 signatures by tomorrow, especially from the 8th District, although she’d feel safer with 1,000. If you’re a conservative Hoosier and you get a knock on the door, you know what to do.
I think the Republicans stand the biggest chance we’re going to get at recapturing Congress, maybe even both houses, although I doubt we’ll regain the Senate. I just hope that if we retake it, we don’t flub it up like we did with the 1995 sweep. Hopefully, the lessons imparted by Newt Gingrich and his grandstanding are not lost on this generation, and we don’t empower a firebrand who will serve only to make the Democrats look better. Gingrich, I should say, deserves much of the credit for Bill Clinton’s second term. So right about now, I hope we stay the course and retake both houses.
Also, to those who want to impeach Obama the instant a majority of Republicans overtake the house, step back and consider if you really want Joe Biden in the Oval Office. Obama is at least ineffectual. I suspect if Biden was in the Oval Office, we’d already be spiraled into socialized medicine, and socialism in general. Obama wants it but doesn’t know how. Biden could achieve that nefarious end. Besides, it’s kind of fun watching Obama making an ass of himself at every opportunity, and I think America needs to learn that lesson about electing a man of his ilk to the Oval Office, and it needs to be a long, painful and bitter lesson, that this error is not repeated in two years, or six or ten. I know a number of Republicans are still angry about Nixon, and angry that the impeachment of Clinton failed (thank God, because it denied Gore a greater shot at the presidency), but this isn’t the time to avenge matters, but to wait patiently and let the BHO presidency collapse all on its own.
Patrick Heffernan
Patrick. I cannot tell if you are a Gingrich supporter or not from your comment so I will assume you are based on your other statements. I do not see though how you believe republicans will recapture either house. If they were able to claim one I am not sure why you would assume the House and not the Senate. Ohhh unless you remembered that your party has as many open seats as we do?
Actually, while I approve of Mr. Gingrich’s politics, I do not approve of Mr. Gingrich, who never senses when it’s a golden opportunity to shut his mouth, and is a terribly sociopathic hypocrite, in my estimation. And I do indeed believe we Republicans will retake the House in November because of the terror they have instilled in Middle America (the “light blue” states, if you prefer, or perhaps “purple” would sum it up better) with their rapid departure from the will of the people and attempts at making the United States of America a socialist country, and evidently a 3rd World socialist country at that. Health care could use some improvement, to be certain, but not at the cost of tossing out the baby with the bathwater and indeed pulling the plug on grandma whether she consents or not.
And actually, Rebecca, since the Democrats control a majority in both houses of Congress (the antithesis of progress?) they indeed do have more seats at risk. History shows us that the president’s party loses seats in mid-term elections anyway, and I should think the Democrats are toast in November. Interestingly enough, I think it was a poll taken by CBS News in recent times that shows that a 92% of Americans want to remove their congress-critters.
If I’m to be utterly frank with you, my own senator from Texas, Ms. Hutchison, is running for governor and leaving the Senate, and I’m casting my vote for Ms. Medina and hopefully relegating Ms. Hutchison and Mr. Perry (the incumbent) to the political scrap yard. My own representative in the House, Ron Paul, is famous for loading bills with pork in committee and then voting against those bills to play both sides of the street, and he has voted to provide relief to the Katrina victims in Louisiana, but not to his own constituents in Texas after we were clobbered by Hurricane Ike. I’m sure-God voting against that maggot in the primaries, at the very least, and I may withhold my vote entirely in that race in November if he wins the primary. So I suppose I rank in that 92% of Americans who feel alienated by the people representing me in the House and Senate.
But yeah, getting back to the point, I do believe we Republicans will have control of the House after the November election cycle, and I pray we likewise take control of the Senate as well.
Patrick T. Heffernan
Thanks for the link. I’ll add you to my blogroll.
No problem and thank you. I will certainly return the favor…
Funny how if the roles were reversed and Paul had only gotten the 22% Romney garnered and Paul’s people booed Romney for winning, the est. would have STILL attacked Ron Paul and his supporters, just from another angle. Actually, I take that back. They would have wound a way to ignore his total altogether by not reporting the remaining totals. The est. is SCARED! They have been squirming now for 2 years trying to figure out how to neutralize this REAL conservative movement. They will fail.