“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.”
Now, one could suggest that perhaps the lack of progress comes from the fact that Bayh, along with other Senate "centrists" like Ben Nelson, have insisted on hijacking every bit of progressive legislation that comes their way in order to water it down. Another shining example of Bayh's "practical problem solving" is his slavish devotion to America's heirs and heiresses, as (despite his nonstop complaints about the deficit) he fought long and hard to cut the estate tax.
Given Bayh's avowed hatred of partisanship, you would think that he would want his replacement to be somebody calm and bi-partisan like himself... preferably a moderate Dem. Think again.
After announcing his retirement today, Democratic candidates have until Tuesday (tomorrow) at noon to get the required 4,500 signatures to get on the ballot. Whoever can scramble around and get this done quickly (not at all a sure thing) will be facing former GOP Senator Dan Coats (who held the seat before Bayh). Bayh was up by 20 points in polling, but Coats is pretty well funded and clearly a credible candidate. Given the timing of the announcement, this seems like an intentional attempt to sabotage the Democrats... but in favor of Coats? Coats, who is so "practical" and "nonpartisan" that, in 1998, on the Senate floor, he claimed that President Clinton's airstrikes against Osama bin Laden's networks in Afghanistan and Sudan were illegitimate attempts by Clinton to distract people from Lewinsky.
Long story short - good riddance Evan Bayh, and one can only send out a prayer tonight for the candidates and volunteers scrambling to get themselves on the ballot after Bayh's shady withdrawal.
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