Evan Bayh packs it in and goes home because... What, governing isn't fun anymore? I'm not really sure why and his announcement that he's not seeking reelection (courtesy of CBS News) doesn't really clear things up very well.
Steve Benen puts things in this perspective:
Benen's actually giving Bayh more credit than I do. I didn't hear explicit blame laid on Republican obstructionism, but on partisanship on both sides of the aisle -- as if Democrats in the Senate haven't been maddeningly obsessed with bipartisan agreements. Everybody's so mean, legislating has become impossible, the whole country's screwed up, and you people don't have a functioning government anymore -- good luck with that, I'm outta here.
He ends pitching himself for a private sector job. If you're considering hiring Evan here, you might also consider his approach to problem-solving. Apparently, he doesn't really have one.
Still, he timed this all pretty well. While they won't have an incumbent, early reports suggest that -- because Indiana has insane filing requirements -- no one will be eligible for a Democratic primary (filings are due tomorrow). This means there won't be a primary and the state party will nominate someone. That person will be able to run in the general without having to spend money winning the primary -- in other words, they start off with an advantage.
Personally, I'm not extremely sorry to see Bayh go.
Steve Benen puts things in this perspective:
This sounds a bit like Bill Bradley's rationale in 1996 -- politics on Capitol Hill has become ugly and difficult, so I'm walking away.
But it's not exactly a compelling explanation. To hear Evan Bayh tell it, Republicans have made it impossible for Congress to work on issues important to him... so he's decided to make it easier for the Republican caucus to have more power.
When the going gets tough, the conserva-Dems pack up and go home?
Benen's actually giving Bayh more credit than I do. I didn't hear explicit blame laid on Republican obstructionism, but on partisanship on both sides of the aisle -- as if Democrats in the Senate haven't been maddeningly obsessed with bipartisan agreements. Everybody's so mean, legislating has become impossible, the whole country's screwed up, and you people don't have a functioning government anymore -- good luck with that, I'm outta here.
He ends pitching himself for a private sector job. If you're considering hiring Evan here, you might also consider his approach to problem-solving. Apparently, he doesn't really have one.
Still, he timed this all pretty well. While they won't have an incumbent, early reports suggest that -- because Indiana has insane filing requirements -- no one will be eligible for a Democratic primary (filings are due tomorrow). This means there won't be a primary and the state party will nominate someone. That person will be able to run in the general without having to spend money winning the primary -- in other words, they start off with an advantage.
Personally, I'm not extremely sorry to see Bayh go.
1 comments:
The Democratic Party is too disorganized and fucked up to get anything done. That's why Republicans manage to get their legislation rammed through with little fanfare when they're in the majority while Democrats languish and bitch and can't pass anything despite having a staggering strength in numbers.
Obama, for his part, has been fairly pragmatic thus far, but I blame a lot of this on Pelosi. She's polarizing and tries to run the Democrats like a ward boss with no success.
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