A Few Thoughts About Evan Bayh
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010I’ve been ticked off at Mr. Bayh over the last year. It just seems like he has spent the last year ruining the reputation that he has built over his lifetime. From his years as Governor, where he managed the finances admirably and Indiana had a positive cash flow, through his years as a moderate Democrat, he always appeared to me to be the kind of Politician we needed to represent us.
Yet, for the last year, he has voted the liberal party line all the way down the ticket, and most of us independants have been wondering where the old Evan had gone to.
So, when he announced that he would not run for office again, it gave me pause to reflect upon what this might mean.
Given that 2010 looks to be a pretty tough year for Democrats, it is possible that he simply decided he did not want to risk losing with all the other Democrats. Yet, he has always had a base of support here, people who look upon him fondly. I would be willing to bet there are more ‘Evan’s per capita in Indiana than in any other state, and in fact, that’s the name of my youngest child.
I think it goes deeper than a simple election, though, and I doubt it will be anything that he will ever talk about openly. I believe that Mr. Bayh has deep misgivings about the direction that the current Democrat leadership is taking this country, and I would be willing to bet that, had he the opportunity to do it all over, he would have voted against the stimulus bill in January, 2009. Maybe I’m wrong, but I remember the old Mr. Bayh, the one that would not accept an Indiana budget that was not balanced.
So, Mr. Bayh, I’m going to give you a pass, for now. I had planned on taking you to task for your votes last year, I had even decided to vote against you when the opportunity presented itself down the road.
But, I’m going to wait and see how you finish out your term, now, and hope that the old Mr. Bayh re-emerges. I’ve said it before, and now i will clarify myself; I wouldn’t mind seeing the old Mr. Bayh run for the highest office in the land. He sure would have gotten the Republicans involved, and there is no doubt he would kept the liberal fanatics in check.