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Hoosier daddy

By ADAM REILLY  |  March 31, 2006

This exchange epitomizes the challenge Bayh faces. Democrats want to retake control of Congress and win the presidency again. They also hate George W. Bush and the majority of the current Republican leadership, and they would like to see the GOP squirm as much as possible over the next two years. The problem, obviously, is that these two ends may not be complementary — and a candidate like Bayh, who’s urging Democrats to heed their electoral superego instead of their anti-Republican id, faces a tough sell.

Ultimately, there’s an ironic twist to Bayh’s situation: to beat Hillary Clinton, he’ll need to do something very similar to what a certain Arkansas governor did en route to beating Bush I fourteen years ago. “He basically needs what happened to Clinton in ’92 to happen to him,” says Stuart Rothenberg, the political analyst and author of the Rothenberg Political Report. “The Democratic groups and Democratic leaders looked around and said, Maybe we’d rather have [Iowa senator and populist firebrand] Tom Harkin as president, but who can get elected? Bayh probably needs that same kind of dynamic.” The catch, obviously, is that Tom Harkin was no Hillary Clinton.

On the Web:
Adam Reilly's Talking Politics blog: http://www.thephoenix.com/talkingpolitics/
Evan Bayh: http://bayh.senate.gov/about.html
Third Way: A Strategy Center for Progressives: http://third-way.com/
All America: http://www.allamericapac.com/
Americans for Bayh: http://www.americansforbayh.com/
Forward Together: http://www.forwardtogetherpac.com/

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Related: The real anti-Hillary stands up, The shape of things to come, Emasculation proclamation, More more >
  Topics: Talking Politics , U.S. Government, Kevin Kline, Russ Feingold,  More more >
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Comments
Hoosier daddy
Living in Indiana, I notice your article leaves out a HUGE, and GLARING reality.. Bayh came to power at a time of great problems in Indiana, much of it due to systemic Republican corruption But,the Next DEM Governor managed to destroy everything Bayh had built in just 5 short years... He blew the $2 Billion rainy day fund that Bayh had accumulated to buy votes for re-election, saying "They call it The Rainy Day Fund. Well it's never rained, and we need to make this money work!".... 11 months later, it was frikken' pouring... 9/11 hit, the state was BROKE, and the 2 Billion dollars set back FOR THIS VERY EVENT was gone. You can guess the rest... Massive tax increases, massive cuts, and all because the Dems reverted to true form......
By HaggardHoosier on 03/31/2006 at 2:23:35
Hoosier daddy
I sincerely doubt Bayh was the savior to Indiana that a lot of people think he was. I personally don't believe that there was any money in a Rainy Day fund. I think Bayh's group cooked the books to make everyone believe we were in better shape than we really were. Unfortunately, nobody has the guts to do a complete audit from when Bayh took over through O'Bannon/Kernan's tenure. It would probably open a lot of people's eyes! This Hoosier will never, ever vote for Bayh! He has consistantly voted WITH Hillary and the far left Dems since he became a Senator.
By db on 03/31/2006 at 8:26:52
Hoosier daddy
Forgive me if I sound insensitive, but what, exactly, does 9/11 have to do with the state of Indiana's finances? I'm not following you.
By rst on 03/31/2006 at 10:42:10
Hoosier daddy
I'll agree that what the Democrats need in '08 to win is what happened in '92 but it is not another smoothie like Bill Clinton. The only way to a Democratic victory is a conservative third party candidate to the right of the mainline Republican - a latter day Perot. I don't see that happening although it is not out of the question if McCain is the Republican nominee. That's one reason for the MSM focus on McCain. As a moderate Republican, I do see Bayh as an attractive, respectable candidate. I'll listen to what he has to say and evaluate it for what it's worth. I may well not like what I hear, but I will listen. Hilary Clinton gets no such consideration as she is damaged goods and a transparent manipulator.
By Whitehall on 03/31/2006 at 1:19:45
Hoosier daddy
Let's face it, Hillary is unelectable. Bayh is arguably one of the most electable candidates the Dems have...and there are very few of them. One fact the author left out...Mitch Daniels is the governor and he would appoint Bayh's senate successor in the event Bayh resigns his seat and/or if he's elected president.
By drnoe on 03/31/2006 at 2:36:27
Hoosier daddy
As a lifelong conservative Hoosier, I find it amusing that after 8 years as governor the only accomplishment Bayh can point to is some fluff education gimmick (that nobody here as even heard of). Don't be deceived. Yes Indiana prospered when Bayh was governor but so did every other state and even then Indiana lagged the country. Under Bayh and his party's majority, jobs were lost, sneaky taxes increased, state infrastructure deteriorated. Funny how history has a way of re-writing itself for politicians. And the results of 8 years with Bayh at the helm in Indiana got passed on to the next poor sucker who happened to be Bayh's lt. governor. If you want to know the real Bayh and where he stands, just look who he voted with against confirming Rice as Sec of State.
By Yoda on 04/01/2006 at 8:41:24

More Information

Separated at birth?

If Evan Bayh and Mitt Romney face off in the ’08 presidential election, voters will get some eerie parallelism. Both men have fathers who tried and failed to become president. Both say they're capable of uniting Democrats and Republicans. And both would be “anti-” candidates — Bayh to Hillary Clinton, and Romney to John McCain, whose mercurial personality and deviations from Republican orthodoxy make him Romney’s antithesis.

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