Breaking: Sen. Evan Bayh to Retire

February 15th, 2010 • Related • Filed Under
By El Somnambulo

Here’s the Washington Post report.

Bayh was a DINO who never took a bold position on anything, unlike his father, Birch Bayh, who was an early opponent of the Vietnam War.

The money (literally & figuratively) quote:

“After all these years, my passion for service to my fellow citizens is undiminished, but my desire to do so by serving in Congress has waned,” Bayh will say.

What’s the over/under on how soon his lobbying career begins? My prediction: It already has.

There Are 51 Responses So Far. »

  1. Comment by Unstable Isotope on 15 February 2010 at 10:59 am:

    Evan Bayh wants to screw Democrats one last time, apparently. Apparently the deadline to get on the ballot in Indiana is this Friday. Yes, Bayh waited until the very last minute. I’m not going to miss Bayh, but this is bad news for the Democrats.

    Bayh must either have a huge payday coming or a huge scandal about to break. The last polling showed him way ahead of his potential GOP opponent, Dan Coats.

  2. Comment by Nancy Willling on 15 February 2010 at 11:02 am:

    This Friday….WTF??? It could be that Indiana DEMs twisted his arm and have someone in the wings….(crossing fingers).

  3. Comment by Unstable Isotope on 15 February 2010 at 11:04 am:

    I’m just reading now, a new candidate also needs 500 Democratic signatures from each of 9 districts to get on the ballot. Can this be done by Friday. A potential candidate has to decide basically right now.

  4. Comment by Unstable Isotope on 15 February 2010 at 11:06 am:

    Unfortunately Nancy, I’m reading now that this is a complete surprise to Indiana Democrats. Obviously they don’t have anyone waiting in the wings.

  5. Comment by Nancy Willling on 15 February 2010 at 11:07 am:

    Then this is unbelievable treachery, UI. He must have a job waiting.

  6. Comment by El Somnambulo on 15 February 2010 at 11:12 am:

    Bayh defines the term ‘piece of crap’.

    He just decided? He didn’t tell the Party in advance?

    For those still lamenting the Beaudhisattva’s decision not to run, contrast Evan Bayh’s self-entitled undistinguished career in the Senate with that of his father:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birch_Bayh

    That’s likely what we had to look forward to.

    The Rethug candidate was recruited as a sacrificial lamb, former unpopular and undistinguished Sen. Dan Coats. Actually a great spot for an insurgent populist candidate, if there’s enough time.

  7. Comment by Unstable Isotope on 15 February 2010 at 11:18 am:

    I agree Nancy – either he’s got a really cushy job lined up or some scandal about to break.

  8. Comment by cassandra m on 15 February 2010 at 11:18 am:

    Coats apparently has issues with Indiana residency — in that he doesn’t seem to live there anymore.

    Would not be surprised to see bayh either end up at some insurance company OR ar PHRMA since Tauzin just left.

  9. Comment by Unstable Isotope on 15 February 2010 at 11:25 am:

    Oooh, that’s interesting Cassandra. We’ll have to watch to see if Bayh is hired by PhRMA.

  10. Comment by Unstable Isotope on 15 February 2010 at 11:27 am:

    Here’s what Bayh is saying now:

    In a statement, Evan Bayh claims he is retiring because excessive partisanship has brought the U.S. Senate to a standstill:

    “Two weeks ago, the Senate voted down a bipartisan commission to deal with one of the greatest threats facing our nation: our exploding deficits and debt. The measure would have passed, but seven members who had endorsed the idea instead voted ‘no’ for short-term political reasons,” he said. “Just last week, a major piece of legislation to create jobs — the public’s top priority — fell apart amid complaints from both the left and right. All of this and much more has led me to believe that there are better ways to serve my fellow citizens, my beloved state and our nation than continued service in Congress.”

  11. Comment by Rhymes With Right on 15 February 2010 at 11:28 am:

    Look for another GOP pickup in the Senate. It may well be that the GOP will have a majority in the Senate come January.

  12. Comment by Rhymes With Right on 15 February 2010 at 11:29 am:

    By the way — residency is an easy issue to deal with, cassandra. Indeed, all that is required under federal law is for the person to take up residence in the state before assuming the office.

    Two words:

    Hillary Clinton.

  13. Comment by hey anonny nonny on 15 February 2010 at 11:30 am:

    Scaaaandaaaalll….

    Wonder if he would have quit like Palin if Obama had tapped him as VP over Biden.

  14. Comment by Unstable Isotope on 15 February 2010 at 11:33 am:

    Coats is still a weak candidate, thanks to Bayh and Coats’s own weakness, and Indiana’s delegation includes 5 Democratic Reps. I think the early favorite is probably Rep. Brad Ellsworth.

  15. Comment by Nancy Willling on 15 February 2010 at 11:34 am:

    Two words:

    Hillary Clinton

    *

    Twoer words:

    Harold Ford

    Ford has been living in Manhattan for three years and hasn’t been paying his taxes through NY but he is seriously thinking of a challenge primary for the Senate. Is that a residency issue? He’s been paying taxes through Tennessee and their lower tax-rates ’saving’ 30K a year.

  16. Comment by Rhymes With Right on 15 February 2010 at 11:40 am:

    And Ford has a problem with his taxes, not his residency. Coats does not have such an issue.

    Of course, there may be some other GOP candidate who comes out of the woodwork to take on coats now that his is an open seat.

  17. Comment by Nancy Willling on 15 February 2010 at 11:41 am:

    Birch Bayh – the name is right out of the Bold and the Beautiful soap opera. Brooke, Ridge, Thorne, Forrester, Birch.

  18. Comment by pandora on 15 February 2010 at 11:43 am:

    Or it could have been on the short list for Palin offspring. ;-)

  19. Comment by Geezer on 15 February 2010 at 11:47 am:

    Indiana is also a more conservative state than any other in the Great Lakes region. Like SuxCo Democrats, Indiana Democrats tend to sound like Republicans anyway.

  20. Comment by Nancy Willling on 15 February 2010 at 11:47 am:

    hee hee yup! twig branch

    here’s a few tweets –
    downwithtyranny RT @ggreenwald How long will it be before Evan Bayh joins Dan Coats’ lobbying firm? Maybe Bayh and Coats can switch jobs.

    downwithtyranny Put the Conserva in ConservaDems RT @markos So he waited till 4 days ahead of deadline to screw Dems one last time on his way out the door?

    downwithtyranny RT @markos So will Bayh’s wife keep her cushy corporate boards now that he’s no longer important?

  21. Comment by a.price on 15 February 2010 at 12:06 pm:

    good riddance. maybe Carper will follow his fellow DINOs lead.

  22. Comment by anon on 15 February 2010 at 12:09 pm:

    Realistically, in most states you can only get rid of a Blue Dog by accepting Republicans in their place. Delaware however has no excuse for Tom Carper.

  23. Comment by MJ on 15 February 2010 at 12:10 pm:

    Geezer, don’t paint all Sussex Co. Democrats with the DINO brush of yours.

  24. Comment by MJ on 15 February 2010 at 12:32 pm:

    And the nominating petitions are due tomorrow, not Friday. Basically, the party’s state leaders will choose the candidate.

  25. Comment by Unstable Isotope on 15 February 2010 at 12:46 pm:

    Yeah, I just read that if no one qualifies for the ballot by tomorrow, the party can choose the candidate.

  26. Comment by cassandra_m on 15 February 2010 at 1:39 pm:

    Which seems like convenient timing, yes?

    Can a Lobbyist Go Home Again?

    Noting the minefield Coats still has to pass through.

  27. Comment by pandora on 15 February 2010 at 2:00 pm:

    Delaware Politics seems to think Bayh has resigned to challenge Obama in 2012. Are they serious?

    http://www.delawarepolitics.net/evan-bayh-out-of-senate-race/

    Link exposed so you know what you’re clicking!

  28. Pingback by Breaking: Sen. Evan Bayh to Retire : Delaware Liberal | Trends on 15 February 2010 at 2:06 pm:

    [...] Breaking: Sen. Evan Bayh to Retire : Delaware Liberal This post was written by TechLad on February 16, 2010 Posted Under: Trends Birch BayhBayh was a DINO who never took a bold position on anything, unlike his father, Birch Bayh, who was an early opponent of the Vietnam War. The money (literally & figuratively) quote: “After all these years, my passion for service to my …Read MoreBreaking: Sen. Evan Bayh to Retire : Delaware Liberal. [...]

  29. Comment by Unstable Isotope on 15 February 2010 at 2:10 pm:

    I’m reading now that there is a “Draft John Mellencamp” movement starting up. I don’t know how serious it is, but that would certainly be an interesting race.

  30. Comment by cassandra_m on 15 February 2010 at 2:20 pm:

    John Mellencamp has a better shot at the Senate than Evan Bayh has at the Presidency.

  31. Comment by Nancy Willling on 15 February 2010 at 3:25 pm:

    Glenn Greenwald and others are warning that since it is a purpley-red state, it will be hard for DEMs to run anyone but a centrist.

  32. Comment by Unstable Isotope on 15 February 2010 at 3:52 pm:

    A new post is hypothesizing that Bayh’s timing was actually good for Dems. Since there is no candidate the party chooses a candidate and there will be no primary (something only the party officials really believer) but it’s too late for the GOP. They already have two qualified candidates – Coats and Hofstetler and unless both withdraw, no one else can get on the ballot.

  33. Comment by Lizard on 15 February 2010 at 4:21 pm:

    Senator Mikulski of Maryland to Retire

    thevailspot.blogspot.com ^ | Feb. 15, 2010 | Rich V.
    I’ve just heard from an impeccable source that Barbara Mikulski, the Democratic Senator who is up for reelection this November, will choose to retire. Mrs. Mikulski is expected to make her formal announcement in the next few days.

    Ehrlich may reconsider an O’Mally rematch for Gov….

  34. Comment by Lizard on 15 February 2010 at 4:29 pm:

    politico ^ | 2/15/10 | martin

    A Bloomington, Ind., restaurant owner who had been running an obscure and uphill challenge against Sen. Evan Bayh for the Democratic nomination claimed Monday that she’s just 1,000 signatures short of qualifying for the ballot.

    In an interview with POLITICO, Tamyra D’Ippolito said that after news broke Monday morning that Bayh was retiring, her campaign contacted Democratic officials in Indiana to request they help her get the needed signatures by noon Tuesday — when they must be verified by the state’s 92 country registrars.

    It would be something close to a nightmare scenario for Democrats: were D’Ippolito to qualify for the ballot, she would be the likely nominee and the party would be left to face the GOP with a political neophyte who said she is running in part to take on a party establishment she said practices “sexism with a big S.”

  35. Comment by a.price on 15 February 2010 at 4:29 pm:

    Lizard, “voices in the head” is not considered an impeccable source.

  36. Comment by Lizard on 15 February 2010 at 4:34 pm:

    my voices are smarter than your voices!

    :-)

  37. Comment by Lizard on 15 February 2010 at 4:40 pm:

    Mikulski, 74yo broke her ankle back in July. Underwent surgery (screws/pins) and is healing slowly. Still using a wheelchair six months later. She’s was never the picture of athletic health. It doesn’t take “insider information” to speculate that she is a likely retirement candidate.

  38. Comment by Allan Loudell on 15 February 2010 at 7:11 pm:

    About Italian restaurant owner Tamyra d’Ippolito, who had been running against Evan Bayh even before the announcment he wouldn’t seek re-election:

    She’s a genuine progressive, with a heartfelt life story, if you believe her campaign website.

    http://tamyraforsenate.com/

    But, as noted above, she’d be crushed in a general election.

    Even more fuel to the fire: Apparently she’s run her Italian restaurant as Bloomington, Indiana sporadically and faced financial difficulties.

    But, I’ve heard some reports of conservatives racing to help her get the signatures she needs to become the Democratic candidate, which would apparently prevent the Hoosier Democratic Party establishment from naming a more mainstream candidate.

    I personally think the one Hoosier Dem with sufficient heft to run a competitive race in Indiana is ex Congressman Lee Hamilton.

    About Evan Bayh, as I noted in my WDEL blog, rather like NCC Council President Paul Clark and now retiring State Representative Bill Oberle: Bayh has long had a wife conflict-of-interest problem, which came into greater focus during the health-care debate, with Susan Bayh’s well-paid position on the corporate board of WellPoint, a health-insurance company.

    Allan Loudell
    WDEL Radio & http://www.wdel.com

  39. Comment by El Somnambulo on 15 February 2010 at 9:45 pm:

    It now becomes more apparent that the Indiana ‘Democratic’ Party, and Bayh himself, prefer an undemocratic process that will exclude Democratic voters from having any say in nominating Bayh’s successor.

    Wow, a candidate chosen by the party insiders. Can’t you just feel your pulse racing?

    Once again, Democratic Party ‘leaders’ give the finger to the grassroots, leaving a match between two corporate whores for the seat. Somebody had suggested John Mellencamp, and could you have just pictured that possibility? Instead, health insurance companies, HMOs, banks, et al, will decide the next senator from Indiana. It doesn’t matter what letter they have after their name.

  40. Comment by Lizard on 15 February 2010 at 11:45 pm:

    U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg taken to area hospital after fall

    nj.con ^ | February 15, 2010 | James Queally
    U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg taken to area hospital after fall By James Queally/The Star-Ledger February 15, 2010, 9:51PM U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg was taken by ambulance tonight from his Cliffside Park home after suffering a fall, his spokesman said. The 86-year-old Democrat was conscious when he was taken to the hospital “as a precautionary measure,” said the spokesman, Caley Grey. Grey said he did not know if Lautenberg had fallen inside the Bergen County condominium or whether he had suffered any injuries. Lautenberg was elected to his fifth term in the Senate in 2008

  41. Comment by Nancy Willling on 16 February 2010 at 8:43 am:

    With all due respect to Allan Loudell, Bill Oberle’s wife’s trinket shop can’t compare to Pam Scott’s Saul Ewing partnership nor to Susan Bayh’s professional positions. Really.

    -

    nightmare scenario for Democrats: were D’Ippolito to qualify for the ballot,
    *
    AGRED – from all accounts…and from Allan’s reporting that the GOP is rushing to her side. Bayh’s last minute announcement does in retrospect look like the two-edged sword of leaving the chosing to the insiders but also to avoid unelectable candidates on the ticket.

  42. Comment by Nancy Willling on 16 February 2010 at 8:48 am:

    Senator Mikulski of Maryland to Retire

    *

    Shoot, this would be terrible for DEMs and for women. She is magnificent.

  43. Comment by Geezer on 16 February 2010 at 9:30 am:

    “a candidate chosen by the party insiders. Can’t you just feel your pulse racing?”

    I dunno. I think Kaufman worked out pretty well. The voters never would have chosen him.

  44. Comment by Geezer on 16 February 2010 at 9:33 am:

    Nancy: IIRC, Oberle’s wife’s business does nearly $1 million a year in billings with the state and its unofficial agency, Delaware Park. That’s on a par with Mrs. Bayh’s haul, I believe. What Pam Scott and Paul Clark get in indirect benefits might dwarf that, but he can always claim his hands are clean.

  45. Comment by a.price on 16 February 2010 at 9:39 am:

    geeze, Kaufman was different. State law didn’t call for a special election or anything.

  46. Comment by Geezer on 16 February 2010 at 10:00 am:

    Granted, a.p, but it shows what would be possible in a Senate that was still chosen by state legislatures instead of voters. For one thing, the problem of raising all that money and disqualifying people who aren’t natural glad-handers would disappear. It would also put more meaning into those General Assembly elections — if naming a Senator were at stake, you wouldn’t see half the incumbents run unchallenged every cycle.

  47. Comment by Lizard on 16 February 2010 at 2:06 pm:

    IN Dem Misses The Deadline

    National Journal.com ^ | Reid Wilson
    Restaurant owner Tamyra d’Ippolito (D) has enough signatures to make the ballot in the race to replace Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN), she told Hotline OnCall in a brief interview, but an official in a key district says she has failed to reach the threshold.

  48. Comment by John Manifold on 16 February 2010 at 8:28 pm:

    1. Watch for Brad Ellsworth. Sometimes you add by subtracting.

    2. It’s one thing for cosmopolitan New York to welcome newcomers like RFK, Buckley and HRC as Senators. It’s another for Indiana, proudly flyover in its sensibilities, to see its former Senator (1) leave office [in face of possible loss to Bayh in '98]; (2) become a lobbyist for unpopular big-money and foreign interests; and (3) be taped saying how he looks forward to moving to North Carolina. Coats will problems getting to the starting gate.

    3. Geezer has a point on the nomination process. Election by state legislatures was a cesspool, but nomination by a committee of elders could in some circumstances yield a better candidate. Wouldn’t want to see it every time, but this committee should do better than the governors of NY, Ill or Colo. [Bob Casey Sr., picking Harris Wofford, on the other hand, was pure genius.]

  49. Comment by MJ on 16 February 2010 at 9:29 pm:

    Interesting that everyone is bashing the IN Democratic Party leaders for getting the chance to pick someone to hold the seat, yet nothing about the 36th GOP committee from selecting a nominee to replace George Carey and discouraging a primary.

    A source of mine who is an elected official in MD, the Miklulski retirement stories are BS. But then again, it seems like Gecko is acting like the Grim Reaper today. Any other Dems you want to report ill health about?

    And whats-her-name in IN didn’t have the required signatures. And all due respect, Allan, she’s more of a wingnut than she is a progressive.

  50. Comment by hey anonny nonny on 16 February 2010 at 10:13 pm:

    DSCC says Mikulski retirement rumor is bogus.

    http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2010/02/16/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry6213129.shtml

    That’s good, ’cause we need to keep our hypocritical closet cases in Congress. Er… sorry, went off-message there. Won’t happen again.

  51. Comment by Lizard on 17 February 2010 at 1:33 pm:

    Delahunt says he might be the next to go

    Boston Globe ^ | 2010-02-13 | Farah Stockman
    US Representative William Delahunt said yesterday that he is considering retiring from his congressional seat representing the South Shore and Cape Cod, although he portrayed his deliberations as routine and said they are not related to challenges from Republicans who are energized by Scott Brown’s upset victory in last month’s special Senate election.

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