Louisville Courier Journal Editorial Suggests Indiana Senator Evan "Bayh's Goodbye" Is "Supremely Self-Centered". Read More Below.
Bayh's goodbye
Evan Bayh's surprise announcement that he is calling it quits in the Senate is nothing if not supremely self-centered.
By waiting until a day before Tuesday's filing deadline in Indiana, he denied his fellow Democrats a chance to gather signatures for a place on the ballot. As a result, Hoosier Democrats won't get to pick their Senate candidate in a primary election. Instead, the party's state central committee will scramble to choose a nominee, who in turn will be handicapped by a late start in fundraising. (Sen. Bayh, on the other hand, had one of the Senate's largest war chests — $13 million — to go along with high name recognition and a big lead in the polls.)
If Sen. Bayh was serious about his complaint that there is too much partisanship in Congress and too little cooperation to find practical solutions to national problems, he might have thought harder about the political consequences of his decision. There is no doubt that Sen. Bayh's withdrawal puts his seat at risk and may even make it probable that it will move to the GOP column. Sen. Bayh rightly thinks that the current corps of Republicans are ideological, narrow-minded and obstructionist, but can he imagine how they will behave if they become the majority?
That said, Sen. Bayh's analysis is right.
Congress has become dysfunctional to the point that it is reasonable to ask if it is capable of a coherent, effective response to any of the serious challenges facing the nation. This, after all, is an institution where it seemingly has become pointless to expect action in the Senate because Democrats enjoy only a 59-41 majority. Whether the issue is health care reform, regulation of the financial and banking sectors, climate change, new energy sources or easing the employment and home mortgage crises, legislation is consistently stymied by the strong hand of lobbyists and the reckless determination of Republicans to prevent any type of action if Democrats might receive some credit.
In announcing his departure from the Senate, Mr. Bayh referred to his frustration that the Senate could not even reach the magical super-majority of 60 votes to create a bipartisan commission to tackle the mounting federal deficits and debt. Of course, that failed because seven Republican senators — including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky — voted against it even though they were sponsors of the bill. Their apparent reason — a desire to deny President Obama a victory on something he also wanted — was so outrageous that it angered some Republicans. For example, Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, who is also calling it quits after this year, excoriated Sen. McConnell and demanded to know what the GOP was for.
It would be nice to think that fury at congressional paralysis is building to a point where constructive change becomes possible. It is likelier, however, that Republican partisans see developments such as Sen. Bayh's departure as evidence that their “just say no” strategy is working to their partisan advantage, even if it's a disservice to the country.
Surely, that isn't what Sen. Bayh intended.
Evan Bayh's surprise announcement that he is calling it quits in the Senate is nothing if not supremely self-centered.
By waiting until a day before Tuesday's filing deadline in Indiana, he denied his fellow Democrats a chance to gather signatures for a place on the ballot. As a result, Hoosier Democrats won't get to pick their Senate candidate in a primary election. Instead, the party's state central committee will scramble to choose a nominee, who in turn will be handicapped by a late start in fundraising. (Sen. Bayh, on the other hand, had one of the Senate's largest war chests — $13 million — to go along with high name recognition and a big lead in the polls.)
If Sen. Bayh was serious about his complaint that there is too much partisanship in Congress and too little cooperation to find practical solutions to national problems, he might have thought harder about the political consequences of his decision. There is no doubt that Sen. Bayh's withdrawal puts his seat at risk and may even make it probable that it will move to the GOP column. Sen. Bayh rightly thinks that the current corps of Republicans are ideological, narrow-minded and obstructionist, but can he imagine how they will behave if they become the majority?
That said, Sen. Bayh's analysis is right.
Congress has become dysfunctional to the point that it is reasonable to ask if it is capable of a coherent, effective response to any of the serious challenges facing the nation. This, after all, is an institution where it seemingly has become pointless to expect action in the Senate because Democrats enjoy only a 59-41 majority. Whether the issue is health care reform, regulation of the financial and banking sectors, climate change, new energy sources or easing the employment and home mortgage crises, legislation is consistently stymied by the strong hand of lobbyists and the reckless determination of Republicans to prevent any type of action if Democrats might receive some credit.
In announcing his departure from the Senate, Mr. Bayh referred to his frustration that the Senate could not even reach the magical super-majority of 60 votes to create a bipartisan commission to tackle the mounting federal deficits and debt. Of course, that failed because seven Republican senators — including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky — voted against it even though they were sponsors of the bill. Their apparent reason — a desire to deny President Obama a victory on something he also wanted — was so outrageous that it angered some Republicans. For example, Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, who is also calling it quits after this year, excoriated Sen. McConnell and demanded to know what the GOP was for.
It would be nice to think that fury at congressional paralysis is building to a point where constructive change becomes possible. It is likelier, however, that Republican partisans see developments such as Sen. Bayh's departure as evidence that their “just say no” strategy is working to their partisan advantage, even if it's a disservice to the country.
Surely, that isn't what Sen. Bayh intended.
Labels: News reporting
posted by KYJurisDoctor at 11:11 AM
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