Matthew Tully: [Indiana Senator Evan] Bayh's Decision, While A Shocker, Makes Sense.
Matthew Tully | Bayh's decision, while a shocker, makes sense
By Matthew Tully
It says something about the expectations people have had of Sen. Evan Bayh — as well as his own ambition — that so many observers refused to believe the Indiana Democrat might have stepped back, looked at his long career and decided it was time for something new.
And so, even as Bayh was announcing his plans not to run for re-election this year, questions and speculation came fast and furious. Is he running for governor in 2012? Is he planning a rebellious bid for president? What is his angle?
I hate to be naïve. But the thought that a 54-year-old father of two teenage sons might want to give something else a try, while also stepping away from a toxic political environment, doesn't seem far-fetched. Not even when the person in question is Evan Bayh, who was born into a political family and who has nurtured seemingly lifelong political ambitions.
Actually, the decision seems downright rational — something Bayh has always been. Again, not to be naïve, but he seemed sincere when he said at a news conference Monday that Congress “is just dysfunctional,” partisan and dominated by quick-hit political calculations, and that he wants to find something else to do with the next chapter of his life.
“This is not a wake,” Bayh said, and he seemed to be the only one who understood the lack of tragedy in the tale of a guy who takes a break from politics after a quarter-century on center stage.
With that said, Bayh's decision was a stunner — the biggest political surprise in years in Indiana. Democrats used words such as “shocked” and “stunned” and “wow.”
Bayh's announcement removes from the ballot a politician widely credited with the rebirth of the state Democratic Party, and a man who came within inches of the vice presidency less than two years ago. It leaves a void that will affect not only the Senate race, but many others as well. It leaves Indiana Democrats without a clear leader.
The announcement rattled political minds from Indianapolis to Washington, and focused even more attention on a Senate race that until recently was seen as a sure thing for Democrats.
Now, Democrats aren't expected to field a primary contestant because there isn't sufficient time to collect the 4,500 signatures required to get on the ballot before this week's deadline. Under the most likely scenario, party leaders will select a nominee in the coming months. While that track could put Democrats at a disadvantage, it's important to remember two things.
First, without Bayh on the ticket, Democrats were guaranteed to have a harder time holding on to the Senate seat — regardless of when he made his decision.
Second, perhaps because Bayh waited this long to make his announcement, stronger Republican candidates such as Rep. Mike Pence bypassed the race. The GOP is now left with former U.S. Rep. John Hostettler; former Sen. Dan Coats, whose campaign has been marred by questions about his lobbying career and out-of-state residency; and lesser-known candidates such as Don Bates Jr. and state Sen. Marlin Stutzman.
It's hard to imagine that Pence — the strongest of all potential Republican candidates — isn't questioning his decision.
Aside from the political fallout, it's worth spending a minute considering the meaning behind Bayh's statement Monday. He talked about a Congress tied up in partisan ideology, a political system that has little tolerance for the middle ground and long-term thinking, and a structure built around the 24/7 campaign.
“I am an executive at heart,” Bayh said. “I value my independence. I am not motivated by strident partisanship or ideology. These traits may be useful in many walks of life, but they are not highly valued in Congress.”
It's a shame that each election cycle the system claims not those politicians on the far edges of the spectrum, but the voices in the middle. And it's not just Republicans who hurt Bayh. Liberal blogs have trashed Bayh in recent years as much as conservative talk radio hosts have pummeled moderate Republicans.
At a time when moderates are mocked as wishy-washy, and insiders talk of purity tests, die-hards in both parties love their moderates only on Election Day.
As this year's Election Day approaches, Indiana is suddenly faced with a radically reshaped landscape — one without Evan Bayh. As the news broke Monday, I recalled a January afternoon in 1999 when, as a Capitol Hill reporter, I covered Bayh's news conference on his first day as a senator. He staged the conference because so many D.C. reporters wanted to talk to him about the buzz that he was headed for the White House.
Eleven years later, a man who long dreamed of the presidency shook up a quiet and snowy Presidents Day by announcing he'd had enough of the political world.
It set off a frenzy of speculation and political calculations. It left behind a mountain of questions.
That's only natural in politics.
But, in a rational world, the idea of a middle-aged man tiring of the political system and deciding to move on should make perfect sense.
Matthew Tully has been political columnist for The Indianapolis Star since 2005.
By Matthew Tully
It says something about the expectations people have had of Sen. Evan Bayh — as well as his own ambition — that so many observers refused to believe the Indiana Democrat might have stepped back, looked at his long career and decided it was time for something new.
And so, even as Bayh was announcing his plans not to run for re-election this year, questions and speculation came fast and furious. Is he running for governor in 2012? Is he planning a rebellious bid for president? What is his angle?
I hate to be naïve. But the thought that a 54-year-old father of two teenage sons might want to give something else a try, while also stepping away from a toxic political environment, doesn't seem far-fetched. Not even when the person in question is Evan Bayh, who was born into a political family and who has nurtured seemingly lifelong political ambitions.
Actually, the decision seems downright rational — something Bayh has always been. Again, not to be naïve, but he seemed sincere when he said at a news conference Monday that Congress “is just dysfunctional,” partisan and dominated by quick-hit political calculations, and that he wants to find something else to do with the next chapter of his life.
“This is not a wake,” Bayh said, and he seemed to be the only one who understood the lack of tragedy in the tale of a guy who takes a break from politics after a quarter-century on center stage.
With that said, Bayh's decision was a stunner — the biggest political surprise in years in Indiana. Democrats used words such as “shocked” and “stunned” and “wow.”
Bayh's announcement removes from the ballot a politician widely credited with the rebirth of the state Democratic Party, and a man who came within inches of the vice presidency less than two years ago. It leaves a void that will affect not only the Senate race, but many others as well. It leaves Indiana Democrats without a clear leader.
The announcement rattled political minds from Indianapolis to Washington, and focused even more attention on a Senate race that until recently was seen as a sure thing for Democrats.
Now, Democrats aren't expected to field a primary contestant because there isn't sufficient time to collect the 4,500 signatures required to get on the ballot before this week's deadline. Under the most likely scenario, party leaders will select a nominee in the coming months. While that track could put Democrats at a disadvantage, it's important to remember two things.
First, without Bayh on the ticket, Democrats were guaranteed to have a harder time holding on to the Senate seat — regardless of when he made his decision.
Second, perhaps because Bayh waited this long to make his announcement, stronger Republican candidates such as Rep. Mike Pence bypassed the race. The GOP is now left with former U.S. Rep. John Hostettler; former Sen. Dan Coats, whose campaign has been marred by questions about his lobbying career and out-of-state residency; and lesser-known candidates such as Don Bates Jr. and state Sen. Marlin Stutzman.
It's hard to imagine that Pence — the strongest of all potential Republican candidates — isn't questioning his decision.
Aside from the political fallout, it's worth spending a minute considering the meaning behind Bayh's statement Monday. He talked about a Congress tied up in partisan ideology, a political system that has little tolerance for the middle ground and long-term thinking, and a structure built around the 24/7 campaign.
“I am an executive at heart,” Bayh said. “I value my independence. I am not motivated by strident partisanship or ideology. These traits may be useful in many walks of life, but they are not highly valued in Congress.”
It's a shame that each election cycle the system claims not those politicians on the far edges of the spectrum, but the voices in the middle. And it's not just Republicans who hurt Bayh. Liberal blogs have trashed Bayh in recent years as much as conservative talk radio hosts have pummeled moderate Republicans.
At a time when moderates are mocked as wishy-washy, and insiders talk of purity tests, die-hards in both parties love their moderates only on Election Day.
As this year's Election Day approaches, Indiana is suddenly faced with a radically reshaped landscape — one without Evan Bayh. As the news broke Monday, I recalled a January afternoon in 1999 when, as a Capitol Hill reporter, I covered Bayh's news conference on his first day as a senator. He staged the conference because so many D.C. reporters wanted to talk to him about the buzz that he was headed for the White House.
Eleven years later, a man who long dreamed of the presidency shook up a quiet and snowy Presidents Day by announcing he'd had enough of the political world.
It set off a frenzy of speculation and political calculations. It left behind a mountain of questions.
That's only natural in politics.
But, in a rational world, the idea of a middle-aged man tiring of the political system and deciding to move on should make perfect sense.
Matthew Tully has been political columnist for The Indianapolis Star since 2005.
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